Inca Trail Names

Place names on the Inca Trail

Summary

Most of the names of places on the Inca Trail were invented by Hiram Bingham, and are unlikely to correspond to the original names used by the Incas. They also reflect Bingham’s assumptions about the function or significance of the different locations, which may not always have been accurate. For instance, a recent paper by a Peruvian historian and an American archaeologist argues that the original name of Machu Picchu was Huayna Picchu, or simply Picchu. The name Machu Picchu was probably another of Bingham’s inventions.

For these translations, I am indebted to Martina Faller and Iñes Callalli Villafuerte, who were kind enough to provide me with a list of translations in both English and Spanish.

Names

Cusichaka: Spanish: Puente Alegre; English: Bridge of Happiness; cusi = happy; chaca = bridge
Q'orihuayrachina: Spanish: (lugar donde) Se Limpia el Oro con el Viento; English: Gold-sifting Place; q'ori = gold; huayra = wind; -chi = causative; -na = nominalizer
Patallaqta: Spanish: Pueblo de escalónes o pueblo alto; English: Step(ped) town or High town; pata = step or stair, or high; llacta = village or town
Huayllabamba: Spanish: Lugar de Pasto; English: Place of Good Pasture; huaylla = good pasture; bamba = place
Llupachayoc: Spanish: (lugar donde) Se Hace Ceremoniales; English: Place of Offerings; (etymology uncertain) [1]
Huarmihuanusca: Spanish: Mujer Muerta; English: Dead Woman; huarmi = woman; huanusca = dead
Pacamayo: Spanish: Rio Escondido; English: Hidden River; mayo = river; pacay = to hide
Runkuracay: Spanish: Ruinas Amontonadas; English: Pile of Ruins; runku = piled; racay = derelict house [2]
Sayacmarca: Spanish: Poblado Pendiente; English: Village (in a) Steep Place; sayac = steep, vertical; marca = village
Phuyupatamarca: Spanish: Pueblo Alto en las Nubes; English: Town High in the Clouds; phuyu = cloud; pata = high part; marca = village [3]
Huinay Huayna: Spanish: Joven Para Siempre; English: Forever Young; huinay = forever; huayna = young
Intipunku: Spanish: Puerta del Sol; English: Gateway of the Sun; inti = sun; punku = gate, door [4]
Machu Picchu: Spanish: Cima Vieja; English: Old Peak; machu = old; picchu = peak [5]
Huayna Picchu: Spanish: Cima Joven; English: Young Peak; huayna = young; picchu = peak

The name Llupachayoc, or ‘place of offerings’, could be consistent with a theory that says that the Inca Trail was a kind of pilgrimage route. In this interpretation, approaching Machu Picchu via the Trail would involve a series of ceremonies or rituals to be carried out at prescribed locations along the trail. For example, the baths at Phuyupatamarca might have been used as part of a purification ceremony before entering the sacred city.
The ‘Diccionario de la Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua’ gives Runruracay as an alternative to Runkuracay. ‘runru’ is an onomatopoeic word indicating a sound made by people, so a possible translation could be ‘fallen guest house’.
Enrique Delgado suggests that an alternative translation for Phuyupatamarca in current Quechua might be ‘very windy town’. The word ‘phuyu’, which is translated as ‘cloud’ in some dialects of Quechua, is more commonly understood by many Andean Quechua speakers to mean ‘wind’.
The name doesn’t indicate direction, but Iñes Callalli Villafuerte suggests that this means ‘the gate through which the sun comes’, not the ‘gate (leading) to the sun’.
The word ‘picchu’ is actually derived from the Spanish word ‘pico’. The usual Quechua word for a mountain is ‘orqo’. It has been suggested that the original Inca name for Machu Picchu may have been Patallaqta, from ‘pata’, a step or terrace, and ‘llaqta’, a village, town or city. The word ‘pata’ may also apparently be translated as ‘high’, so Patallaqta might mean ‘terraced town’ or simply ‘high town’.