The Temple of the Moon sits carved into an overhang of limestone fifty meters below the ridgeline trail that connects Sacsayhuamán to Qenqo, a site so obscure that most visitors to Cusco never learn its name. The Inca masons who shaped its interior altars and niches left no mortar, no inscriptions, and no record of the ceremonies conducted in its shadow. What remains is a warren of chambers and passageways hewn directly from the rock face, their edges softened by five centuries of wind and rainfall at 3,600 meters. The site earned its modern name from early colonial explorers who believed the crescent-shaped carvings honored lunar cycles, though no written account confirms this interpretation. Archaeological consensus now holds that the temple functioned as a royal tomb or huaca, a sacred repository for offerings and ancestor veneration during the height of Tawantinsuyu expansion in the fifteenth century. Horse trekking Cusco routes to the Temple of the Moon depart from stables near the city's northern Archaeological Park boundary, following dirt trails that predate the Inca road network. Peruvian Paso and Criollo horses, bred for stamina at altitude, navigate the switchbacks and scree slopes with minimal rider input, a necessity given that the oxygen content at this elevation sits twenty percent lower than at sea level. The approach from Qenqo covers three kilometers of mixed terrain: eucalyptus groves planted during the agrarian reform of the 1970s give way to native ichu grassland, then to exposed volcanic tuff as the trail climbs toward the temple's hidden entrance. Riders pass a series of smaller carved outcrops—apachetas, stone cairns left by Quechua-speaking pilgrims—that mark the transition from agricultural land to the sacred precinct. The Temple of the Moon receives fewer than fifty visitors on an average weekday, a stark contrast to the crowds that converge on Sacsayhuamán's parade grounds two kilometers uphill. Its location off the main tourist circuit has preserved both its silence and its structural integrity; the rock-cut thrones and trapezoidal doorways show none of the polishing or graffiti that mar more accessible sites. Guided horse trekking Cusco tours spend thirty to forty minutes exploring the temple's three levels before continuing east toward Chacán Mountain or returning via the Tambomachay aqueduct. The site opens daily from 06:00 to 17:00 under the jurisdiction of Cusco's Directorate of Culture, though no ticket booth or gate controls access. Entry remains free, a rarity among the region's managed archaeological zones. Beyond the Temple of the Moon, the same trail network extends into the Vilcanota range, where operators offer multi-day horseback journeys to Ausangate's glacial lakes and the geothermal valleys south of Pitumarca. These longer horse trekking Cusco adventures require acclimatization periods and cold-weather gear, as campsites routinely sit above 4,500 meters. The horses themselves undergo veterinary clearance before each departure, a standard introduced in 2019 following advocacy from Cusco's Association of Rural Tourism Guides. Riders with limited experience receive instruction in Andean tack systems—braided wool reins, sheepskin saddle pads—that differ markedly from Western or English configurations, though the animals' steady gaits and calm temperament reduce the learning curve to a single morning session.