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50-629: Vilcabamba was the capital of the Neo-Inca State from 1539 to 1572. The Neo-Inca State was the last refuge of the Inca Empire until it fell to the Spaniards and their indigenous allies in 1572, signaling the end of Inca resistance to Spanish rule. Subsequently, Vilcabamba was abandoned and its location forgotten. In 1911 explorer Hiram Bingham mistakenly identified the abandoned ruin of Machu Picchu as Vilcabamba, but he also visited

100-527: A day's journey northeast of Cuzco. Significantly, he left behind the royal red fringe, symbol of his authority. In 1561, Sayri Túpac died suddenly, and his half-brother Titu Cusi Yupanqui took control of Vilcabamba and the Inca resistance to the Spanish. During his rule at Vilcabamba, the provisional governor-general Lope Garcia de Castro wanted to negotiate with him. The negotiations were about Cusi leaving

150-582: A center of commercial exchange between the people of the lowland jungle and the inhabitants of the Andean highlands. The lost city of Vilcabamba features as a location in the educational computer game series The Amazon Trail , the action-adventure video game Tomb Raider , and the role-playing video game Shadow Hearts: From the New World . It also appears in the books Evil Star and Necropolis by British thriller author Anthony Horowitz . The city

200-578: A penetration of that land. It can be done only with very heavy expenditure." The Spanish would not attempt another major military expedition into Vilcabamba until 1572. As the two Spanish raids demonstrated, Vitcos was accessible to the Spanish and Manco developed Vilcabamba as a more remote refuge. In the years following the Spanish raids, the Incas and the Spaniards maintained uneasy diplomatic relations with visits back and forth between Vilcabamba and Cuzco,

250-590: A ruin called Espiritu Pampa by local Peruvians. In 1964, Gene Savoy identified Espiritu Pampa as the fabled Vilcabamba, a designation widely accepted by archaeologists and historians. Vilcabamba or Espiritu Pampa is located near the Chontabamba River, a tributary of the Urubamba River . The Inca capital has often been referred to as Vilcabamba the Old to distinguish it from the town of Vilcabamba

300-408: A trail through the jungle and two days later he found Inca ruins at a place called Espiritu Pampa. He found artificial terraces, stone houses, including a rectangular building 192 feet (59 m) long, a fountain, Inca pottery, and a stone bridge. But Bingham was running out of supplies and only spent a short time at Espiritu Pampa. Based on his brief observations, Bingham concluded that Machu Picchu

350-535: Is located on the Pampaconas River, a tributary of the Vilcabamba River, which is a tributary of the Urubamba River . Hurtado was a brutal administrator, offering encomiendas to Spanish soldiers and making the local indigenous people virtual slaves. Many of them died, or abandoned their homes and fled elsewhere. Silver deposits were discovered nearby and the town enjoyed a brief boom, although

400-764: Is the most wild and rugged country, in no way suitable for horses." What they discovered was a city built "for about a thousand fighting Indians, besides many other women, children, and old people" filled with "four hundred houses." After the fall of Vilcabamba, the Spanish pursued and captured Túpac Amaru , the last Inca monarch, and beheaded him in Cusco on September 24, 1572. In 1572, the conqueror and governor of Vilcabamba, Martin Hurtado de Arbieto, founded San Francisco de la Victoria de Vilcabamba, also known as Vilcabamba la Nueva ("the New"), 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) west of Vitcos. It

450-724: The Ucayali River . The Urubamba is divided into the Upper Urubamba and the Lower Urubamba, the dividing feature being the Pongo de Mainique , an infamous whitewater canyon , where the river narrows to a width of 45 metres (148 ft). The Upper Urubamba ( Alto Urubamba ) valley features a high population and extensive irrigation works. A number of ruins of the Inca Empire lie in the Sacred Valley , including

500-600: The Wankas (one of the most important allies of the Spaniards), having some success after fierce battles, and to the highlands of present-day Bolivia , where after many battles his army was defeated. After many guerrilla battles in the mountainous regions of Vilcabamba, Manco was murdered in 1544 by supporters of Diego de Almagro who had previously assassinated Francisco Pizarro and who were in hiding under Manco's protection. They in turn were all killed by Manco's soldiers. Manco

