Vilcabamba Revisited

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Vilcabamba Revisited

By Gregory Deyermenjian

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have always had a fascination for l i t t l e - k n o w n and long forgotten places. Such a place i s Vilcabamba, often referred t o as the 'Lost City1 or ' L a s t Refuge' of the Incas.

When Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911 many believed t h i s m a g n i f i c e n t and mysterious r u i n t o be Vilcabamba where t h e l a s t remnant of the Incan Empire found refuge from the Spaniards. T h i s b e l i e f , s t i l l common, i s propagated by Peruvian travel pos -t e r s which p r o c l a i m : 'A-t -t h i s mountain t o p c i t a d e l , t h e v e r y l a s t Inca raised h i s eyes t o the sun and d i s a p p e a r e d f o r e v e r . ' However, as Gene Savoy's exciting Antisuyo: The Search for the Lost C i t i e s of t h e Amazon and John Hemming's d e f i n i t i v e l y d e t a i l e d

and researched The Conquest of the Incas. have shown, one must con-clude that the Incan T a s t Refuge' of Vilcabamba l i e s e l s e w h e r e . A c t u a l l y , 'Vilcabamba' r e f e r s n o t only t o the l e g e n d a r y c i t y (and t o t h e town of 'Vilcabamba the New,' founded by Spaniards in the l a t e 16th century), but t o an e n t i r e region of Peru northwest of Cuzco and beyond Machu Picchu. Geographical features make Vilca -bamba a s o r t of ' i n l a n d i s l a n d ' c u t off from the r e s t of t h e country: bordered by the Urubamba River on the east, the high peaks of t h e C o r d i l l e r a Vilcabamba on the southeast, the Apurimac River t o the south and west, and t o the n o r t h by the C o s i r e n i and A l t o Urubamba Rivers where dense forest f a l l s away t o the Amazon Basin.

T h i s w a s , and s t i l l i s , an e x t r e m e l y r u g g e d c o u n t r y of forested h i l l s , deep gorges, snowy peaks and swamps. F l a t land i s r a r e — narrow t r a i l s t w i s t and turn along the h i l l s i d e s overlook-ing the r i v e r s . Well above 2,000 meters i n a l t i t u d e , the a i r seems ' t h i n ' t o o u t s i d e r s , t h e n i g h t s uncomfortably cold.

As the h i s t o r y of t h i s region g r a d u a l l y came t o l i g h t , so did the r u i ns of the c i t y of Vilcabam-ba. New information available t h i s century adds the following chapter t o the h i s t o r y of the conquest.

ABOVE: The Y u r a c Rumi ( ' w h i t e r o c k ' ] near V i t c o s was s a c r e d t o t h e I n c a , PHOTO by Edward Ranney f r o m M o n u m e n t s o f t h e I n c a s , by John Hemming and Edward Ranney.

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aving c a p t u r e d and executed t h e I n c a A t a h u a l p a , t h e Spanish conquistadores under Fran-cisco Pizarro entered the sacred c i t y of Cuzco i n l a t e 1533 and installed the native prince Manco as Inca. I t took two y e a r s f or Manco t o r e b e l a g a i n s t t h e Spaniards. I n t h e ' G r e a t R e b e l -l i o n ' of 1536 h i s f o r c e s l a i d siege t o Cuzco and even threatened P i z a r r o ' s d i s t a n t new c i t y of Lima. Manco set up headquarters during the f i r s t year of h i s r e -b e l l i o n a t Calca, i n t h e Yucay Valley north of Cuzco. He then moved t o the massive f o r t i f i c a tions of Ollantaytambo j u s t n o r t h -west of t h i s valley. Manco soon realized, however, that proximity to Cuzco made Ollantaytambo v u l -n e r a b l e t o the Spa-nish c a v a l r y . In mid-1537 he sought out a l e s s a c c e s s i b l e refuge . A f t e r an u n s u c c e s s f u l a t t e m p t t o r e a c h a fortress known as Urocoto, thought t o l i e far t o the southeast i n the forests east of Lake Titicaca, he led h i s forces in r e t r e a t over the Incan road which ran from Ollan-taytambo t o the northwest, through the Panticolla Pass, and emerged a t the Urubamba near the p r e s e n t-day town of Chaullay. The bridge of Chuquichaca h e r e formed t h e principle entrance into the Vilca-bamba r e g i o n . Manco's f o r c e c r o s s e d the b r i d g e and f o l l o w e d the road westward along the Vitcos (now known as t h e Vilcabamba) River, stopping a t the f o r t i f i e d town of Vitcos. Vitcos occupied a ridge a t 2,850 meters overlooking the valley of the Vitcos River and the town of Pucyura — t h e v e r y c e n t e r of the ' i n l a n d i s l a n d ' of h i s t o r i c a l Vilcabamba.

