Runkuraqay Pass, Inca Trail

The Inca Trail is part of a much larger road network. At the height of its power, the Inca Empire stretched 2,500mi (4,023km) from modern-day Ecuador to Argentina. The Inca road system was one of the most advanced transportation structures of its time, linking together 40,000km of roadway. The road system provided for quick and reliable logistical support, civilian and military communication, personnel movement on official duty and control over the Empire by dispatching troops when necessary. Following the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, much of the network was abandoned and destroyed. To preserve the history and restore parts of the network, the Inca Road System, officially known as the Andean Road System, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014. 

Much of the Inca Trail is the original construction. Imagine that with every step you take, someone laid the roadway beneath your feet some 500 years ago.

The ascent to Dead Woman's Pass is both dreaded and revered. It is the most rigorous climb, reaching heights of 13,829ft (4,215m) in a high-altitude environment where the oxygen level is low, making breathing shallower and the effort required to move forward greater. In the same breath, overcoming the difficulty and strenuousness of the climb is also the most rewarding moment. 

After a steep descent into the valley, the pass leads to a second ascent to Runkuraqay Pass. Along the way are the ruins of a tampu, an administrative and military structure used for storage, lodging, and depositories of quipu-based accounting records.

Quipu was a record-keeping system of different knots tied in ropes attached to a longer cord. It was used in lieu of writing since the Incas did not have an alphabet-based writing system.

The tampu was served by conscripted individuals from nearby communities as part of the mit'a labour system. Mit'a was a mandatory public service that provided the labour force to build roads, bridges, terraces, and fortifications.