Inca Trail, Peru
On the third morning, we set off from camp into a mystical landscape of shifting clouds and light. We have about three hours ascent to reach the second pass at Qochapata (12,916 ft). I´ve recovered nearly 100%, and my stomach is feeling much more normal this morning. On the way to the top, we stop at the small Inca ruins of Runkurakay and pass by a small mountain lake.
It is customary on the Trail to pick up a stone at Runkurakay and carry it to the top, where you place it on a rock pile at the summit and make a wish.
From the Second Pass, we make a steep descent deep into the cloud forest, where the climate and plant life changes dramatically. We visit the Inca sites of Sayaqmarka and Phuyupatamarka and pass over our third and final pass at 12,000 ft.
Sayaqmarka
Sayaqmarka
Sayaqmarka, built high on a mountain top, is believed to have been used by the Incas as an astronomical observatory. Just over the third pass, Phuyuptamarca ("city above the clouds") demonstrates well the Inca use of terraces, which were built to prevent erosion, but also served as agricultural areas.
Phuyuptamarca
Phuyuptamarca
The cloud forest is lush and green, and offers an unbelievable variety of plant species - bamboo, orchids, moss and lichens of every color and variety...
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