TEMPLE OF THE MOON AND HUAYNA PICCHU

The hike to Huayna Picchu starts at the Sacred Rock and passes through a gate that is open from 7 a.m.–1 p.m. (though no one seems to mind if you are late in descending). This one- to two-hour walk is steep but the path is in excellent shape, though the last 20 meters include a steep rock slab that is climbed with a ladder and a rope. The Incas built terraces here, and the airy summit offers a perfect view of the entire complex, which spreads out before the summit like a map. Behind the summit, a trail leads down an alternate route to the Temple of the Moon, a construction equally as exquisite as the Temple of the Sun but with an entirely different mood. The temple is a large natural cave, where rocks have been fitted perfectly in flowing, gentle shapes. Instead of the tower and bright sunlight of the Temple of the Sun, everything here is recessed, dark, with sinuous lines. Nearby there is a lower cave with rougher stonework and, above, a magnificent recessed doorway and gallery, to which the alternate route from Huayna Picchu descends. This route contains a short but near-vertical section climbed with a lashed wooden ladder and is not good for those nervous about heights. The easier, though slightly longer, way to reach the Temple of the Moon is to retrace your steps down from Huayna Picchu and take the marked trail turn-off halfway down, which leads right to the side of the main cave. Visiting the Temple of the Moon adds at least an hour onto the Huayna Picchu hike.