Manco c o n s i d e r e d t h i s p l a c e secure and inaccessible. But when native forces neglected t o f u l l y destory the bridge of Chuquichaca, the conquistador Rodrigo Orgonez pursued t h e Inca a l l t h e way t o Vitcos. Although the pursui t of

* W h i l e Manco Led t h e L i f e o f a f u g i t i v e , h i s h e l f - b r o t h e r PeuLLu was h a i l e d as t h e new I n c a by t h e S p a n i a r d s i n C u z c o . T h r o u g h o u t M a n c o ' s p r e s e n t a n d f u t u r e p r i v a t i o n s and s t r u g g l e s a g a i n s t S p a n i s h p o w e r , P a u L L u w o u l d s t e a d f a s t l y s u p p o r t the cause o f h i s h a l f - b r o t h e r ' s e n e m y , e v e n l e a d i n g t h e S p a n i a r d s ' n a t i v e a u x i l i a r i e s i n t o b a t t l e a g a i n s t h i s Incan b r e t h r e n . t h e r e b e l l i o u s Inca took on t h e i n t e n s i t y of a 'quest,' the greedy Spaniards paused t o plunder, and Manco d i s a p p e a r e d i n t o d e e p f o r e s t s . *

Manco regrouped when t h e i n -v a d e r s l e f t V i t c o s and s e t o u t again t o find a secure stronghold i n Chachapoyas, over 150 km t o the n o r t h w e s t . Remote Chachapoyas possessed a w e l l - f o r t i f i e d s i t e known as Cue l a p . But Manco soon changed h i s mind. Heading back t o w a r d s Vilcabamba, he took t h e t i m e t o i n s t i g a t e r e b e l l i o n , a t t a c k v a r i o u s Spaniard s and revenge himself upon t r i b e s which had c o l l a b o r a t e d w i t h t h e E u r o -peans. These acts, together wit h renewed u p r i s i n g s i n t h e Lake Titicaca area in 1539, signalled t h e b e g i n n i n g of Manco's 'Second Rebellion.'

Spaniards in Peru had long been embroiled in t h e i r own c i v i l wars, b u t by 1539 t h e i r m i l i t a r y successes had put an end t o native hopes of pushing the Christians t o the sea. Manco returned t o Vilca-bamba, determined t o find a more secure refuge there. To t h i s end he moved h i s headquarters t o the f a r s i d e of t h e w a t e r s h e d which separates the Vitcos Valley t o the east from the Pampaconas Valley t o t h e w e s t . Crossing t h e n e a r l y 3,500m-high pass of Colpacasa, he continued down the v a l l e y of the Pampaconas-Concevidayoc River and beyond i n t o t h e deep f o r e s t s t o the west-north-west. Here, in an area now known as E s p i r i t u Pampa, Manco e s t a b l i s h e d h i s ' L a s t Refuge,' h i s c i t y of Vilcabamba.

Some form of settlement, p e r -haps even a commercial center for jungle produce, may have already e x i s t e d h e r e . Manco now t r a n s -formed i t t o t a l l y . At 1,340m (far below t h a t of any o t h e r Incan c i t y ) , he b u i l t b i s c a p i t a l c i t y , r e p l e t e w i t h p a l a c e s , t e m p l e s , stone dwellings, s t r e e t s , canals, b r i d g e s , f o u n t a i n s and s q u a r e s . Spanish-style roofing t i l e s a t o p some of i t s b u i l d i n g s show t h a t t h i s was an I n c a n c i t y p a r t l y b u i l t a f t e r c o n t a c t w i t h t h e European invader.

In April 1539 a Spanish force under Gonzalo Pizarro reached V i t -c o s , b u t t h e h a r s h topography f o r c e d them t o abandon t h e i r horses as they marched west over the pass of Colpacasa and on down t h r o u g h t h e Concevidayoc Valley. On a h i l l s i d e traverse a t a place c a l l e d C h u q u i l l u s c a , some 22 km southeast of the c i t y of Vilcabam-ba, t h e y walked i n t o a t r a p : native w a r r i o rs on the h i l l s above r o l l e d g r e a t b o u l d e r s down upon them, i n f l i c t i n g heavy casualties . Only by climbing higher were the S p a n i s h a b l e t o o u t - f l a n k t h e i r a t t a c k e r s , c a p t u r e C h u q u i l l u s c a and d e f e a t Manco. Manco b a r e l y escaped with h i s l i f e by swimming across the Concevidayoc and hiding i n t h e deep f o r e s t s . The Span-iards captured Manco's wife and various Incan nobles. They then pressed on t o the c i t y of Vilca-b a m Vilca-b a , w h i c h t h e y p r o b a b l y occupied b r i e f l y . The S p a n i a r d s ' i n v a s i o n c o s t them d e a r l y , b u t c i v i l s t r i f e c o n t i n u e d . When t h e S p a n i a r ds RUINS e n g u l f e d by the r o o t s o f a g i a n t t r e e .

