Today is the longest day of the trek. Setting out from our campsite we’ll carry on up the valley making our way to the first pass on the trek. This area is still cultivated by the local people despite the high altitudes and we will see local people caring for their fields. One of the few plants that seems to thrive at this altitude is a type of mint, (muna) and the scent infuses the air throughout the morning.

In total it’s about a 4 hour walk to the pass (4440m / 14567ft.) where we’ll stop to take in the panorama and catch our breath before carrying on for about another 20 minutes to stop for lunch. After lunch the walking gets easier; having reached the top of the mountain the terrain levels out and we walk across the high plateau through a strange landscape of what appear to be burial mounds but are actually glacial moraine (piles of rock deposited by glaciers during the Ice Age).

Our goal for today is the Inca quarry of Cachicata. Working our way down from the high plateau we’ll arrive to Cachicata (3820m / 12532ft.) by late afternoon, passing by an Inca ruin which people refer to as the Sun Gate along the way.