Day seven or day three of the Inca Trail, May 27th, 2022

I could tell at breakfast that today would be Ayul’s favorite day on the trail. He was smiling ear to ear, telling us that we would see some amazing sites today and thus would all stick together as to not miss anything. We quickly approach the Runkurakay circular ruins, the air is less arid now and we see giant hummingbirds, orchids, and lots of roaming Llamas. We continue up to a second pass, Pacaymayo and then down to another ruin called Sayacmarca. The ruins are so beautiful and span jaw-dropping sections of mountain. Ayul explained the known history of these areas as well as recent archaeological discoveries. We continue our trek through what is known as the “tunnel” which is part of the Inca trail that goes through a small cave then up and up until we reach Phuyupatamarca (above the clouds) site at over 12,000 feet. This is our final campsite, and it is beyond what words can express. We took so many pictures here, surrounded by clouds, mountains, and looking directing at glaciers in the distance. It was a spectacular sunset with excellent food and accommodations thanks to our porters. We stargazed again tonight for a while until clouds enveloped us and the frogs sang promising rain. The rain came softly in the night, and we woke up inside a cloud.