l e f t Vilcabamba, Manco I n c a r e -turned t o h i s c i t y and s e t about o r g a n i z i n g h i s s t a t e . Now and then he conducted raids across the border into Spanish-occupied Peru. Once he even s e t out for refuge in Quito t o the far north but pulled back when he found the route over-r u n w i t h aover-rmed S p a n i a over-r d s and h o s t i l e t r i b e s .

In 1542, supporters of Pizarro defeated Diego de Almagro. Seven members of the Almagrist faction took refuge a t Vitcos with Manco, who was p a r t i a l t o Almagro. Manco welcomed t h i s opportunity t o have Spanish s o l d i e r s i n s t r u c t h i s w a r r i o r s i n the use of European weapons. For a while, in 1544, he even c o n s i d e r e d emerging from Vilcabamba i f he could r e c e i v e c e r t a i n concessions from the new viceroy. I t never happened.

Manco's Almagrist guest p l o t t e d a surprise attack. Hoping t o gain pardons from r o y a l a u t h o r i t i e s , they suddenly f e l l upon the Inca

THE VILCABAMBA REGION

i n the main square of Vitcos while he was p l a y i n g a game of q u o i t s ( s i m i l a r t o ' h o r s e s h o e s ' ) . They s t a b b e d him. Manco d i e d t h r e e days l a t e r . His embalmed body was taken t o the c i t y of Vilcabamba t o s i t w i t h the mummies of o t h e r Incas.

None of Manco' s m u r d e r e r s escaped a l i v e from Vilcabamba. But Manco had been an uncommonly a b l e and r e s p e c t e d l e a d e r . He combined noble b i r t h and admini-s t r a t i v e a b i l i t y with innovation, s k i l l and courage i n m i l i t a r y matters. His death was a serious blow t o the rebel s t a t e .

Under Manco's son, Sayri-Tupac, a period of isolationism s e t in. Raids against Spaniards ceased and the newly-learned fighting methods were forgotten. Spanish influence was r e j e c t e d i n favor of t r a d i -t i o n a l Incan ways.

Until 1548 the Spaniards were t o o busy w a r r i n g amongst them-selves t o attend t o the

'Vilcabam-ba problem. ' With t h e r o y a l i s t ascendancy, however, t h i s changed. A tamed Inca now became an obses-s i o n of t h e Spaniobses-sh. The knew t h a t a s long as t h e r e was an independent native r u l e r with h i s own r e l a t i v e l y i n a c c e s s i b l e autonomous s t a t e , they would never be a b l e t o c o n s o l i d a t e t h e i r power. The Spaniards once again hoped t o l u r e t h e I n c a out of Vilcabamba. Sayri-Tupac was of-f e r e d e s t a t e s i n t h e Cuzco a r e a and puppet r u l e r s h i p . N e g o t i a tions continued sporadically, i n -terrupted only in 1555 when some r e b e l l i o u s s e t t l e r s j o i n e d the Indian holdouts in t h e i r enclave and i n s t i g a t e d r a i d s i n t o Spanish-occupied Peru.

Two y e a r s l a t e r , Sayri-Tupac did emerge. He accepted an e s t a t e i n the sacred v a l l e y of the Yucay j u s t n o r t h of Cuzco. But the ' r o y a l f r i n g e ' — an i m p o r t a n t symbol of Inca power — remained i n Vilcabamba with m i l i t a n t

manders. With S a y r i T u p a c 's d e -p a r t u r e , h i s o l d e r half-brother, Titu-Cusi, became o f f i c i a l r u l e r of t h e Vilcabamba s t a t e . With SayriTupac's death i n 1560, T i t u -Cusi became Inca.

Here now was a native r u l e r who had witnessed h i s father's murder by Spaniards 16 y e a r s e a r l i e r . With h i s formal i n v e s t i t u r e , r a i d s upon Spanish settlements and c a r a -vans increased for a while. But Titu-Cusi did not wish t o provoke a large-scale invasion of Vilca-bamba, well aware t h a t h i s small state numbering but a few thousand subjects would suffer g r e a t ly from any major attack. For t h e i r part, the Spaniards wished t o avoid y e t another costly expedition into the jungle, having failed i n two p r e vious forays. N e g o t i a t i o n s f o l -lowed. T i t u - C u s i h e l d out hope that he might a t some point emerge p e a c e f u l l y or accep t C h r i s t i a n missionaries. Negotiations led t o c o n c e s s i o n s . By 1569 b o t h T i t u Cusi and h i s son accepted baptism. Two p r i e s t s , F r i a r s Marcos Garcia and Diego O r t i z , were g r a n t e d permission t o preach withi n Vilca -bamba Province. Garcia even b u i l t one church i n Pucyura and O r t i z another a t Huarancalla.

