During the summer of 2023, I had the amazing opportunity to spend nearly two months exploring the incredible South American country of Peru!  With the soaring Andes Mountains, the Amazon Rainforest, and just about every climate in between, I was thrilled to be able to explore this stunning country. After my arrival in the high elevation city of Cusco, my first hike in the Andes was this day trip to an old Inca site called Inti Punku. 

Translated, Inti Punku means sun gate (Inti is the Incan sun god), and since the Inca 500 years ago, this has been a holy and spiritual place.  I would quickly discover why, and this would become one of my favorite day hikes I’ve ever done!

Miles/Elevation:

11.4 miles

3,927 feet vertical gain

About Ollantaytambo:

Constructed by the great Inca emperor Pachacuti in the mid 1400’s, Ollantaytambo is a small village and archeological site located in the Sacred Valley of the Inca.  Located at about 9,000 feet above sea level, Ollantaytambo today is home to about 3,000 people and is a major tourist attraction.  It is easily visited in a day from nearby Cusco 45 miles away.

The hiking in this area is great, but the village is best known for its cultural, historic, and religious significance.  The city is filled with original Inca construction, as is clearly seen in the terraces, tightly fitted stone work, and aqueducts.  Just outside town are beautifully preserved terraces built into the hillsides which are featured in many tourist day trips.

While Ollantaytambo is an archeological marvel in its own right, the world famous Machu Picchu garners most of the international attention.  The train to Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu leaves from Ollantaytambo, and the legendary Inca Trail begins near here as well.  Whether you’re here for hiking, history, or architecture, you’ll find something to enjoy! 

Getting To The Trailhead:

Help keep this place beautiful.  Follow Leave No Trace!

To reach Cusco, most international travelers will first have to fly to Lima.  From Lima, Cusco is a short 1 hour flight.  From other cities in Peru such as Arequipa or Puno, a bus is probably the best option.

From Cusco, Ollantaytambo is about an hour and a half by car.  The cheapest option is to take a collectivo from Cusco to Ollantaytambo.  This should cost less than $10.  You may also take a private taxi, though expect to pay $30 or so each way.  Finally, you could hike this with a guide.  In that case, the guiding company should arrange transportation.

Once in Ollantaytambo, head to the main square.  Take the small roads and paths southeast out of town, and then turn towards the river.  You should be able to easily find the old Inca bridge crossing the Urubamba River.  Cross the bridge, and then start hiking to the right to begin the trail!

Tips:

• You really don’t need a guide for this hike.  Take a collectivo to Ollantaytombo and start the hike from there.
• The sun here is extremely strong.  Wear breathable pants and long sleeves, and be sure to use sunscreen.

The Inti Punku Trail:

Starting The Day:

Since I was unsure of how to reach the trailhead and I had yet to take a collectivo (shared taxi) on my trip, I elected to hire a guide for the hike.  Was a guide really needed, not really.  You really don’t need a guide for the hike, but for me it was worth it to get to the trailhead since I was unsure of how the whole collectivo thing worked!  I used Pitahaya Travel which was great.  I booked everything super last minute and they made it super easy!

My guide met me outside my hostel at 3 am, and from there we walked across the historic center of Cusco to the collectivo station (it’s not really a station, just an intersection where a bunch of collectivos park).  The guide haggled a bit with the drivers, and then we hopped in one, and waited for the driver to fill the car.

Finding passengers for the remaining seats took about 20 minutes, and then we were off, driving towards the sacred valley.  With the additional stops to drop off other passengers, the drive took about 2 hours, but if you drive straight there it’s more like 90 minutes.

We were dropped off in the main square off Ollantaytambo, and from there we walked into the local market and got breakfast.  I wasn’t really expecting this, but it was super cheap and really good!  I got an egg sandwich and quinoa porridge for about $3, an awesome deal!  After breakfast we began hiking.

Starting The Hike:

Always follow basic trail etiquette when you’re hiking!

We left the main square and began hiking out of town.  After following the paths through the terraces and down the valley, we crossed the old Inca bridge.  The surface of the bridge is new, but the foundations date all the way back to about 500 years ago!

Across the bridge, the trail takes a hard right and begins following the river downstream.  At first the trail is wide and fully exposed to the sun, but soon you’ll enter sections of forest.  There aren’t many trees around here, but there are some small stands that provide short respites from the sun!  Enjoy the shade now though because it won’t last long!

The trail is very flat for the first ¾’s of a mile, but then it begins climbing.  The next mile will see you gently climbing about 700 feet above the water.  700 feet in a mile might seem like a lot, but on this hike that’s the norm!  And as you climb higher, the views really begin opening up!  You might catch some early glimpses of Nevado Veronica, but if not the views over the Sacred Valley are great too!

At the 2 mile mark from the bridge, the trail will take a hard left and begin heading away from the river.  The next ¾’s of a mile only has about 350 vertical feet of climbing, but after this the trail really ramps up.  In the distance, you will have a clear view of a hillside with a trail switchbacking its way up.  That’s where you’re going!

