Belmond Hotel Rio Sagrado

a fabulous range of diverse activities

Set in a rural location alongside the Urubamba River in the heart of the Valle Sagrado in southern Peru, Belmond Hotel Rio Sagrado is a high class property which is loosely designed to resemble a traditional Inca village.

The hotel offers a full concierge service and has facilities including a swimming pool and the Mayu Willka Spa.

Rooms

Guest accommodation is in 23 rooms, which are located in a range of two and three storey blocks within the grounds. They come in three specifications …

• Deluxe Terrace Rooms : 42 sqm / 452 sq ft : large private terrace
• Garden Junior Suites : 92 sqm / 990 sq ft : private terrace and garden
• Villas : 220 sqm / 2368 sq ft : 3 bedrooms, riverside garden

Activities

Belmond Hotel Rio Sagrado provides access to a wide range of activities …

• Day trips to Machu Picchu
• Historic Inca sites
• Historic villages
• Hiking
• Mountain-biking
• White-water rafting
• Quad-biking
• Horse-riding
• Coffee and chocolate
• Culinary experiences

The Valle Sagrado is usually visited at the front end of a week-long exploration of the Inca Highlands. It usually precedes Cusco, which is at higher altitude, enabling acclimatisation before heading up there.

Machu Picchu can either be visited by train on a day trip from the Valle Sagrado, or a night there can be inserted into the middle of the week.

Seasonality

The best time to visit the Valle Sagrado is generally considered to be during the Apr-Sep cool dry season.

The area has a subtropical highland climate, which is generally dry and temperate, with two clearly defined seasons.

During the Apr-Sep winter conditions are usually cool and clear, with lots of sunshine. The peak daytime temperatures are usually around 22C/71F and the nighttime lows plunge to 1C/33F, with occasional frosts. Average sunshine is up around 8-9 hours per day, peaking in July.

During the Oct-Mar summer the weather is often cloudy and wet, with rainfall around 100mm (4”) per month. The peak daytime temperatures usually climb to around 29C/83F, with the nighttime lows holding up around 6C/44F. Average sunshine drops to only around 5 hrs per day in February.

Like many of the high elevation locations in the Andes, the ultra-violet radiation is extremely high, so sun protection is essential.

Getting there

Valle Sagrado is usually accessed by air from the capital Lima to Cusco, with there usually being several flights per day in each direction. From there it’s a drive of an hour or so.

There are also regular flight connections with Puerto Maldonado in the Tambopata area of the south Peruvian Amazon and Iquitos in the north Peruvian Amazon.

The areas of Cusco, Machu Picchu, Lago Titicaca, Colca Canyon and Arequipa can all be connected by guided overland road transfer or by rail (with both regular PeruRail services or luxury Pullman services).

Locations further afield, both in the north of the country and down on the coast are usually reached by air via Lima.

a strong first stop in the Inca Highlands