Things to do
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Huayna Picchu
The sugarloaf peak behind the citadel, climbed on a steep Inca staircase in about an hour for the view straight down onto the site. Entry is on Circuit 3 only, 400 tickets a day, and they go months ahead. The staircase is exposed and wet in the morning cloud, so those who dislike heights take Huchuy Picchu.
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Machu Picchu Mountain
A larger mountain on the western flank of the Machu Picchu site offering panoramic views of the entire complex and surrounding peaks. The trail ascends through cloud forest to an elevation of 3,082 meters.
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Inca Bridge
Narrow Incan-built stone pathway carved into a cliff face on the northwest side of Machu Picchu, originally used as a control point for accessing the site. The bridge spans a gorge above a significant drop.
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Camino Inca
The four-day walk from Kilometre 82 over Dead Woman's Pass at 4,215 metres and down through cloud forest to the Sun Gate, on original Inca paving. It is permit-only with a licensed operator and closed every February. Permits open in October for the following year and the good dates go within days, and porters move the camp between fixed sites.
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Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel
Casitas in five hectares of cloud forest at the edge of the town, with a large collection of native orchids, spectacled bears in a rescue enclosure and its own naturalists. The reason to stay two nights. Guided walks on the grounds are included, and the station for the Ollantaytambo train is a few minutes upriver.
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Intipunku
The Sun Gate, where the Inca Trail crests the ridge and the citadel appears below; walkers on the classic trail arrive here at dawn. From inside the site it is a 45 minute climb on Circuit 1-C. There is no separate ticket and the path is gentle, which makes it the simplest way to see the whole site from above.
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Salkantay
The 6,271 metre peak whose pass at 4,630 metres is the high point of the five-day Salkantay trek, the permit-free alternative to the Inca Trail that ends at Aguas Calientes. Cold nights give way to the coffee country around Santa Teresa, and the pass carries snow at first light for much of the year.
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Sumaq Machu Picchu
A hotel on the river at the bottom of the town with a proper kitchen, a spa and rooms that face the Vilcanota. It is the most comfortable of the town's own hotels, a short walk from the bus stop for the citadel, and the kitchen runs a tasting menu built on Andean produce.
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Temple of the Sun
Semi-circular stone temple within the Machu Picchu complex, built with precisely cut blocks and no mortar. It contains a ritual stone and alignment windows for observing solstices.
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Temple of the Condor
A carving within the mountain rock at Machu Picchu depicting a condor with outstretched wings, likely representing a creation myth or sacred bird associated with the Inca cosmology. The 'wings' are formed by rock outcroppings; the carved head is on the ground.
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Sacred Plaza
Central ceremonial space within Machu Picchu bounded by the Temple of the Three Windows, the Principal Temple, and the Temple of the Condor. The plaza is the largest open area at the site and was likely used for major rituals.
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Belmond Sanctuary Lodge
The only hotel at the citadel gate, a low building of 31 rooms where guests walk into the site before the first buses and back for lunch. It is as close as it is possible to sleep. Meals are included because there is nowhere to eat at the gate, and the terrace looks across the gorge to Putucusi.
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Cataratas de Mandor
A private garden and a waterfall an hour's walk down the railway line from Aguas Calientes, with orchids, hummingbirds and the cock-of-the-rock at dawn. It is what to do with the afternoon after the citadel. The track follows the line, so trains pass close, and the garden is ticketed at the gate.
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Putucusi
The rounded mountain across the river from the town, climbed on ladders and a rough trail for a view of the citadel from the side nobody photographs. Officially closed when the ladders are out; ask in town. The railway is crossed on the way in, and the climb turns into a scramble in wet weather.
