Urubamba’s nightlife has improved with the influx of students. The best way to begin an evening is with an empanada and a beer at La Esquina (Comercio 407, tel. 084/20-1554), on the main square. The owner of this pizza-and-empanada bar, a Lima transplant named Lucy, sings whenever the spirit moves her (and her musician friends show up).

Late night, your options are twofold: Connection (Mariscal Castilla, 6 p.m.–close) is a laid-back bar with a bit of art on the walls and an owner-DJ who spent the last eight years in the United States.

Tequila Bar (third block of Mariscal Castilla, tel. 084/80-1646, tequilaclub [at] hotmail [dot] com, noon onwards), however, is the wild dance spot. Within the course of a night, this Jekyll and Hyde place can swing from mellow artist pub to Wild West bar, with fists (and beer bottles!) flying.

Urubamba erupts in bullfights, dancing, and partying during the Pentecostal celebration of Señor Torrechayoc in late May or early June and then once again for Urubamba Day on November 9. An even better party, however, is Huayllabamba’s Virgen de la Natividad, held September 7–10.