Wiñay Wayna, Archaeological site along Inca Trail, Cusco Region, Peru

Wiñay Wayna is an Inca ruin at 2,650 m on a steep hillside above the Urubamba River, 3.3 km in a straight line south-southeast of Machu Picchu. It has a lower and an upper sector linked by a long stone staircase, with a fountain running down beside it. The buildings are of granite, laid out as kancha compounds with double- and single-jamb trapezoidal doorways, and above and below them stand grass-covered agricultural terraces.

Wiñay Wayna was built by the Inca on a steep hillside above the Urubamba River, on the route between Puyupatamarca and Intipunku. Its two sectors of granite buildings and agricultural terraces follow the Inca kancha layout. The sources give no construction date or conquest date; the site lies 3.3 km in a straight line south-southeast of Machu Picchu.

Wiñay Wayna is Quechua for "forever young", rendered in Hispanicized spelling as Huiñay Huayna. The name carries no botanical reference; it is the Quechua phrase itself that visitors meet on trail signs and in camp names along the Inca Trail.

The location lies approximately 6 kilometers from Machu Picchu and is reached via the Inca Trail route, requiring a hiking permit. Visitors should arrive with sturdy footwear and plenty of water, as the path is steep and the elevation is demanding.

The site contains around twenty structures, including ritual baths that show how the Inca integrated spring water into their sacred spaces. These water systems were equally important for ceremonies as they were for irrigating the surrounding fields.