What can’t be conveyed in language, however, is the incomparable majesty of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, nestled high in the Peruvian Andes, and the urbane elegance and surprising variety of the nation’s capital, Lima. These must be experienced, and one could do far worse than to do so from two of the most recent luxury properties opened by Libertador, Peru’s leading hotel group: Tambo del Inka, in the Sacred Valley, and the Westin Lima, both designed, with signature suavity, At some 9000 feet above sea level, and with an average year-round temperature of 55 degrees, the Urubamba Valley (as the Sacred Valley is properly called), sits between two Andean sub-ranges in the Cusco region, and is the preferred place for summer houses among the nation’s elite. And no surprise – apart from the temperate climate, the landscape is uncanny: the mountains rise straight up the valley; on the higher surrounding plains, acres of rolling farmland combine with the proximity of the high peaks, Wagnerian cloud formations, and eye-searing crystalline light to The area was deemed sacred by the Incans, not for its beauty, but because the
Resident January 2011
Urubamba River, which crosses the valley on a north/south axis, mirrors the route of the Milky Way: the ancients believed that the two “rivers,” earth-bound and celestial, would meet at the end of the world. Its geographic pleasures notwithstanding, the area is best known for its standout attraction, the 15th-century Incan “lost city,” Machu Picchu. Set on a vertigo-inducing mountain ridge, the UNESCO World Heritage monument, now widely believed to have been the summer palace of the Inca’s king of kings, Pachacuti, is one of the most popular destinations on the planet. Last year was the one-hundredth anniversary of its discovery by the American explorer Hiram Bingham. Picchu is easy to visit, thanks to the
retains strong visual and actual connections
and extremely well-organized ten daily train trips (ranging from no-frills to ultra-luxurious) to Aguas Calientes from points around the valley. Tambo del Inka is the only hotel with its own Machu Picchu train stop (the trip takes twoand-a-half hours), and that is only one of its charms. The 128-room resort, which opened
is a superlative restaurant, called Hawa (“heaven”), which draws on the abundant local ingredients and specializes in “Novo Andina” cuisine. “The sky is the color of a donkey’s belly” is a saying I heard from several individuals in Lima and in fact, while it (allegedly) almost
and abstracts the Andean vernacular building retreat that, hard by the Urubamba River,
linked structures recall shed and lean-to construction on a palatial scale; with their balance of local chihuahuaco wood, stone, regional textiles, and woven rattan (the interiors were executed by Roberto Caparra), the guest rooms, suites and multi-story public spaces combine luxury with an overlay of craft-based simplicity. From the “man does not live by Machu Picchu alone” department: Tambo del Inka outdoor lap pool(all of which, regrettably, can only be accessed by walking through the main lobby in your sweaty gym clothes or bathrobe,