Discover

'Huayna Picchu' or 'Wayna Picchu' (Quechua: "Young Peak") is a mountain in Peru around which the Urubamba River bends. It rises over Machu Picchu, the so-called "lost city of the Incás," and divides it into sections. The Incas built a trail up the side of the Huayna Picchu and built temples and terraces on its top. The peak of Huayna Picchu is about 2720m above sea level, or about 360m higher than Machu Picchu.
The Temple of the Moon is located on the mountain.

Contents

Visiting

Visiting

As of November 2006, visitors must sign in by 1 p.m. to start the trail. Only 400 visitors are allowed to enter this trail each day. The trail itself forks to several points of interest. The climb is steep and takes about 1 hour, usually less (one way). Some portions are slippery and steel ropes provide some support. Decent hiking boots are important. There is an extremely narrow passage near the summit that will force you to crawl, so be prepared to get your hands and clothes dirty as it's likely to be muddy (and you might scrape some skin on the rocks).
When you reach the first of the Incan ruins, there is a sign with one arrow which points to the right that says "You are at Wayna Picchu". The other arrow points down hill and says "toilet". Going uphill along the steep narrow stairs following this return route will lead you to the summit without having to go through the low and narrow crawl space.