By the way, starting around this part of the hike, the views start getting awesome!  In the distance, the massive, glaciated, Mt Veronica dominates the skyline!  On the hike up, the peak was largely shrouded by clouds, but that would change at the top!  In front of Veronica, you’ll notice a grassy ridgeline.  On the ridge, if you look closely, you may notice the ruins of Inti Punku!

Climbing:

Before long you will arrive at the base of the switchbacks up the steepest section of the hike.  In the next mile you will gain nearly 1,300 vertical feet!  It’s seriously steep, and the trail is pretty rough.  Long sections of it are actually made up of stone steps.  Take it slow because the elevation is tough!

Atop the switchbacks, you will come across the most notable Inka ruin of the day: the old Inca quarry.  Here, Inca stonemasons carved out chunks of rock that would be used to build structures throughout the area.  There are a couple of centuries old buildings in the area, and obviously Inti Punku on the ridge.  All of that stone came from here, and there is one partially hollowed out stone still here!

At this point, you are most of the way there, and only have about 1,200 feet of climbing left to do!  The next stretch of trail takes you through a relatively flat section of terrain, and when I say relatively I mean relatively!  This 8/10’s of a mile stretch includes 800 feet of climbing, so it’s by no means flat!  But, it is much easier than the other parts of the hike!

Finally, you will arrive at the base of the final climb of the hike.  The last incline to Inti Punku itself is a gentle climb across the face of the ridge you’ve been working towards all day!  It feels close, but as you approach nearly 13,000 feet, it will feel forever away!

The final push across the face is about 7/10’s of a mile and requires gaining about 500 feet.  It’s steep in spots, but overall it’s much less aggressive than most of the trail.  There are a couple of slippery spots with loose gravel, but it’s a pretty easy final climb.

Inti Punku:

And before you know it, you’ll be at Inti Punku!  As you crest the final rise, the ruins of the sun gate appear just in front of you!  Behind, the stunning Veronica looms large in the background, and the rest of the range looks pretty awesome too!

The ruins make for a great place to stop for lunch, and there’s a lot to look at while you relax up here!  Looking down, the Sacred Valley of the Inka surrounds you 4,000 feet below!  The Urubamba River wraps around the ridge Inti Punku is atop, so it’s a pretty epic 4,000 drop on 3 sides!

Making the view even better, the clouds that earlier had obscured the high peaks broke as we approached the ridge, so while we were at the high point, there were unobscured wide open views of some absolutely massive peaks!

Hiking Down:

After lots of pictures, lunch, and some well earned relaxation, it was time to head back down.  The route we followed down was the same as we took up, but if you are really feeling tired there is a shortcut.  About halfway down, there is a more direct route down to the valley floor and a small town.  From this town, you could take a taxi back to Ollantaytambo.

However, I was feeling really good and wanted to take the full hike down.  I was on my first hike in the Andes, had climbed about 4,000 feet, and was all around feeling great!  The descent went well and we made awesome time hiking down!

However, a couple of miles from town, it hit me.  I was exhausted, hot, and definitely dehydrated.  The elevation had kicked my ass, it just took a bit more time for the fatigue to really hit me!  

The final couple of miles was a real struggle.  I was thirsty, hot, and getting sunburnt.  My legs were tired and my knees hurt from the steep descending.  It was dusty, and I just wanted some shade!  It was all hitting me hard, but with an easy last couple of miles, I just gritted my teeth and pushed on until the end!  It wasn’t the storybook ending that I maybe would have liked, but this hike was an epic adventure in the Andes!

Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 10/10

The hiking throughout Peru and the Andes at large is incredible, and this hike is no exception.  The views are absolutely stunning, and the scale of the mountains here is just different from what you’ll find pretty much anywhere else in the world.  

The nearly 20,000 foot Nevado Veronica stares you in the face, the valley is seemingly just beneath you 4,000 feet straight down, and even the relatively small grassy hills are all over 12,000 feet!  This incredible scenery paired with generally good trails and lots of fascinating history makes this one of the best day hikes I have done!

Pros:

• World class views
• Historic ruins
• Pretty good trail quality

Cons:

• No shade and hot sun
• Dusty

Alternative Hikes:

Rainbow Mountain

7 Lakes of Ausangate

Humantay Lake 

When To Hike To Inti Punku:

The Peruvian dry season lasts from May to September, with the best months being June through August.  While this is technically winter in the southern hemisphere, Peru is near enough to the equator that temperatures don’t change much, so precipitation is the much bigger factor to consider.

While anytime in the dry season would be fine, I personally think the best time to visit this area, and Cusco in particular, is June.  June hosts many of the area’s largest festivals, and the city truly feels alive all month!  The legendary Inti Raymi, an Inca festival honoring the sun god Inti, is still practiced every June 24th, and many other religious holidays and festivals are also held in this month.  Cusco truly comes alive!

Links For Further Reading:

Inti Punku Hike To The Incredible Sun Gate In Ollantaytambo | Packing Up The Pieces

Hiking To Inti Punku: The Sun Gate At Machu Picchu (2023)

AllTrails | Ollantaytambo – Inti Punku: 11 Reviews, Map – Cusco, Peru

Inti Punku – one of the most beautiful hikes in Sacred Valley | Czick on the road