Nominally a C h r i s t i a n , T i t u -Cusi remained head of th e I n c a n r e l i g i o n . A p r i n c i p l e s i t e of t h i s religion, the c i t y of Vilca -bamba contained sacred stones and temples, including what Christian c h r o n i c l e r s l i k e t o r e f e r t o as the T J n i v e r s i t y of I d o l a t r i e s . ' Spanish f r i a r s implored the Inca for permission t o v i s i t h i s c i t y of Vilcabamba, and i n e a r l y 1570, a t the height of the rainy season, he allowed them t o accompany him on a wet and muddy journey. The f r i a r s , however, found themselves frustrated a t being r e s t r i c t e d t o the o u t s k i r t s of the city. Addi-tionally, they had t o endure what Spanish c h r o n i c l e r s t e r m e d a s -saults on t h e i r c h a s t i t y by native women, urged on by native p r i e s t s w i s h i n g t o d i s c r e d i t t h e C h r i s -t i a n s . The f r i a r s soon walked back t o Pucyura, b u t n o t u n t i l T i t u - C u s i had n a r r a t e d h i s 'Re l a c ion' t o them. T h i s docu-ment, containing much h i s t o r i c a l information about Vilcabamba and i t s inhabitants, survives today.

In righteous wrath, the f r i a r s now t u r n e d t h e i r a t t e n t i o n t o

another important religious s i t e , the shrine of Chuquipalta situated j u s t south of Vitcos on top of a huge carve d w h i t e r o c k C y u r a c -rumi' i n Quechua). Leading some young Christian natives there, the f r i a r s burned and e x o r c i s e d t h e s i t e . Although a heinous crime by I n c a n s t a n d a r d s , d e s e r v i n g t h e d e a t h p e n a l t y , T i t u - C u s i m e r e l y expelled Garcia while allowing the more p o p u l a r O r t i z t o s t a y a t Huarancalla.

A cagey T i t u - C u s i k e p t t h e Spanish a u t h o r i t i e s p a c i f i e d by appearing t o pay homage. At the same t i m e he b a r r e d Spanish t r a d e r s and made sure t h a t no news of mineral wealth within Vilcabam-ba reached the outside.

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n May 1571, w h i l e v i s i t i n g t h e s i t e of h i s f a t h e r ' s d e a t h a t V i t c o s , T i t u - C u s i f e l l i l l following a night of fencing and heavy drinking. He died the n e x t morning. Inca n c a p t a i n s blamed Father Ortiz for h i s death. The p r i e s t was f o r c ed t o say a Mass, and when t h i s f a i l e d t o b r i n g t h e I n c a back t o l i f e , he was tortured and k i l l e d .

The s t a t e of Vilcabamba once again closed i t s borders and w i t h -drew i n s u l l e n i s o l a t i o n . I t s inhabitants destroyed churches and other reminders of Christian i n -f l u e n c e . Spanish envoys a c r o s s the Apurimac and Urubamba Rivers knew nothing of the death of T i t u -Cusi. The new Viceroy, Francisco de Toledo, was becoming impatient. He i n s i s t e d t h e Inca emerge and contemplated m i l i t a r y a c t i o n t o bring t h i s about. In March 1572 native commanders k i l l e d a prominent Spanish envoy bearing a l e t -t e r from -the Viceroy. T h i s was t h e l a s t s t r a w . On A p r i l 14 1572, Viceroy Toledo declared war. A Spanish force took the bridge a t Chuquichaca. The main a t t a c k f o r c e of 250 Spaniards and 1500 native a u x i l i a r i e s commanded b y Martin Hurtado de Arbieto entered Inca t e r r i t o r y . At Coyao-chaca, a n a t i v e force ambushed t h e Span-i a r d s who, w Span-i t h s u p e r Span-i o r a r m s , e s p e c i a l l y a r q u e b u s e s , b e a t off the attack. To cut off the Inca's escape r o u t e s , A r b i e t o s e n t one detachment of armed S p a n i a r d s across the Apurimac by way of the I n c a n b r i d g e a t Cusambi (now

Osambre) in the southwest corner of Vilcabamba. Another f o r c e o c c u p i e d t h e b r i d g e . Arbieto's main i n v a s i o n f o r c e p u r s u e d the fleeing natives toward the c i t y of Vilcabamba.

