The third day on the Inca Trail started early with another tent-side wake up call and cups of hot coca tea at 5am. It was comfortable in the tent as we packed up our gear for the day, but a chilly 30 degrees F outside as we walked over to the dining tent. After a quick breakfast of an omelet and bread, we filled our water bottles and started out on the trail by 6:30am. Looking up the valley in the early morning sunlight, we could see the first of two mountain passes for the day and started the slow climb up the trail.
Less than an hour later, we arrived at the Inca ruins of Runkurakay, high enough on the mountainside to get direct sunlight. Our legs felt good and we stripped off a layer as the day started to warm up. We hiked by a lagoon alongside the trail and reached the pass at 8:15am. The snow-topped mountains in the distance, with a thin layer of clouds floating by, was incredible and gave us a good sense of truly being away from civilization. After a short rest for photos, water and a snack, we hiked down into the valley and reached another Inca ruin, Sayacmarca, or the Inaccessible City (likely named because of the very steep path of steps leading up to it).
By 10am, we were back on the trail (most of it original and 700 years old) and enjoying a very pleasant hike that alternated sections in the shade and in the sun. The vegetation, especially the flowers, were nice to see. The distant mountains, including glaciated Mount Salkantay, were a great backdrop to the hiking along the way to the second pass of the day, which we reached just after noon. We marveled at the views because of the incredible elevation difference between the tops of the mountains and the bottom of the valley floor. We even saw the town of Aguas Calientes, far down in the valley where we would eventually end up the following afternoon after touring Machu Picchu.
The G Adventures team did a fantastic job with a hot lunch, with many Peruvian foods that enticed us to take larger servings than we should have since we still had an afternoon of hiking ahead of us. However, we managed to refill our water bottles and get started by 1pm. We had completed nine of the day's 16 kilometers, but the next seven were basically all downhill as we were going to lose several thousand feet of elevation by the end of the day. The trail was often steep, and very rocky, so we went at a slow, continuous pace - time to enjoy the views and take it easy on the knees.
The weather was once again sunny and warm as the afternoon went by and we descended into the valley. We reached the Inca ruins of Winaywayna just before 4pm and were greeted by several grazing llamas. Dropping our daypacks, we simply sat on the edge of a large grassy terrace in awe of the incredible views of the surrounding mountains and the Urubamba River below us. It was a nice 45 minutes of rest, but we could see our campsite for the night a couple of kilometers further down the valley, so we started off on the last couple of kilometers and reached it by 5pm.
After tea and then another great dinner at 7pm, we presented the G Adventures team with a tip for their tremendous service over the course of the hike and gave some speeches thanking them. The plan for tomorrow was for an early wake up at 3:30am so that we could get a good spot in the line at the last control point and get to the Sun Gate (overlooking Machu Picchu) early. I sat outside in the dark for a bit, watching the brilliant night sky, and kept company with some 'pest control' bats flying around the camp before climbing into my tent by 9pm for some sleep.
Next up: An early start - we arrive at the Sun Gate and look down upon the famous Inca ruin of Machu Picchu. We walk around the site for several hours, and then begin a long journey back to the city of Cusco.
