The trail then descends
approximately 1,000 meters including
an irregular staircase of from 1,300
to 1,500 steps, some of which were
carved into solid granite.
Vegetation becomes more dense, lush,
and "jungle" like with an
accompanying increase in butterflies
and birds. A second Incan tunnel is
along this section of trail.
Even before passing through the
tunnel there are views down to the
Urubamba River, the first since
leaving the river at Patallacta. The
number of these views increases.
After the tunnel the town of Aguas
Calientes can be seen, and trains
running along the river can be
heard. As the trail nears Intipata,
it affords views of the "Two Day"
Inca Trail (aka "Camino Real de los Inkas" or "One Day Inca Trail"). A
small spur of the trail leads
directly to Wiñay Wayna, while the
main route continues to Intipata.
Intipata (sunny place aka
Yunkapata[6]) is a recently
uncovered extensive set of
agricultural terraces which follow
the convex shape of the terrain.
Potatoes, maize, fruit, and sweet
potato were grown here.
The name Wiñay Wayna (forever young)
(win-yay-way-na) is used to refer to
both a hostel–restaurant–camp site
and a set of Inca ruins. Two groups
of major architectural structures, a
lower and upper, are set among
multiple agricultural terraces at
this concave mountainside site. A
long flight of fountains or ritual
baths utilizing as many as 19
springs runs between the two groups
of buildings.
From Wiñay Wayna the trail undulates
along below the crest of the east
slope of the mountain named Machu
Picchu. The steep stairs leading to Intipunku (sun gate) are reached
after approximately 3 km. Reaching
the crest of this ridge reveals the
grandeur of the ruins of Machu
Picchu, which lie below. A short
downhill walk is the final section
of the trail.
