Dead Woman's Pass

Today, as promised, was the most difficult part of the trek as we climbed to Warminwanusca, or ‘Dead Woman’s Pass’ (4200m). This is the first of three Andean high passes we traverse and the highest point on the Inca trail. Being the first big trek I have ever attempted, I have to say nothing quite beats the feeling of accomplishment (and relief) of reaching that summit and knowing the worst was over! Stopping to catch our breath we took in the superb panorama of the Vilcanota and Vilcabama mountain ranges, the ruins of Runkuracay ahead and Rio Pacamayo (Sunrise River) in the valley below. It got cold extremely quickly, and we posed for this victorious photo before making a steep descent to the valley below and the camp of Pacamayo. This would have been our camp for the night, however our guide and porters seemed to think we were doing really well and making good time, so after lunch, we ploughed on!

We climbed up to the unusual, round ruins of Runcuracay which is believed to have been an Inca tambo or post house. Forging on we continued to climb the Inca staircase on the way to our second pass at 4000m, from where we are rewarded with spectacular views of Pumasillo (6245m) and the entire snow-capped Vilcabamba range. From here we descended into our camp for the night- Sore and tired, but extremely proud we'd gone further than most, and relieved that tomorrow held only one mountain pass for us to climb instead of two.