El Puerto del Sol

The main attraction of Machu Picchu is obviously the ruins of the Incan city, but higher up in the mountains is also el Puerto del Sol – the Sun Gate. The picture below is taken from the Machu Picchu city ruins, and you can see part of the trail going up (red arrow) and a little bit of el Puerto del Sol (red circle). 

El Puerto del Sol is all the way at the top of the mountain, but the trail wasn’t too hard to climb up. It took us maybe an hour and a half, and that is including resting time (going down probably took a third of the time). There were a few stops along the trails that were little ruins where we could rest for a bit. The trail itself was either narrow inclines or narrow stairs, and there isn't a whole lot of room between the edge of the trail and the drop off the mountain. I've never been afraid of heights, but it's a little dizzying (and mildly terrifying) to look down and see the ground thousands of feet below you.

When you’re that high up in the mountains, there’s a good chance that everything below you will be covered in clouds and mist. Luckily (for me at least – I really wanted to touch a cloud) we got both the clouds and the stunning view of Machu Picchu from el Puerto del Sol. During the last legs of our hike, the clouds blew up around us, and the majority of Machu Picchu and the valley below were covered in mist.

As we rested at el Puerto del Sol, however, the clouds blew away, and we were able to see what was (in my opinion) one of the best views of the mountains and the ruins.

(Near the middle, a little bit to the left, is Machu Picchu. This panorama isn’t zoomed in, so you might have to squint a little).