Vilcabamba Espíritu Pampa

After the Spanish took Cusco, the Inca state continued for thirty-six years from Vilcabamba, in the forested country north-west of the city, under Manco Inca and his sons until Túpac Amaru was captured and executed in 1572. The site was abandoned and swallowed by forest. Hiram Bingham reached Espíritu Pampa in 1911, recognised it as significant but concluded that Machu Picchu was the lost city instead; it was Gene Savoy in the 1960s, and later excavation, that established Espíritu Pampa as the real Vilcabamba, with Spanish roof tiles among Inca buildings showing the hybrid architecture of a court in exile. It is genuinely remote - a three or four day trek from Huancacalle over a 3,800-metre pass and down into the ceja de selva, or a very long rough drive - and only a small part of the extensive site is cleared.

Highlights

• The last capital - the seat of Inca resistance from 1537 to 1572.
• The Spanish roof tiles - European technique in Inca buildings, made on site.
• The misidentification - Bingham reached it in 1911 and named Machu Picchu instead.
• The forest - most of a large site still uncleared under jungle.

When to go

May to September. Four to seven days including the trek from Huancacalle with guides and pack animals. Independent visits are impractical.

Practical notes

A serious expedition, not an excursion: high passes, jungle, insects, river crossings and camping. Only a fraction of the site is cleared and the visible ruins are modest compared with the history. Weather can close the route entirely.

Nearby

Huancacalle and Vitcos are at the trek's start; Kiteni is on the Urubamba.