Although not the hardest, today would be the longest day onthe trail as we would travel approximately 15km. Today we would also have the opportunity to explore several Inca ruins along the trail: Runcuracay, Sayacmarca, and Phuyupatamarca. All of these ruins were amazing, but the one noticable thing today is that the remaining trail is the original work of the Incas. The previous portion of the trail has been restored by the Peruvian government and really doesn´t compare in quality and beauty to the original Inca path. Today´s portion of the trail is what I imagined the trail to be like, and is also what you tend to see in most photos. The trail also passes through several Inca tunnels.
As I mentioned, today was a long day. We left camp at 6:30 am. After leaving the Inca Ruins of Phuyupatamarca at 1:30 pm, we began the decent down a beautiful stone staircase into the cloud forest. Apparently there are 2,250 steps. I´m sure glad it wasn´t my job to count the steps as I would surely lose count as the scenery is so mesmerizing and dreamlike.
Two hours later we arrived at the Intipata terraces. From here you could see the damage from a recent forest fire on one of the nearby mountain sides. Then from Intipata we made our way down to our next campsite, which is located beside another set of Inca ruins, Huiñay Huayna.
We located our tents and explored the five-star campsite. This campsite was not as primitive as some of the others. In fact, I really didn´t care too much for this site as I felt it intruded on the serenity of the Inca Trail and the overall experience. Hot showers, food, and drinks are even available for purchase at the trekker´s hostel.
On a plus note, the Huiñay Huayna ruins were quite spectacular. The name of the ruins means ¨Forever young.¨ Hmmm… I wonder if Rod Stewart named his famous song after these ruins? Ross and I explored the ruins as the sun was setting. On our way back to camp we had a great view of the nearly full moon. What a site!
After dinner, Andrew, Ross, and I each had a cerveza and excitely talked about life and of course our big day the next day as we would finally see Machu Picchu. After finishing our beers we all retired to our tents. We would need the rest for tomorrow as we would be getting a wake up call at 4:00 am.