C r o s s i n g Colpacasa P a s s t h e S p a n i a r d s occupie d t h e town of Pampaconas a t 3,000m. Here t h e harsh t e r r a i n , the a l t i t u d e and an outbreak of measles forced them t o r e s t f o r 13 days b e f o r e p u s h i n g down t h e rugged v a l l e y of t h e Pampaconas-turned-Concevidayoc River.

Unbeknownst t o the Spaniards, Indians waited w i th large boulders a t Huayna Pucara, a fort blocking t h e i r westward way. Learning t h i s from a t r a i t o r o u s Incan captain, the Spaniards climbed up the steep and t h i c k ly vegetated slopes and outflanked the n a t i v e d e f e n d e r s . The n e x t day t h e Spanis h f o r c e headed northwest, past the unde-fended 'old f o r t ' of Machu Pucara and on t o Marcanay, where t h e y found abandoned food. On June 24th, forced t o leave t h e i r horses behind because of the thickness of the forest, the Spaniards f i n a l l y entered the c i t y of Vilcabamba on f o o t . They found i t burned and abandoned — the new Inca, Tupac-Amaru, gone.

One of of A r b i e t o ' s c a p t a i n s , M a r t i n G a r c i a de Loyola, ranged f a r t o t h e n o r t h i n h o t p u r s u i t . Using i n f o r m a t i o n from c a p t i v e Indians, the Spaniards took down t h e Urubamba i n r a f t s . Deep i n the jungle they f i n a l l y came upon Tupac Amaru himself.

R e t r a c i n g t h e i r way b a c k t h r o u g h t h e c i t y of Vilcabamba, t h e Pampacnoas and t h e V i t c o s Valley, the main body of Spaniards p a u s e d a t t h e b r i d g e a t Chuqui-chaca. Here, i n honor of t h e i r triumph, they founded the town of San F r a n c i s c o de l a V i c t o r i a de Vilcabamba. Near Marcanay, they dug up the remains of Padre Ortiz and reburied them under the a l t a r of t h e new town's c h u r c h . (This town was r e l o c a t e d i n 1586 t o a place southeast of Colpacasa Pass. I t i s now known a s 'Vilcabamba Nuevo.')

On September 2 1 s t , t h e l a s t 'Vilcabamba King,' Tupac Amaru, was led i n t o Cuzco by a chain of gold around h i s neck. Three days l a t e r , on September 24th, he was e x e c u t e d i n t h e main square of

Cuzco. His death, the occupation of the Vilcabamba p r o v i n c e , and the dispersal and humbling of the remaining Incan n o b i l i t y , put an end t o any hopes of a r e s u r g e n t Vilcabamba s t a t e .

The Spaniard s now s e t about exploiting Vilcabamba P r o v i n c e , treating i t s inhabitants as slaves for the production of sugar, coca and silver. The new governor had the bridge of Chuquichaca p a t r o l -led to prevent anyone escaping.

But by the mid-17th century the area had become unprofitable. The population, decimated by war and abuse, d r i f t e d away. Soon o n ly two v i l l a g e s remained, one a t Lucma j u s t n o r t h of t h e s i t e of Vitcos and another a t Vilcabamba Nuevo. The province f e l l into a s t a t e of s l e e p y and i s o l a t e d neglect. The c i t y of Vilcabamba, i t s l o c a t i o n n e v e r r e c o r d e d , became legend.

More t h a n 200 y e a r s passed. Out of Hiram Bingham's journeys i n 1911, during which he discovered Machu Picchu, Vitcos and the white rock a t Chuquipalta, sprung t h e belief that Machu Picchu was the c i t y of Vilcabamba. Bingham crossed Colpacasa Pass and plunged into the unmapped E s p i r i t u Pampa area where he a c t u a l ly succeeded in finding some Incan s i t e s . But the v a s t m a j o r i t y of the r u i n s remained hidden, covered by dense

THE RUINS of Vilca-bamba Viejo, the "Last Refuge," overgrown by forest. f o r e s t . Not u n t i l t h e e x p e d i t i o n s of 1964 and 1965 d i d Gene Savoy d e f i n i t i v e l y identify the E s p i r i t u Pampa r u i n s a s Vilcabamba, th e Inca's l a s t refuge. And i n 1966, Mark Howell and Tony M o r r i s o n found evidence of a f i r e a t E s p i r i t u Pampa, thus c o n f i r m i n g reports in h i s t o r i c a l records of the burning of the city.