550-454: The caciques acknowledge Manco as their Inca. Manco Inca then joined Almagro and Hernando de Soto in pursuit of Quizquiz . When Pizarro left Cuzco with Almagro and Manco Inca, for Jauja in pursuit of Quizquiz , Francisco left his younger brothers Gonzalo Pizarro and Juan Pizarro as regidores , and a ninety-man garrison in the city. The Pizarro brothers so mistreated Manco Inca that he ultimately tried to escape in 1535. He failed, and

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600-478: The 22nd century. An episode of the TV Series In Search of... (1976-1982) titled "Inca Treasures", highlights the expedition taken by professor Edmundo Guillén to explore the ruins of Vilcabamba. The second episode of Michael Wood 's 2000 documentary series Conquistadors visits the site of Vilcabamba while telling the story of the fall of the Inca and retreat of Manco and his followers to

650-562: The Incan city of Machu Picchu , Patallaqta , Pikillaqta and Raqch'i . The Salcca-Pucara hydroelectric project is associated with the river as well. The Lower Urubamba ( Bajo Urubamba ) is relatively undeveloped and features a significant indigenous population consisting of the Campa tribes, principally the Machiguenga (Matsigenka) and Asháninka . The economy is based on forestry and

700-457: The Incas . He cited contemporary Spanish and Inca accounts of Vilcabamba as evidence. Titu Cusi Yupanqui said that Vilcambamba had a "warm climate," unlike Vitcos which was in "a cold district." This statement is consistent with the elevation of the two places: 1,450 metres (4,760 ft) for Espiritu Pampa and 2,980 metres (9,780 ft) for Vitcos. Moreover, both the conqueror of Vilcabamba, Hurtado de Abierto, and chronicler Martín de Murúa cited

750-424: The Incas fought a battle at Huayna Pukara (Huayna Fort), west of Vitcos and about 22 kilometres (14 miles) from Vilcabamba. Several Spaniards and indigenous enemies were killed, but Manco again escaped. Pizarro stayed in the region for more than two months searching for Manco unsuccessfully, but capturing Manco's principal wife Cura Ocllo . The Spaniards wrote of the region that "great resources are needed to undertake

800-455: The New , of Spanish origin and 35 kilometres (22 miles) in straight-line distance southwest of Old Vilcabamba. In 2010, items belonging to the Wari culture and radiocarbon dated to about 700 AD were found at Espiritu Pampa. This discovery indicated that the site was occupied long before it became the Inca capital in 1539. As of 2013, archaeological investigations of the site were incomplete and

850-525: The Spaniards in the Battle of Ollantaytambo . Manco coordinated his siege of Cusco with one on Lima, led by one of his captains, Quiso Yupanqui. The Incans were able to defeat four relief expeditions sent by Francisco Pizarro from Lima. This resulted in the death of nearly 500 Spanish soldiers. Some Spaniards were captured and sent to Ollantaytambo. However, with the Spaniards' position consolidated by Almagro's reinforcements, Manco Inca decided that Ollantaytambo

900-497: The Spanish capital. The murder of a Spanish envoy by the Incas persuaded Viceroy of Peru Francisco de Toledo to conquer the Vilcabamba region and end Inca rule. On June 24, 1572, a Spanish army, led by veteran conquistador Martin Hurtado de Arbieto, made a final advance on the Incas' remote jungle capital. "At 10 o'clock," wrote Hurtado in his account of the campaign, "they marched into the city of Vilcabamba, all on foot, for it

950-537: The Vilcabamba and accepting a Crown pension. After negotiations escalated, around 1568, Titi Cusi was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church , as Diego de Castro. Túpac Amaru became the Inca ruler after Titu Cusi's sudden death in 1571. At this time, the Spanish were still unaware of the death of the previous Sapa Inca (Titu Cusi) and had routinely sent two ambassadors to continue ongoing negotiations being held with Titu Cusi. They were both killed on

1000-547: The border by an Inca captain. Using the justification that the Incas had "broken the inviolate law observed by all nations of the world regarding ambassadors" the new Viceroy, Francisco de Toledo, Count of Oropesa , decided to attack and conquer Vilcabamba. He declared war against the Neo-Inca State on April 14, 1572. Conflicts between conquistadors and rebellions End of the Neo-Inca state Within two weeks after

