Which peak towers over the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu?

Huayna Picchu is the peak that towers over the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

Located in Peru’s Cusco Region, Huayna Picchu rises behind the ruins and forms the instantly recognizable mountain backdrop in many photographs. Its summit reaches about 2,693 metres above sea level, roughly 260 metres higher than the citadel itself. The mountain is part of the wider Andes landscape around the Urubamba River.

The Incas built steep paths, terraces and ceremonial structures on Huayna Picchu. Among the best-known features is the complex popularly called the Temple of the Moon, although archaeologists caution that this modern name does not establish its original purpose. The mountain’s name comes from Quechua words commonly interpreted as “young peak.”

Machu Picchu Mountain is a separate summit on the opposite side of the citadel, while Salkantay is a much larger, distant Andean peak. Putucusi is another nearby mountain, so none of those alternatives is the peak most famously rising directly behind Machu Picchu.