Starting our Tour around 8:00am, we go from Cusco to Ollantaytambo in a private transportation. On our way we will be passing the small traditional community Cachicata, whose name finds its origin in the nearby quarries from which the Incas took the big stones to build the archaeological complex of Ollantaytambo. We stop here with our car and start hiking up to the great lookout point. Walking up the path, we will find a few massive, perfect shaped stones – some of them are graves (chulpas), where great Inca constructers are buried.

After 4 hours of slow hiking, we will reach the Inti Punku. This strategic lookout point was once built by the Incas to serve as a control gate, but the gate also has its astronomical meaning as it is connected with the solstice and a religious event that took place there in relation to the sun. With help of the Sun Gate, the ancient sun priests could predict the time of planting and harvest while observing the angle in which the sun light shined through this gate. The Inti Punku also faced towards the sacred mountain (Apu) Veronica, which is in direction of Machu Picchu.

Reaching the gate, we will have our box lunch and take a short rest. Enjoying the incredible view, we will descend the same way downhill to get back to the starting point. The whole hike will take us approximately 8 hours.