1050-432: The claim that Choquequirao was Incan Vilcabamba based on his studies of writings by Spanish chroniclers of the 16th century. Romero identified the village of Puquiura as the site of Incan Vilcabamba. In 1911, Hiram Bingham was on the expedition which resulted in him bringing to a wider world attention the Incan ruin of Machu Picchu . Romero pointed him toward Puquiura as the site of Vilcabamba, and Bingham discovered there

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1100-566: The death of Tupac Amaru ." Catholic clerics had built a church and a monastery in the town. The location of the Incan Vilcabamba was forgotten during the 17th century by the few remaining inhabitants of the region. In 1710, an explorer, Juan Arias Diaz , found Choquequirao , 70 kilometres (43 miles) southwest of Vilcabamba, and identified it as the Incan capital. Later historians and explorers identified Choquequirao as Vilcabamba. In 1909, Peruvian historian, Carlos A. Romero, debunked

1150-445: The declaration of war a small party of Spanish soldiers had captured a key bridge on the border of the Neo-Inca State, from which Toledo assembled his army. On June 1, the first engagement of the war commenced in the Vilcabamba valley. The Inca initially attacked with high morale, despite being poorly equipped. Repeatedly, the Inca attempted to lift the siege held by the Spanish and their native allies but were forced to retreat. On June 23

1200-590: The definitively accepted site of the historical Vilcabamba. On 16 June 2006, a museum in Cuzco unveiled a plaque that commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the 1976 Vilcabamba findings. In 2011 was discovered the tomb of a king in Espíritu Pampa, which is estimated to date to the Wari period. The discovery testifies that the Vilcabamba site was inhabited since ancient times and that was almost certainly used as

1250-475: The fort of Huayna Pucará surrendered to Spanish artillery fire. The Inca army now in retreat opted to abandon their last city and head for the jungle to regroup. On June 24 the Spanish entered Vilcabamba to find it deserted and the Sapa Inca gone. The city had been entirely destroyed and the Neo-Inca State officially ceased to exist. Túpac Amaru was later captured and executed by the Spanish. The Incan military

1300-713: The last Inca stronghold was conquered, and the last ruler, Túpac Amaru (Manco's son), was captured and executed, thus ending the political authority of the Inca state. The Vilcabamba region had been part of the Inca Empire since the reign of Pachacuti (1438–1471). During the Spanish conquest of Peru , Túpac Huallpa was a puppet ruler crowned by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro . After his death, Manco Inca Yupanqui joined Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro in Cajamarca . When Pizarro's force arrived in Cusco , he had

1350-522: The last outposts of the Inca Empire. The Incas had occupied the Vilcabamba region since about 1450 AD, establishing major centers at Machu Picchu , Choquequirao , Vitcos , and Vilcabamba. Thus, the Incas were familiar with the region when Inca emperor, Manco Inca Yupanqui , won the Battle of Ollantaytambo against the Spanish and their indigenous allies in January 1537. Despite the victory Manco

1400-452: The later stages of the Siege of Cusco , the Spaniards were already reporting that Incan warriors were using captured firearms as well as horses with some proficiency. Manco Inca even forced captured Europeans to refine gunpowder for his army. The Incans also tried to adopt some European battle tactics. On at least one occasion, a group of Incan warriors formed a tight unit in combat, based on

1450-467: The main ruin of Espiritu Pampa was 700 yards (640 m) distant. Savoy found 50 or 60 houses and 300 houses at Espiritu Pampa. Savoy concluded that Espiritu Pampa was Vilcabamba, contradicting Bingham. Savoy's 1970 book Antisuyo brought the site to even wider attention. Researcher and author John Hemming also concluded the Espiritu Pampa was Incan Vilcabamba in his 1970 book The Conquest of

1500-511: The nearby Camisea Gas Project . The main settlement in the region is the town of Sepahua . (Sepahua River coordinates are 11°08′58″S 73°02′55″W  /  11.14944°S 73.04861°W  / -11.14944; -73.04861  ( Sepahua River ) .) The lower Urubamba River was mapped for the first time in 1934 by Edward Kellog Strong III. He and two friends from Palo Alto, California, Art Post and Gain Allan John, navigated

