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Watch the sun clear the mountains from the Sun Gate above Machu Picchu

At 5:30 in the morning the stone steps are still wet and there's no one else on the trail, just your headlamp and the sound of your own breathing at 2,700 metres. The climb to Intipunku takes about an hour, and it hurts more than the flat photos of Machu Picchu ever suggest. Then the trail levels out at a stone gateway, and below you the citadel is grey and cold while the peaks above it go orange. The tourists with the day tickets are still on buses. You watch the shadow line move down the mountain like a tide going out.

Practical

Cost
$45–80 (entry ticket plus transport)
Best time
Dry season, May to September, for the best odds of clear skies
Difficulty
Moderate
Time it takes
45–60 minute climb, best done as a half-day outing
What people get wrong
People book their Machu Picchu entry without checking it includes Sun Gate access, or book too late in high season when slots sell out weeks ahead. Others leave it too late in the morning and miss the shadow-to-light moment on the ruins below.
With
Alone

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