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Patallacta:
or the Town on the Hillside, is the first of the ruins that you come across
if you begin at the traditional starting point for the Inca Trail, Kilometre
88 or Qorihuayrachina Gold Sifter which is where the local train stops
briefly. It is easy to walk past it thinking that it is just an uninteresting
set of agricultural terraces but if you come by road and start at Km 82
you will have a good view of Llactapata down below when you reach the
edge of the hillside on the opposite side of the Cusichaca Valley. That
is where this photo was taken. |
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Runku
Racay:
or the Egg Hut was probably an Inca tambo or post house which got its
name from its oval shape. From the bottom of the valley after the First
Pass it is about half way up to the Second Pass which is also called Runkuracay
Pass. There are superb views from the ruins. |
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Sayamarca:
The name means Inaccessible Town or
possibly Dominant Town. On descending the Trail from the Second Pass and
approaching the bottom of the valley Sayacmarca will be seen a short way
up the hillside on the left. From it there are good views of the Second
and Third Passes. Although Sayacmarca is a much bigger ruin than Runcuracay
the colours of the stone work seem to blend in with the landscape so photographs
of it from a distance don't always turn out very well. Needless to say
this picture was taken inside the ruins. |
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Phuyupatacamarca:
or Cloud-Level Town is just after
the Third Pass. From it you can see down to the River Urubamba and the
terraces of Intipata and Winay Wayna. The views are even better from the
high ground just to the side of the Third Pass since from there you can
also see back along the trail stretching from Sayacmarca as well as the
snow-capped peak of Salcantay (6,270 metres), among other mountains. |
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Winay
Wayna:
or Forever Young is the romantic name
of these ruins that were only discovered in 1941. They are as beautiful
as the name - a lot more impressive close-up than seen from a distance
- with many buildings in addition to the terraces. There are good views
of Winay Wayna from lower down on a recently opened branch of the Trail
which joins the main branch near the ruins. |
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Intipata:
means Sun Place. When I first walked the Inca Trail in 1989, Intipata
was not visible as it was covered by vegetation but it has since been
cleared. Most hikers by-pass it as the Trail descends steeply in what
feels like many hundreds of steps to Winay Wayna which is a little bit
further on and lower down. The terraces of Intipata have a convex shape
whereas those of Winay Wayna are concave. |