1550-410: The production of the mines was meager and by the early 17th century Vilcabamba the New and the Vilcabamba region was no longer of much interest to the Spanish. Hiram Bingham visited the town in 1911, noting that, "Instead of Inca walls or ruins, Vilcabamba has three score solidly built Spanish houses...due to the prosperity of gold diggers, who came to work the quartz mines which were made accessible after

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1600-590: The progress of the invasion and what they found in Vilcabamba. Comparison between the letters' contents and the ruins provided additional proof of Espiritu Pampa as the location of Vilcabamba. In 1981, the party of American explorer Gregory Deyermenjian reached and photographed parts of the site, soon thereafter generating a popular article concerning the site and its history. Later extensive archeological work by Vincent Lee, and especially his exhaustive study, his 2000 book Forgotten Vilcabamba , gave further and even more precise confirmation that has made Espíritu Pampa

1650-510: The remote region as the last surviving remnant of the empire. Neo-Inca State The Neo-Inca State , also known as the Neo-Inca state of Vilcabamba , was the Inca state established in 1537 at Vilcabamba by Manco Inca Yupanqui (the son of Inca emperor Huayna Capac ). It is considered a rump state of the Inca Empire (1438–1533), which collapsed after the Spanish conquest in the mid-1530s. The Neo-Inca State lasted until 1572, when

1700-535: The river with its ferocious rapids by canoe and balsa rafts provided by the indigenous people. The mapping was done at the request of the Peruvian military when they heard of the expedition planned by the three 18-year-olds. The map was turned over to the military when the boys arrived in Iquitos. It remained the only map of the river until mapping by satellite became possible many years later. The names and places on

1750-546: The ruins of Espiritu Pampa were inaccessible by vehicle. La Convención province in which Vilcabamba is located is extremely rugged, occupying the north-eastern slopes of the Andes and sloping down to the Amazon Basin . The terrain includes snow-covered mountains, forest, lowland jungle, and rivers running through deep canyons. Access and transportation within the area was difficult and would hinder Spanish efforts to destroy

1800-594: The ruins of Rosaspata. He correctly identified Rosaspata as the Incan Vitcos rather than Incan Vilcabamba. Drawn by rumors of another lost Inca ruin in the lowland forest, Bingham ignored tales of a hostile plantation owner and dangerous native peoples and proceeded onward. After a difficult three days of foot travel, he found the plantation. Its owner and the Asháninka or Campa indigenous peoples working there were friendly and helpful. They assisted him in cutting

1850-824: The sun"). Within the La Convención Province , the name changes to Urubamba. A partially navigable headwater of the Amazon River , the Urubamba rises in the Andes to the southeast of Cusco . It originates on the slopes of Cunurana in the Puno Region , Melgar Province , near the La Raya pass. It flows north-north-west for 724 km (450 mi) before coalescing with the Tambo River to form

1900-461: The teachings of a captured Spaniard, and used their bows, slings, and darts in a way to achieve more rapid fire. In 1538, Manco Inca was recorded to be skilled enough to ride a horse into battle; by this point, he and three of his nobles were recorded as carrying out a cavalry charge which destroyed a 30-man strong Spanish infantry contingent. However, the Incans' skill in using some modern weaponry

1950-452: The technological gap with the Spanish. By the 1560s, it was recorded that many Incans had developed considerable skill in using arquebuses and riding horses. Urubamba River The Urubamba River or Vilcamayo River (possibly from Quechua Willkamayu , for "sacred river") is a river in Peru . Upstream it is called Vilcanota River (possibly from Aymara Willkanuta , for "house of

2000-409: The tropical crops-- coca , cotton , and sugar cane —grown near Vilcabamba and that the city lay in a "hot country" unlike most Inca cities. The Inca preferred to live in the high, cool climate of the Andes . Hurtado also described Vilcabamba as being in a valley with "pastures for cattle," unlike Machu Picchu which is on a steep ridge. Finally, Hemming cited Spanish sources indicating that Vilcabamba

