Sol y Luna Sacred Valley

At an altitude of 2800 m, colours are brilliant: the blue of the sky, the red of the earth and a fragmented mosaic created by a profusion of flowers. Sol & Luna is inspired by this luminous setting and is a paean to the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Its architecture is a mix of avant-garde and primitive Peru, its clay walls are a backdrop to both contemporary and traditional Peruvian art, and its stones, beams and bricks from the valley find their natural home here.

Its mouthwatering cuisine also draws its inspiration from local gastronomy, yet with a contemporary twist. Sol & Luna is close to archaeological sites and offers a doorway to this lost civilisation.

LOCATION
In remote highland villages, inhabitants trace their ancestry to Tahuantinsuyu, or the Land of the Four Quarters, as the great Inca Empire was known in the 13th to 16th centuries.

Throughout this rich history, this naturally fertile valley has remained the region’s breadbasket and continues to inspire the global phenomenon that is contemporary Peruvian cuisine.

An outdoor enthusiast’s pristine playground, the Sacred Valley also ranks among the finest places in South America for tandem paragliding, mountain biking and trekking. More leisurely fresh air pursuits include kayaking, horseback riding and tours by quad-bike.

Living culture in the Sacred Valley revolves around the Andean concept of Ayni, meaning ‘reciprocity’ in Quechua, which conveys the idea that progress is a collective goal.

Working together allowed the Incas to develop an advanced civilization and highly evolved belief system. This combination of the practical and the spiritual is still very much in evidence throughout the Valle Sagrado.

ACCOMMODATION
At Sol y Luna, we host our guests in cozy houses made of local stone, decorated individually. Each of these forty-three casitas is surrounded by gardens filled with flora native to the Sacred Valley and all face the Andes Mountains where the Incas believed their gods dwelled.

Within each private sanctuary, an outdoor terrace leads into the high ceilinged living space with terra cotta tile floors, Peruvian textiles and some of our favorite Sacred Valley artifacts, Spanish colonial style furniture, a plump king size bed or two double beds made with goose feather duvets and top quality Peruvian pima cotton sheets, and a spacious marble bathroom with deep soak bathtub, just as you might have at home.

And then there is the art. I met Federico several years ago and felt immediately enchanted by his brightly painted, fantastical sculptures of Andean flowers and animals.

For each casita, Federico created an original wall mural inspired by the Sacred Valley of the Incas and many feature his unique three-dimensional pieces too. I watch his artwork transform guests’ faces into lasting smiles and I love how these makes people feel whenever they come upon his work around Sol y Luna.

GASTRONOMY
Mindful that lasting memories are made through our taste buds, we approached gourmet dining a priority at Sol y Luna from the beginning.
Our culinary team trained with Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, one of the leading innovators of contemporary Peruvian cuisine and we look to the time honored, rich traditions of Andean cooking which integrate the bountiful harvests of ancient Incan agrarian techniques.

We took the decision not to have our own hotel gardens and fields but to train local farmers, so far we have four, to grow the quinoa, potatoes, herbs, spices and other produce we need.

This extends our Sol y Luna community outreach while ensuring exceptional, fresh and natural ingredients in every dish we serve at Killa Wasi and Wayra, where our focus is especially locavore, to connect our guests to the exceptional flavors of the Sacred Valley.

WELCOME TO KILLA WASI
Contemporary interpretations of Sacred Valley’s rustic culinary traditions and refined Cusqueña cuisine incorporate the produce of our organic farming neighbors as well as the chef’s discoveries in the Peruvian jungles and along the Amazon.

Within the gently rounded, rose hued walls of our ‘House of the Moon,’ along with serving a buffet breakfast and relaxed vegan lunch, we offer an exceptionally refined evening experience. Guests dine formally and in luxurious comfort around a traditional Peruvian hearth

MENU
Sophisticated dishes express the rich agrarian history of the Sacred Valley of the Incas and the creativity of contemtorary Peruvian cuisine. Harvest driven, seasonal recipes feature Andean trout, and grass fed beef as well as the less expected, like alpaca (tastes like lamb, we promise) and our signature crispy guinea pig with Maras salt potatoes and uchucuta salsa, a very local delicacy that our guests find surprisingly delicious.

WELCOME TO WAYRA
Housed within Sol y Luna’s Wayra ranch and open to the public, our relaxed day into evening eatery was built for three simple purposes: to eat, to drink and to love.

Fantastical murals and sculptures by Federico, our artist often in residence, finish these high, vaulted spaces made homey with local terra cotta tiles and stonework, hand-painted artisanal woodcarvings by Peruvian master Jaime Lievana and commanding wood burning fireplaces in both the Dining Room and Lounge.

Andean cuisine honoring the wealth of naturally organic ingredients first harvested here in the bountiful Sacred Valley by the ancient Incas.

MENU
Like its namesake, the Quechua word meaning ‘wind,’ Wayra offers seasonal dishes that cannot quite be contained by a single cooking style.