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a s t y e a r I t r a v e l e d t o P e r u eager to v i s i t and photograph t h i s f o r g o t t e n r e g i o n — e s p e c i a l l y t h e l o s t c i t y of Vilcabamba. My party entered a t C h a u l l a y , a t a p o i n t where once stood the bridge of Chuquichaca. We bumped b y t r u c k down a recently-cut d i r t road which leads w e s t and r u n s a p p r o x i m a t e l y p a r a l l e l to the eastward-flowing r i v e r once called the Vitcos, but now known as the Vilcabamba. We spashed through s m a l l s t r e a m s flowing across the road.

Darkness f e l l hours before we arrived i n the pouring r a i n a t the r o a d ' s end. Here, a t 500 m, was the small town of Yupanca — 20 to 30 s t i c k dwellings with thatch and corrugated t i n roofs. We accepted a g r a c i o u s o f f e r t o spend th e n i g h t on a packed d i r t f l o o r sheltered from the rain.

The next morning we hired mules and a d r i v e r and headed south , following the course of the r i v e r

t o Lucma, the d i s t r i c t c a p i t a l , a town of well-made stucco and adobe h o u s e s which d a t e s back t o the 16th century.

We continued over a narrow and dusty t r a i l up t o the white-swashed stucco town of Pucyura a t 2,650 m. Here t h e I n c a once b i l l e t e d h i s troops. I t i s the l a s t government checkpoint, and we presented our papers from the I n s t i t u t o Nacional de Cultura granting us permission t o e n t e r t h e Vilcabamba r e g i o n , then continued southward through a pleasantly wooded t e r r a i n where wispy eucalyptus t r e e s lined the road. By l a t e morning we arrived a t the small town of Huancacalla and s e t up camp i n a small field.

That a f t e r n o o n an I n d i a n boy guided us a c r o s s t h e Vilcabamba River over a bridge of rough logs, s t i c k s , d i r t and l i v i n g v e g e t a -t i o n . On t h e o t h e r s i d e we c l i m b e d t h r o u g h h i g h g r a s s and thick bushes. M i s t s w i r l e d around us a s we slogged up t o an a r e a of scrub g r a s s where we found a l a r g e b o u l d e r . A scooped-out s e a t appeared t o be c a r v e d i n t o i t , giving i t a 'throne-like' appear-ance. Smooth-sided granite blocks l a y s c a t t e r e d beyond. Crude, c r u m b l i n g s t o n e w a l l s encircled the s i t e , and i n the very midst of i t a l l s t o o d a huge b o u l d e r as large as a house. Moss covered a p o r t i o n of i t s s u r f a c e b u t t h e

PACK mules r e s t n e a r homes a l o n g t h e t r a i I t o Haunca-caLLe.

r e s t — perfectly smooth, dark and s h i n y - w e t — had v a r i o u s carved seats, steps and niches. On one of i t s broad s i d e s we observed geometrical designs and 'pegs' in bas-relief and steep, narrow steps apparently going nowhere.

Doubtless, t h i s was Yurac-Kumi ('white r o c k ' ) , t h e h e a r t of t h e sacred Incan shrine of Chuquipal-ta, desecrated by Ortiz and Garcia in 1570. I t i s now known as Nusta Espana. Records i n d i c a t e t h a t Chuquipalta l a y above a s p r i n g overlooking a pool. Incan p r i e s t s discerned apparitions i n the murky water. We found no pool but could hear water bubble n o i s i l y through the smooth and a n g u l a r grooves carved i n t o g r a n i t e . The m i s t s swirled around us — an e e r ie and imposing s i t e .

Climbing northwest we came t o a broad expanse known as Rosas Pata. Before u s , p a r t l y swathed i n cloud, l a y t h e r u i n e d I n c a f o r -t r e s s -town of Vi-tcos.

The stonework here i s rougher than t h a t found a t Cuzco, b u t impressive nonethless. G i g a n t i c s l a b s of g r a n i t e formed l i n t e l s over l a r g e w e l l - f i t t e d b l o c k s . Doorways exuded an a u r a of p o n -derousness and power. W a l l s i n various stages of ruin rambled for hundreds of m e t e r s i n d i f f e r e n t directions, some undulating along the t o p s of massive e a r t h w o r k s

over the tumbled edifices below. A maze of r u i n e d w a l l s and structures opened out onto a broad field, possibly where Manco Inca was murdered by h i s Spanish guests as he played that fateful game of quoits. I t i s easy t o conjure up a v i s i o n of the i n s i d i o u s deed amidst these melancholy surround-i n g s . And t h e r e , f a r down the w e s t e r n r i d g e of t h i s s i t e , we could see th e town of Pucyura where yet another Inca, Titu Cusi, d i e d i n 1571 a f t e r a n i g h t of drinking.

