The Last Refuge of the Incas

It was the quest for Vilcabamba, the last refuge of the Incas from the Conquistadores, that brought Hiram Bingham to Peru. Just over 95 years have passed since he rediscovered Machu Picchu on 24 July 1911, thinking it to be Vilcabamba. Although he continued further into the jungle and found the ruins at Espiritu Pampa, he dismissed them as unimportant.

It wasn’t until Gene Savoy’s expedition in 1964 that a more serious study of Espiritu Pampu was undertaken casting serious doubt on Bingham’s claim that Machu Picchu was Vilcabamba. In the 1980’s archaeologist Vincent R Lee was able to finally and irrefutably establish that Vilcabamba was in fact located at Espiritu Pampa.

Britain's John Hemming has provided further conclusive evidence of the true last refuge of the Incas by matching descriptions of Vilcabamba and Espiritu Pampa in the chronicles left behind. Machu Picchu was eventually considered to be a finely preserved agricultural city that served Cuzco in its heyday.

Follow in the footsteps of the Incas and walk the original Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, (a 5 day hike), or take a train from Cuzco.

 

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Last Updated: Tuesday May 13 2008