7 Most Instagrammable Spots in and Around Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu, the 15th-century Inca citadel perched in the Peruvian Andes, was built as a royal estate and religious site and later abandoned, remaining largely unknown outside the region until the American explorer Hiram Bingham was guided to it in 1911. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of South America's most visited landmarks, and while its single most famous view is well known before anyone arrives, the site rewards spending time finding the others.

1. The Guardian's Hut viewpoint

The small thatched structure above the main terraces is the source of the site's postcard image: the full citadel laid out below with Huayna Picchu rising behind it. Arriving soon after the site opens gives the best chance of clear light before cloud builds up over the mountain.

2. The Sun Gate (Inti Punku)

A stone gateway on the old Inca Trail above the citadel, the Sun Gate frames Machu Picchu from a higher, more distant angle and was originally the ceremonial entrance for those arriving on foot from Cusco.

3. Huayna Picchu summit

The steep peak behind the citadel in most classic photographs can itself be climbed, on a separate, numbered daily permit bought in advance, and gives a reverse view straight down onto the terraces from above.

4. The Inca Bridge

A short, relatively easy trail leads to this narrow log bridge set into a sheer cliff face, built as part of the original citadel's access and defence, and it makes for a striking close-up shot against the drop below.

5. The agricultural terraces

The lower, stepped terraces once used for farming photograph well as pure pattern and texture, especially in early morning light when mist is still lifting off the mountainside behind them.

6. Aguas Calientes town

The town below Machu Picchu, reached only by train or on foot, sits wedged between the Urubamba River and steep forested slopes, and its narrow streets and market give a lower-altitude, more everyday counterpoint to the ruins above.

7. The Urubamba River viewpoint from the road up

The switchback road between Aguas Calientes and the citadel entrance gives several pull-off points looking back down over the river valley, a useful spot for a wider landscape shot on the way up or down.

Traveller tips

• Access is by train from Cusco, Ollantaytambo or Poroy to Aguas Calientes, followed by a bus or a roughly 90-minute uphill walk to the citadel entrance.
• Entry tickets are timed and capped; book well ahead, and separately if adding Huayna Picchu or the Inca Bridge trail.
• The dry season, May to September, gives the clearest views but is also the busiest; the shoulder months either side see fewer crowds with a higher chance of rain.
• Altitude in Cusco, the usual gateway city, is significantly higher than at Machu Picchu itself; allow a day or two to acclimatise before the visit.