We l e f t t h e next morning, climbing steadily t o the west — a strenuous effort. As we emerged onto a sort of plateau, the town of Vilcabamba Nuevo lay before us, looking like an enchanted v i l l a g e . Low clouds and mists hovered j u s t above the t h a t c h r o o f s of i t s darkly weathered stone homes. An e e r i e , e a r l y a f t e r n o o n d a r k n e s s contrasted with the bright glare r e f l e c t i n g off snow-covered peaks. We walked past the b e l l tower of a ruined church, encountering no one save for three s i l e n t young boys.

Leaving Vilcabamba t h e New behind, we crossed the Colpacasa P a s s . The col d r a i n froze our hands and faces while underneath our r a i n gear we sweated from e x e r t i o a Atop the pass stood a s m a l l s h r i n e — an adobe h u t h o u s i n g p a p e r f l o w e r s , an a l t a r

and a Santa Rosa de Lima doll . We rested here.

As we descended, t h e c l i m a t e changed and a r e f r e s h i n g warm breeze welcomed us. We wound down

through fog, shrubs and low trees. Through the mud we occasionally glimpsed remnants of Incan highway stonework. H i l l s , rocks, vegeta-tion, above and below, sparkled in the c r y s t a l ine a i r .

Our slow b u t s t e a d y d e c l i n e t h r o u g h t h e i n c r e a s i n g l y s u b -t r o p i c a l area -took us across -the Chalcha River and along the many r a p i d s of t h e Pampaconas. High h i l l s covered with lush vegetation r o s e s t e e p l y on e i t h e r s i d e . P r i o r t o Bingham's 1911-12 expedi-t i o n s over Colpacasa Pass, none of t h i s a r e a a p p e a r e d on m a p s . Towards evening we climbed a s l i g h t r i s e above the l e f t bank of the Pampaconas River and came t o a g e n t l y r o l l i n g f i e l d of scrub g r a s s . We k i c k e d a s i d e t h e cow dung and made camp.

We were tol d t h a t t h i s place, c o n s i s t i n g of a s i n g l e t h a t c h e d hut, was known both as Hututo and Pampaconas. But t h e Pampaconas where t h e S p a n i s h envoy met T i t u c u s i i n 1565 and where the invading Spanish forces converged i n 1572 had been d e s c r i b e d as a good-sized town. I t appears t h a t we must have passed t o the north of Pampaconas, c l o s e r t o t h e

ASSORTED carved s t o n e b u i l d i n g materials at ruins of V i l c a -bamba.

r i v e r , and t h a t we now found o u r s e l v e s t o t h e n o r t h w e s t — probably i n Hututo.

Above u s t o t h e n o r t h a b r i l l i a n t s u n s e t c a s t a m a g i c a l yellow glow over the lush h i l l s . Though the evening grew uncom-fortably cold, some Indians from the surrounding area appeared a t our c a m p s i t e w i t h a b a t t e r y powered record player and e n t e r -tained us with Quechua music and dancing.

T

he next morning we s e t off w e s t - n o r t h - w e s t , t r a v e l i n g through dense forest over a narrow t r a i l which snaked along the sides of the h i l l s . Occasionally, rem-n a rem-n t s of I rem-n c a rem-n t r a i l p r o v i d e d stone steps through t h i s swampy, h i g h l a n d j u n g l e . At t i m e s t h e r i v e r receded f a r below u s , o b -scured by t r e e s . Several times we p r e s s e d a g a i n s t t h e h i l l t o l e t campesinos pass us on the narrow t r a i l . Leading mules laden with bags of coffee beans, they greeted us with 'Buenos dias, Viracocha.' (The Incan creator-god, known as Viracocha, i s described as l i g h t complexioned, thus the term's use in greeting gringos.)

Crossing a p a r t i c u l a r l y narrow and shaky s t i c k - a n d - d i r t b r i d g e over a t r i b u t a r y of t h e Pampa-conas, we emerged on a dry,

b o u l d e r - s t r e w n flood p l a i n . A small r i v er flowed through the middle of t h i s sea of boulders and joined the Pampaconas. Our guide called i t the Rio Sootsootsingka-na. I t formed a l a z y lagoon before flowing off as the Concevi-dayoc. I t was h e r e , i n l a t e afternoon, that we set up camp.

