#winaywayna

[salkantay-trek]

Wiñay Wayna is an exquisite little Inca site along the Inca Trail; it's name is variously translated as ‘Forever Young,’ ‘To Plant the Earth Young’ and ‘Growing Young’ (as opposed to ‘growing old’).Don’t miss the chance to visit Wiñay Wayna and discover all its mysteries! You won’t be disappointed 😉           

[rlumkang]

@Regran_ed from @intoperu - This is the beautiful Wiñay Wayna ⛰ one of the incredible archaeological sites you’ll get to see while doing the epic Inca Trail - accessible only by hiking! Experience the remnants of this amazing civilisation message them for more information . ( 📸 @tatteredbackpack ) . #peru #incatrail #cusco #southamerica #winaywayna #machupicchu #bucketlist #wanderlust #ancientcivilizations https://www.instagram.com/p/BrGIg92AaAk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=x1qmcjs3it8t

[bradtrek]

#winaywayna #incatrail (at Peru)

[mylifesamoviedotcom]

Bucketlist ✔️4: Hiking the 4 day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu! Probably my first epic bucketlist adventure ever...and also the first time I had ever done a multi-day hike!💪🏼🏃‍♀️🧗‍♀️⛰ . In fact, it wasn’t even my idea, the tour company was trying to be generous by upgrading my request to just see Machu Picchu, and of course I’d say yes to anything! Even though I had never hiked before, was too broke to buy any gear at the time 3 years ago (I wore $10 fashion boots and a $3 backpack from CVS) and wore my normal athletic gear, I was somehow always first to camp, summit, and to Machu Picchu! . The Inca Trail is a MUST because it’s the only way you can see certain ancient ruins of a lost civilization like this one...and it’s not even fully excavated! . In fact, after thoroughly impressing my guide with my waterfall selfie-tography he took me to that waterfall you see in the distance...and to get there I walked through a jungle of UNTOUCHED RUINS!!!! They don’t have the funds to maintain the forestry around them but can you imagine what they might find?? Maybe we need to do a fundraiser and find out!!!?? 🤯 . Ok I could go on for days about the Inca Trail but I should probably just put it in my Stories lol Including that hidden waterfall! Stay tuned! . #incatrail #machupicchu #winaywayna #hiking #camping #mylifesabucketlist #mylifesatravelmovie #alyssaramostravels #solotravel #travelblogger #adventurer #natgeotravel #travelstoke #tlpicks (at Wiñay Wayna)

[nervousamerican]

Sweat-soaked clothes and mild vertigo: Our trip to Machu Picchu

The day before we were to go to Machu Picchu, we dropped our clothes off at a laundry service. Our clothing was promptly lost.

The lavandería, which was really just a couple washing machines manned by a 14-year-old, had accidentally given our stuff to another customer -- a couple Panamanians who'd dropped their things off around the same time. This was tearfully explained to me by the 14-year-old, who fetched her father to go pound on hostel doors and track the Panamanians down. This proved fruitless. I, meanwhile, sputtered heated questions at them in Spanish while Geoff wore a tragic expression. 

Night was falling in Cuzco; it was cold; Geoff wasn't feeling well; we had almost no other clothes; our shuttle to the ruins was due to arrive at 5 a.m. the next morning. 

And so it was, on the next day, that I was hiking the cloud forests of Peru wearing hastily purchased pants and an unwashed T-shirt, deeply lamenting my lack of sports bra. 

Thankfully, I had a few things to distract me:

Views!

Ruins!

In my experience, people vaguely know Machu Picchu to be a picturesque collection of rocks on an Andes hilltop. They are not wrong.

But what a hilltop it is.

The lost city, viewed from a distance

Obligatory posed photo

And it's quite the rock collection -- although really, it's only one of several. Reconstructed hamlets, staircases and structures dot the entire area. 

Machu Picchu sits only 50 miles northwest of Cuzco. But, again, in Peru, a 50-mile distance can put you in an entirely different ecosystem. We left dusty Cuzco in the cold pre-dawn, wending our way uphill past peeling-paint buildings and farmsteads hidden behind rusty gates. By sunrise, the view from our bus window was leafy and green, even in this dry season. We were going to do a day hike up to the site, spend the night in nearby Aguas Calientes, then spend the next morning exploring Machu Picchu proper. Mournful as I was about the laundry situation, I was keen to get hiking.

Our path was unusual: Backpackers typically hike for four days along the famous Inca Trail, sleeping in tents and seeing all the scenery along the way. We declined this option. 

Reasons:

- It is expensive - about $600 per person, plus you have to rent sleeping bags and the like, plus you must carry all this stuff or pay a porter (more $$) to haul it for you.

- With only two weeks' vacation to work with, our time was too limited.

- Accommodations are quite rustic along the way, and that seemed like a drag. I observed this firsthand when I used one of the bathrooms near the end of the trail. It's really just a hole in the ground where hundreds of people appear to have very violent bowel movements and very poor aim. I emerged from that bathroom shaken, but firm in my conviction that a day hike had been the right way to go.

Nontheless, I understand the Inca Trail's appeal. The best part about Machu Picchu is the walk up there.

Our shuttle dropped us at a train station, where we boarded the famous Inca Rail for the second leg of the journey. Chatting with our guide, Alejandro, we skirted the Urubamba river and watched the hills around us grow taller and taller, and the air got thicker and warm as the sun rose. It was to be an afternoon of climbing until we reached the Sun Gate and could behold the lost city.

But first, the climb:

Straight uphill, with backpacks on. Alejandro seemed mildly surprised that we could keep up... we must not have looked like very promising gringos.

Obligatory waterfall shot

See that little ribbon of trail there? We walked that - we could stand on the hillside and trace that line for miles. Neat, yes? I certainly thought so.

Then, up ahead, a strange stone outcrop. 

That, friends, is an Inca settlement now referred to as Wiñay Wayna. It's perched right on the mountain's face, carved in as unlikely a spot (to me, at least) as can be imagined.

Terraces again. People actually farmed here. Incas, amiright?

These terraces were very steep -- the whole place was steep, really -- and the steps very high. I felt like I could pitch right off the side of the mountain. Suddenly I remembered that I was afraid of heights, although I kept this information from Alejandro and just kept climbing.

We ate a lunch of chicken and quinoa at the top of the ruins. Here was my view:

Why yes, that is a sheer drop-off. Beyond the houses there in the middle ground, you can again see the ribbon of trail we walked. 

In a couple more hours, we'd be at the Sun Gate, and see Machu Picchu for the first time. I'll get to that in Part II -- Machu Pichcu: Peru's Disneyland. 

In the meantime, more trail shots:

[xtam999]

Winaywayna by mwbarre on Flickr    (Larger)

Peru, along the Machu Picchu trail

[cosmicportal]

Winaywayna = Forever Young (inca ruins - peru)