BT – Inca Trail Day 3 (to Phuyupatamarca)

Thanks to a leaky sleep mat I didn’t sleep all that well during the night but at least the weather was a bit better when we got up. The mist occasionally cleared to reveal blue skies and the snow-capped far mountain range associated with Mt Salkantay.

There were a couple of llamas up on a nearby knoll; this one seems mildly amused to see me.

My muscles that weren’t entirely in the mood to work after yesterday’s exertions, but although there were some uphill bits, the rocky path mostly sidled around the mountainsides, with some steep drop-offs to our left and a couple of places where the path actually passed through the rock.

At Phuyupatamarca Pass (S 13°12.45′ W 72°31.85′) we had a toilet stop and a rest. There was going to be a celebratory champagne for those interested, but in an amusing but unsuccessful attempt to open the bottle the top of the cork eventually broke leaving the rest jammed firmly in the bottle.

Then the downhill began; all up today we came down about 1000m (… “all up … we came down“???!!!). We saw some more ruins at Phuyupatamarca (S 13°12.4′ W 72°31.9′), not far below the pass, and then it was just mostly Cath and I keeping our own pace as we stair-stepped and rock-stepped and pounded our way downwards.

The descent continued beyond the ruins, with more short tunnels (it’s actually vegetation creating the tunnel in the first photo), and amazing stonework on the path.