Machu Picchu & Aguas Calientes by Train

The Machupicchu sanctuary is a beautiful place where we can enjoy the history and Inca culture, exploring the mysteries behind this well-organized citadel with various sectors. Some of the spaces have restricted hours, but they are always compensated by the other areas we can visit. The places we will visit in our experience may vary depending on the type of ticket and circuit we choose. However, the most important points we will explore on the circuits are the following:

• Guardian’s House: This beautiful place is located in the highest area of the Inca citadel, above the Agricultural Area. Its function was to control the entrance to the Inca city and oversee the agricultural and urban zones. It offers a panoramic view of the entire citadel and the entrance to the ancient Inca trail. The three walls feature three large windows, providing an easy view of the Inca trail’s entrance and the Inca bridge, the only communication routes with the outside world. You can also observe how the Incas covered the enclosures with a thatched roof.
• Llacta Punku: It is the entrance to the urban sector, located and delimited by a deep excavation. This sector extends from the cemetery through a long staircase to the peripheral neighborhoods. It has a system of points to hold a wooden door, more as a presence than as an element of restriction or security since there are other paths to access the city.
• Ceremonial Plaza: This is a set of enclosures around a square courtyard, featuring three polygonal walls made of immense perfectly assembled lithic pieces. Three windows and two niches on each side stand out. The windows likely had a purely religious function, and next to this, we find a different enclosure called the Priest’s House.
• Temple of the Sun (1:00 pm – 4:00 pm): The Temple of the Sun is a two-story structure, with the first semi-subterranean and the second featuring a beautiful semicircular wall with perfect finishes, known as the “Tower.” It was used for religious ceremonies, especially during June and December solstices. The Tower has two trapezoidal windows, one oriented to the winter solstice on June 22 and another towards the Sun Gate (Intipunku) for the summer solstice on December 22. In the center, there is a polished rock altar shaped like a rock, used for ceremonies interpreting the path of the sun. The temple is built on a large rock that houses a small cave, possibly used as a mausoleum with niches for mallquis or venerated mummies.
• Temple of the Three Windows: This enclosure has three polygonal walls, constructed with enormous perfectly assembled lithic pieces. Three windows and two niches at each end stand out. Its function was magical-religious and not just aesthetic. Hiram Bingham excavated the front of this temple, finding a large amount of fractured ceramics. The bases of this temple are also noteworthy for their depth of more than three meters. Here, you can find a possible symbolic figure of the carved head of a llama, allegorical to the importance of the camelid as a beast of burden, and provider of meat, and clothing for the Incas.
• Main Temple: It has a finely polished structure with beautiful finishes, an enclosure framed by only three walls, and each of the large pieces has been carefully crafted. The central wall has a dimension of 11 meters. Behind the Main Temple is another enclosure, probably also used for religious purposes, as per the records obtained, and its stones have no less than 32 angles, making its meaning quite mysterious.
• Intihuatana (07:00 am – 10:00 am): Named in Quechua, meaning “Where the sun is tied,” it is an area corresponding to one of the highest sectors of the Urban Zone. This is the most important area of Machu Picchu, and at the top of this zone, you can find a huge sculpture carved with flat surfaces, a 66 cm high column with finely carved faces that complement the sculpture. The total space of Intihuatana measures 8.60 meters and is 1.76 meters high. Intihuatana is one of the most enigmatic objects in Machu Picchu, related to the sunrise and the mountains. The movement of the sun creates shadow projections at different times, which serves to recognize and interpret them at different periods of the year.
• Sacred Rock: This is a carved stone resembling the silhouette of a mountain. It is located next to the control point to access Huayna Picchu, consisting of two huayranas (three-walled environments) with very high ceilings facing each other, forming a small almost square plaza. This rock has an important location because it is on the path leading to two very important enclosures: Huayna Picchu and the Temple of the Moon.
• Water Mirrors: The name is related to the enclosure where they are located, as well as the constructions in the area. It is a spacious sector, with a single access door, so it is attributed to be an Acllahuasi or House of Chosen Women dedicated to spinning, cooking, and preparing chicha or acja for the privileged class. Possible functions attributed to this space include two circular prominent rocks in one of its rooms, likely used for grinding grains or preparing dyes. It is also called 2 water mirrors because, during the rainy season, they accumulate water and allow the reflected stars to be seen.
• Temple of the Condor (10:00 am – 1:00 pm): The set of constructions extends over a ceremonial cave and adapts to irregular shapes. The condor, revered in Inca times and associated with mountain deities, plays a central role. The area is surrounded by elaborate staircases and walls, and access is controlled by a double-jamb door reflecting the importance and activities of the site. In the central courtyard, a carved rock represents the head and part of the body of a condor. In the underground cave (Condor’s body), offerings, ceramics, and bone remains of camelids were found, confirming its function as a ceremonial center for offerings. 
• Water Fountains: We can see a large staircase next to which runs a system of 16 waterfalls, mostly carefully carved in polygonal blocks and surrounded by channels carved into the rock. The water comes from a spring at the top of the Machu Picchu mountain, which was channeled during Inca times. A different channel at the top of the mountain also associates the mountain’s rainwater infiltrations and directs them to the main channel.