The third day is the longest day, both in time and in distance walked (16 km). It is also the day when you see the most amount of ruins. We started quite early, just as every day. I would guess that about half of the people camping at the same campsite as us started walking just a little bit before us. This made the first part of the trail crowded with people. It didn't help that it went upwards a lot in the beginning as well.
Looking back at our campsite Pacaymayu.
The first ruins are located about halfway up to the second pass of the Inka Trail. These ruins are called Runkuraqay and were used as a resting place on the way to Machu Picchu. They might also have been used as food storage or as a watchtower, or probably as a bit of everything.
Runkuraqay
There is a tradition to bring a stone from these ruins up to the pass and leave them at the top of the mountain as an offering. Every person from each group bring one stone and the group builds a tower, you can see our tower in the picture below. There were plenty of these small towers scattered all over the area. You are also supposed to offer something valuable. For example coca leaves are a good offering as these were very useful to the Inkas. We didn't have any coca leaves on us, so instead we put a coca candy as the top piece of our tower.
We stayed at the top for almost an hour, just enjoying the view in the warm and nice sunshine. You can also see the Dead Woman's pass, shown in the picture below. Can you see the profile of a woman? She is laying on her back, wearing a massive hat.
Dead Woman's pass.
After a while our amazing guide joined us at the top. He took out a flute and played for the people who were walking up the last steps to the top. It was really nice!
Most of the paving of the trail in this part is original from the time of the Inkas. The trail has only been broadened a bit. It is a nice feeling to be walking on the same stones as the Inkas did so many years ago. The trail was first hidden for centuries and then it has been taken care of very well.
We tended to take long breaks to explore the different ruins and to enjoy the landscape. We also stopped a lot to take pictures. Then we kept a quite good speed when we were walking. We ended up seeing the same people many times on the trail this way. We walked passed them and then they would pass us again and so on. It's really nice with the little chats with all the friendly people you meet.
Half an our or so after leaving the second pass, we arrived the Sayacmarca ruins. The name means "inaccessible town", which is a perfect description since the ruins are protected on three sides of sheer cliffs. These were the largest ruins that we could walk around in so far.
View from the Sayacmarca ruins.
After a bit more hiking, you get a nice view of the Winay wayna ruins. However, it still takes a while to reach these ruins.
The last bit before reaching the lunch place goes through a cloud forest, which supposedly is full of orchids. Parts of this path goes through the clouds. In one place we heard a lot of animals, that we were sure of were some kind of bird. Later we found out that it wasn't any bird, but some kind of frog.
The ruins above are called Phuyupatamarca, which means "town in the clouds". We had lunch on the mountain just behind these ruins.
There are several places to explore around this place. From some places you get a fantastic view of the surroundings.
View from inside the Phuyupatamarca ruins.
A short stroll after leaving the ruins, you get a view of these rocks. They look very similar to a cuy, or guinea pig, which are an important part of the Peruvian food culture.
The path now leads downwards and almost everywhere with long flights of stairs. This part is commonly known as "the Gringo Killer", since it can be very tough on the knees to walk down the thousand or so steps. Some of the steps are quite high, so if you are short you have a much harder walk than if you are taller. We had heard and read that this part should be very tough, but the only problem we had were blisters.
I would definitely say that the toughest part of the whole trek was the climb up to the first pass ("the Dead Woman's" pass), whereas this part was relatively easy once you figure out how to best walk down all these steps. I found that for me it was easiest to almost run or jump down the steps. This way you don't loose as much energy on each steps, and you can save your knees a bit. This probably works best if you are a bit taller than the Inkas were (which I am), since the steps then becomes relatively short. If you are closer to the height of the Inkas (as S. is), it is easier to walk.
The pictures just above and below show the Winay Wayna ruins. We found wild strawberries growing in the middle of these ruins. A little bit before these ruins you can choose between two different paths: one that goes to the ruins and one that goes straight down to the campsite. I definitely recommend taking the path to the ruins, as long as you have time for it.
The last campsite is located just after these ruins. There are some showers here, which can be quite nice to use after having been hiking for a few days. However, there is only enough warm water for the first people who reach the campsite. If you arrive a bit later, you can choose between having a shower in the cold water, no shower at all or invent your own Inka shower.
This evening was the last before the end of the hike, so we had a special dinner. With pizza! How did the chef make pizzas only using the equipment the porters had been carrying the whole way?? We also exchanged a lot of memories from the trek and some souvenirs. We also tipped the porters, the chef and the guide.
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