Winay Wayna

A small-scale surprise on the famous Inca Trail, Winay Wayna is perhaps the tiniest ruin in the Sacred Valley region. It looks almost as one with the bright green hill it is perched on. Winay Wayna offers a moment’s rest in a soul-soothing landscape. It may seem a quiet and motionless site today. Yet, the archeological findings of small fountains and agricultural terraces imply that Winay Wayna was once dazzling with flowing water and an ever-living dynamism. Alongside these structures characteristic to Inca citadels, the site harbors upper and lower house complexes. Its lookout nature and position near the Inca road indicate its significance as a strategic point for the empire.

The site’s native Quechua name derives from the pretty magenta-colored orchids peppering its land and translates to “forever young”. The meaning reflects its youthful spirit and ageless state. A few people you will stumble across on the site are the devoted hikers of the trail, who usually camp at a spot close to the ruins. Shrouded in mists and devoid of tourists most of the time, Winay Wayna is the ideal place to take in all the history-ladened mountains of Peru.