At breakfast, lunch and dinner, Chef Nacho’s dishes honor the Andean ingredients grown by local farmers whom we know personally and highlight the rich, varied flavours of the Sacred Valley by cooking with traditional wood burning ovens.

WINE CELLAR
Peruvian haute cuisine meets Old and New World wines in our singular wine cellar. Spanish red walls surround the antique dining table for up to fourteen, set with hand-embroidered linens, custom china, formal silverware and an array of roses from our gardens.

After horseback riding, exploring Machu Picchu or relaxing by the pool, an evening in this subterranean sanctuary ends the day on the most sophisticated epicurean note, with a bespoke menu of seasonal dishes prepared by Executive Chef Nacho Selis and paired with wines curated by our in-house Sommelier.

PACHAMANCA
For the Incas, this rustic yet highly symbolic dining ritual named for the Quechua words pacha “earth” and manka “pot” represented a celebration of the cycle of life. Digging an earthen oven and cooking food underground pays homage to Pachamama, the Incan fertility goddess.

Surrounded by the glorious Andes Mountains and Sol y Luna’s thriving gardens, we recreate this quintessentially Andean banquet, at lunch or dinner, for up to 8 people. Like our Incan ancestors, we return our food — lamb, alpaca, pork, chicken and guinea pig along with sweet potatoes, potatoes, green beans, plantains, stuffed peppers, tamales and choclo white corn of the Sacred Valley — to Mother Earth’s belly before we eat it is as sign of respect.

WELLNESS
Quechua for ‘house of water,’ our intimate spa wrapped in artful stained glass and local stone offers holistic relaxation between invigorating adventures around the Sacred Valley and excursions to Machu Picchu.

Native healing meets modern pampering as internationally trained therapists deliver rejuvenating massage, facial and hydrotherapy treatments incorporating organic, locally grown Andean plants and herbs.

SPA TREATMENTS
In three private, candlelit treatment rooms, Yacu Wasi spa offers a wide range of treatments complemented by aromatherapy and essential oils, and includes the use of the herbal sauna and steam room.

SAUNA & GYM
Our aromatic Andean herbal infused sauna located in the spa and the newly built cardio and free weights equipped gym adjacent to the swimming pool offer two distinct ways to unwind. Both feel priceless yet are each complimentary for all Sol y Luna guests.

YOGA
For our guests who like to rise with the sun that was so sacred to the ancient Incas, we offer Upon Request, classes to all our guests and held outdoors in the fresh Andean air.

SOL Y LUNA EXPERIENCE
Stunning landscape and a benevolent climate persuaded the Incas to settle in the Sacred Valley, which they considered a mirror of the Milky Way.
We invite you to come fly with the wind, cycle along Andean terraces, kayak under snowcapped peaks and trek the ancient mountain pathways of the Incas. Discover remote villages, colonial churches and mysterious heritage sites on horseback or by quad bike.

Home to Andean civilization for more than 500 years, the Sacred Valley is also a veritable treasure trove of historic sites including Machu Picchu and vibrant, thriving cultural traditions. For those who prefer their cultural immersion in the kitchen, we offer an array of the Sacred Valley’s most palatable pleasures.

BOUTIQUE
Kunata Wasi exhibits Sacred Valley’s finest and most sophisticated folk art, typically the work of anonymous hands expressing the lives of the Andean people. Original works by our favorite contemporary Peruvian artists such as Federico Bauer, Jaime Liebana and ceramicist Marilyn Denemostier, taking inspiration from Andean popular culture are also on display.

GARDENS
Hummingbirds and butterflies flutter among our 25 acres of private gardens abundant with indigenous flowers and native bird species.

TRADITIONAL ANDEAN WEAVING
Sol y Luna invites a group of talented local women to demonstrate textile production, from the untangling of the natural wool fibers, to spinning and coloring with natural dyes made of flowers, roots and herbs according to ancestral techniques and preparation of the loom, as well as the mastery
with which this ancient art is practiced.

MOUNTAIN BIKE / FULL DAY
Pisaq and Beyond
Two wheels is the most exhilarating way to see the most of the Land of the Incas at the closest perspective.

At the colonial town there is the famous market where inhabitants of different
Andean communities come from far and near to sell and barter their products.
We cross the bridge to start our bike ride, here, beside the Urubamba River, and continue approximately 40 km along a rural route, crossing the small farming communities of Taray, Lamay, Coya and Calca, where the principal corps are the famous white maize of Urubamba.

The routes we follow are almost all flat, and wind alongside the river which teems with herons, ibis and gulls who also accompany us on our journey.
For lunch, we could stop at one of many colonial houses or in the shade of grand old trees we see along the way.

Our afternoon route, along the foothills of mountains, takes us on paths with
rocks and pebbles here, the valley also narrows. We continue on routes that let us see, from above, the Huarán rapids and the communities of Huicho, Urquillos and Huayllabamba.

Website: www.hotelsolyluna.com

Rooms: 43

Price: from 252 EUR per night