Runkurakay

Runkurakay stands out along the Inca Trail for its unusual semicircular stone walls, a sharp contrast to the strictly rectangular design typical of most Inca structures. Perched on a mountain slope above the Pacaymayo River valley at an altitude of over twelve thousand feet, the site served the Inca Empire as a strategic waystation and control point. Its name, derived from Quechua, translates to "basket-shaped house" or "collapsed house," describing the rounded, shell-like layout that greets travelers arriving from the high mountain passes.