The Sacred Valley's only Relais & Châteaux, 43 hand-painted casitas in a flower-filled garden between Cusco and Machu Picchu, with the Wayra Equestrian Centre and the Sol y Luna Asociación school as the property's living social mission.
"The only Relais & Châteaux in the Sacred Valley, 43 hand-painted casitas in a garden that funds the school next door, where the horse stable is its own destination."
Sol y Luna was founded in 2000 by Swiss-French couple Marie-Hélène Miribel and Franz Schilter on a parcel of farmland in Huayoccari, between the towns of Urubamba and Yucay. The hotel's founding logic was philanthropic before it was commercial: the property exists, in large part, to fund the Asociación Sol y Luna, a private school for the children of Sacred Valley farming families that the founders opened on the adjacent lot in 2009 and that today educates more than 200 children. The hotel is the only Relais & Châteaux member in the Sacred Valley region and one of two in Peru. It sits at 2,860 metres elevation, below Cusco's 3,400 metres, which makes it the preferred first-night acclimatisation property for Cusco-bound travellers.
The 43 keys are casitas rather than rooms, 38 Deluxe Casitas (around 50 square metres) and 5 Premium Casitas (around 100 square metres) spread across a flower-filled garden. Each casita is individually hand-painted by Peruvian and visiting artists, individually configured, and individually named: no two look alike. The Deluxe Casitas feature private terraces, marble bathrooms with double vanities and L'Occitane amenities, and a desk and lounge area; the Premium Casitas add a fireplace, an outdoor jacuzzi, a separate bedroom, and an extra terrace. The Spa Casita, a free-standing two-bedroom unit with its own treatment suite, is the headline honeymoon and anniversary booking.
Killa Wasi is the property's main restaurant, run by chef Pascal Henry, with a menu rooted in the surrounding valley's quinoa, kiwicha, alpaca, trout, and Andean tubers, the best fine-dining table in the Sacred Valley. Wayra (the equestrian centre's standalone barn restaurant) serves an open-fire lunch with criollo flavours and runs a separate evening Paso horse and Marinera dance show that is one of the standout Sacred Valley evenings outside Machu Picchu. The bar, Mosaico, handles the lobby drinks programme. Breakfast (included) is served family-style in a sun-flooded glass pavilion with the Andes on full view.
Sol y Luna's central proposition is the depth of its experiential programming. The Wayra Equestrian Centre is the only one of its kind at a Sacred Valley hotel, a working Peruvian Paso horse stable that runs riding excursions through farmland and to the Yucay archaeological site, plus its dramatic evening Paso-horse-and-dance show. The hotel runs daily mountain-bike trips, hiking guides for the Maras-Moray-salt-flats circuit, and a dedicated Machu Picchu logistics desk. The Yacu Wasi Spa is the wellness anchor, six treatment rooms in a glass-and-stone pavilion with a hydrotherapy circuit and Andean-flora-based botanicals. The hotel's Relais & Châteaux membership is reflected in the staff-to-room ratio (above 3:1) and in the property's reputation for the strongest pre-arrival logistical work in the valley.
The Premium Casitas with private fireplaces, outdoor jacuzzis, and separate terraces are the central honeymoon booking; the Spa Casita is the milestone variant. The property's near-perfect acclimatisation altitude (2,860 metres versus Cusco's 3,400) means honeymooners actually feel well during their first Andean night, a non-trivial advantage. Killa Wasi at dinner and the Wayra horse show are the in-house anchors; the Machu Picchu day-trip logistics from here are the strongest in the valley.
A Sacred Valley anniversary at Sol y Luna can be calibrated at multiple intensities, a Deluxe Casita for a weekend, a Premium Casita with private jacuzzi for a milestone year, the Spa Casita for a major one. The property handles surprise vow-renewals in the garden, private dinners at Wayra under candlelight, and the in-house horse stable can arrange a private valley ride for the morning of the anniversary.
The Yacu Wasi spa's six treatment rooms, daily yoga in the glass pavilion, the property's acclimatisation altitude, and the genuine farm-to-table dining at Killa Wasi (the kitchen-garden grows roughly 60 per cent of the produce on-property) make Sol y Luna one of the strongest pure-wellness bookings in Andean South America. Multi-night packages including hikes through the Maras salt flats and the Moray amphitheatre are the right format.
Fundo Huincho Lote A-5
08661 Urubamba
Peru
Huayoccari, between Urubamba and Yucay; 1 hour 15 minutes from Cusco airport, 2 hours from Ollantaytambo train station to Machu Picchu.
43 keys
43 individual casitas including Deluxe and Premium villas
From $ 525 per night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Five-Star property
Killa Wasi (Sacred Valley's top fine-dining table)
Wayra Equestrian Centre & Paso horse show
Yacu Wasi Spa (six treatment rooms)
Sol y Luna Asociación school (visit programme)
Machu Picchu logistics desk
Daily yoga, hiking, biking programme
Relais & Châteaux service standard
From $ 525 per night. Suite categories run two to four months ahead in peak season; the headline villa product typically books earliest.
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