Koguchi - Nachi Taisha (Kumano Kodo, Ogumotori-goe section)

This part of Kumano Kodo was the most strenuous of the three we did (the others were: from Yunomine Onsen to Kumano Hongu Taisha, and from Ukegawa to Koguchi). It starts in the village of Koguchi, no far from the convenience store, where you can buy some food and drinks (it opens at 7 a.m.) before beginning your walk. Then hundreds of stairs made of stones await you as you climb uphill.
After three hours walking uphill you finally arrive at the turning point, the “Echizen-toge Pass”, where you start to go downhill again.
A good place for a picknick is the area around the Jizo-Jaya Teahouse remains, situated next to a country road and after crossing a small bridge, where you can sit on a table under a roof and use public toilets. There even are some vending machines with soft drinks.
After walking a short while on the road, the trail continues on the right side of the road. You walk through a forest with bamboos, among other trees. After a short climb you reach the Funamichaya Rest Station, which consists of some banks and tables under a roof with a very nice view over the cost and the town Kii-Katsuura.
The descent continues. It takes you through the Nachi Highland park, a recreation area. Shortly afterwards you start hearing the Nachi waterfalls and see the roof of the temples. You keep walking downwards until reaching the pagoda, temple and then the waterfall, the highlight of this tour.

As for drinking water, we found some at the waypoints “fuente” and then a couple of hundred meters after the Jizo-Jaya Teahouse remains (there was a spring on the left side of the road).
When we went there, at the beginning of July, it was extremely hot (over 30ºC) and humid and having enough drinking water was essential.