2050-468: Was captured and imprisoned. Hernando Pizarro released him to recover a golden statue of his father Huayna Capac. Only accompanied by two Spaniards, he easily escaped a second time. Manco then gathered an army of 100,000 Inca warriors and laid siege to Cusco in early 1536, taking advantage of Diego de Almagro's absence. After ten months (see the Siege of Cuzco ), Manco retreated to the nearby fortress of Ollantaytambo in 1537. Here Manco repelled attacks by

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2100-522: Was northeast of Vitcos—unlike Machu Picchu which is west of Vitcos. Thus, Bingham's claim that Machu Picchu was Incan Vilcabamba and other claims that Vitcos was Vilcabamba were discredited. In 1976, Professor Edmundo Guillén and Polish explorers Tony Halik and Elżbieta Dzikowska continued to explore the ruins at Espiritu Pampa. Before the expedition, Guillen visited a museum in Seville where he discovered letters from Spaniards, in which they described

2150-433: Was still lacking at this point, and chronicler Pedro Pizarro reported that Incan arquebusiers often misfired. In the 1536–1538 battles between the Incans and the Spanish, captured weaponry made no lasting difference. But early in the 1540s, several Spanish immigrants to the Neo-Inca State would teach Incan warriors how to use Spanish weapons to their full potential. Overall, it took the Incans about two decades to bridge

2200-445: Was succeeded by his son Sayri Túpac (Sayri Tupaq). He was five years old at the time. He became Inca in Vilcabamba, reigning for ten years with the aid of regents. This was a time of peace with the Spanish. Viceroy Pedro de la Gasca offered to provide Sayri Túpac with lands and houses in Cuzco if he would emerge from the isolated Vilcabamba. Sayri Túpac accepted, but during the preparations his relative Paullu Inca suddenly died. This

2250-628: Was swift to adopt European weaponry; many warriors captured helmets, shields, and swords during the initial clashes with the Europeans and quickly learned how to use them. In marked contrast with some other Native American cultures, including the Aztec , the Incans were also eager to master weaponry which was wholly alien to them. As early as 1537, when Manco Inca defeated the Spanish at Pilcosuni , they came into possession of more advanced Spanish weapons, including arquebuses , artillery, and crossbows. By

2300-508: Was taken as a bad omen (or a sign of Spanish treachery), and Sayri Túpac remained in Vilcabamba. In 1557 Sayri Túpac did agree to leave Vilcabamba and traveled to Viceroy Hurtado in Lima. Sayri Túpac renounced his claim to the Inca Empire and accepted baptism, as Diego. In return he received a full pardon, the title of Prince of Yucay, and great estates with rich revenues. He became resident in Yucay,

2350-403: Was the Incan Vilcabamba. That opinion went largely unchallenged for 50 years. In 1964, Peruvian explorer Antonio Santander Caselli visited Espiritu Pampa and later claimed the discovery that Espiritu Pampa was the Incan Vilcabamba. In the same month, American explorer Gene Savoy reached Espiritu Pampa. He discovered that Bingham had only seen a minor part of the ruin at Eremboni Pampa and that

2400-646: Was the location of British writer Colin Thubron 's 2002 novel, To the Last City , which was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize , and tells the story of a group of people who set off to explore the ruins of the Inca city in what has been described as a "Heart of Darkness narrative" in a "Marquezian setting". The science fiction story " Vilcabamba " (2010) by Harry Turtledove is a self-referential allegory of Vilcabamba as an alien invasion story set in

2450-447: Was too close to Cusco to be tenable so he withdrew further west. Abandoning Ollantaytambo (and effectively giving up the highlands of the empire), Manco Inca retreated to Vitcos and finally to the remote jungles of Vilcabamba . At Vilcabamba the state known as the Neo-Inca State was established by Manco, and Vilcabamba became the capital of the state until the death of Tupaq Amaru in 1572. From there, he continued his attacks against

2500-517: Was under intense pressure from the Spanish. He decided that Ollantaytambo was too close to Cusco , controlled by the Spanish, so he withdrew westward to the Inca center of Vitcos . Almagro sent his lieutenant Rodrigo Orgóñez in pursuit with 300 Spaniards and numerous indigenous allies. In July 1537, Orgoñez occupied and sacked Vitcos taking many prisoners, but Manco escaped. Manco Inca survived another Spanish raid in 1539 by Gonzalo Pizarro , 300 Spanish soldiers, and indigenous allies. The Spanish and

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