Wiñay Wayna

About this place

Wiñay Wayna is an Inca site on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, built on a steep mountainside above the Urubamba river at about 2,650 m. It lies about 3.5 km in a straight line south-east of Machu Picchu, between Phuyupatamarca and Intipunku, the Sun Gate. Its Quechua name means «forever young». The site has an upper and a lower group of buildings joined by a long stone staircase, with a line of small fountains running down beside it. Around and below the houses, curved farming terraces step down the slope. The buildings are of granite in the same style as Machu Picchu, with the trapezoid doorways, windows and niches typical of Inca architecture. Cloud forest covers the surrounding mountains, orchids grow on the terraces and waterfalls run down the far side of the valley. A campsite of the same name nearby is usually the last overnight stop on the classic Inca Trail, and from there it is about 7 km on foot to Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate. Wiñay Wayna can only be reached on foot along the Inca Trail, either on the classic multi-day trek or on the shorter one-day trail that starts near the railway at kilometre 104. Both need a permit booked in advance through a licensed operator, as daily numbers are limited, and the trail closes every February for maintenance.