The next day, we l e f t the p l a i n b e l o w , t r a v e l i n g n o r t h w a r d , ascending and descending the high jungle t r a i l s on our way through t h e rugged a r e a of C h u q u i l l u s c a and Huayna Pucara. We p a s s e d through an area where Machu Pucara m u s t h a v e b e e n i n t h e 1 6 t h century. At length we came upon a dwelling, identified both as San Martin and Concevidayoc. Within t h i s a r e a of i n n e r Vilcabamba, more and more s i g n s of r e c e n t human habitation appeared — burnt grass and forest, wooden fences, banana p l a n t s , c i t r u s t r e e s and coffee bushes. We were now within ' s t r i k i n g d i s t a n c e ' of E s p f r i t u Pampa.

In near-darkness and r a i n our p a r t y inched l a b o r i o u s l y along u n t i l a t l a s t we s t u m b l e d , together with our animals, down one final steep slope of loose wet rocks and mud. Chilled and numb w i t h e x h a u s t i o n , we had reached Espfritu Pampa where we sprawled on t h e p o r c h of t h e s i n g l e

t h a t c h e d h u t t h a t e x i s t s t h e r e . I t r a i n e d on our f i r s t day a t Espfritu Pampa. At mid-morning our g u i d e , t o g e t h e r w i t h some local Indians, l e f t to cut a path t o the ruins. In the e a r l y a f t e r -noon we s e t off f o r t h e r u i n e d c i t y . We headed s o u t h through t h i c k f o r e s t , p a s t p a t c h e s of cleared forest and immense stumps. At one point our guide scrambled away t o r e t u r n wit h a campesino. a sort of 'guardian of the ruins.'

A mass of t h i c k v e g e t a t i o n covered everything. We might have walked through the Inca c i t y with-out s e e i n g i t , b u t th e g u a r d i a n repeatedly directed our a t t e n t i o n t o stone w a l l s , rectangular rooms with doorways topped by mammoth l i n t e l s , s t r e e t s and pathways. The stonework appeared somewhat c r u d e r t h a n a t V i t c o s and con-siderably more so than a t Cuzco. Vilcabamba was obviously h a s t i l y constructed as a refuge. All the s t r u c t u r e s l a c k e d r o o f s — t h e thatch having long ago r o t t e d or burned away. Roots of g i g a n t i c t r e e s enveloped some of the walls. Above, the jungle canopy blocked out t i e sun. The c i t y seemed t o spread out endlessly.

I was unable t o d i s t i n g u i s h any of t h e l e v e l s of t h e c i t y described by Savoy. Some slabs of rock of various s i z e s and shapes,

THE RUINS

of Vitcos

at Rosas Pata.

leaning against one inside wall, were perhaps the Trailding acces-s o r i e acces-s ' Savoy mentioned. Some t h i c k w a l l s h a d r e c t a n g u l a r n i c h e s , w h i l e o t h e r s c o n t a i n e d those mysterious man-sized niches that one also sees a t Colcampata, the palace of Inca Manco Capac i n Cuzco, and Machu Picchu. Pushing further into t h i s jungle metropo-l i s we came across metropo-large boumetropo-lders p l a c e d squar e i n t h e m i d d l e of what was once a s t r e e t . Our guide told us these comprised the 'tomb of Manco Inca.' Strange feelings of awe for t h a t dark and moldering s i t e followed us back that night to Espiritu Pampa.

That n i g h t when we r e t u r n e d from the r u i n s , our mule d r i v e r announced he had had enough. He would go no f u r t h e r . He

con-sidered the bridges up north too rickety for h i s mules. We could only persuade him t o go as f a r as the f i r s t b r i d g e . J u s t a s t h e Inca Tupac Amaru f l e d t o h i s refuge of Vilcabamba, so we t o o found i t necessary t o beat a hasty r e t t e a t . Without m u l e s , i t promised t o be rough going. We s e t off e a r l y the n e x t morning, eager t o make as much t i m e as p o s s i b l e . The f i r s t b r i d g e was dangerous indeed, but n o t much more so than the others. S t i l l , the mule driver refused t o

recon-: .recon-:. ••'...••.•••.. .- •' • \ ••• .... ;

sider, so we loaded our backpacks and s e t out. Soon even the

usual-l y 'superhuman' P e r u v i a n s i n our p a r t y seemed exhausted and were slipping on the path.

Over t h e next few days we c o n t i n u e d i n a n o r t h e a s t e r l y direction, following the Cosireni River and crossing i t s t r i b u t a r y , t h e San Miguel. A f t e r p a s s i n g through the largely Indian town of Chuangiri we made our way through numerous small hamlets u n t i l we f i n a l l y struggled into the dusty s e t t l e m e n t of M o n t e r r i c o , a frontier town connected by a d i r t road t o Quillabamba, the capital of t h e p r o v i n c e . A d u s t y t h o r o u g h f a r e r a n t h r o u gh town, lined by cafes, houses and shops with f l a t roofs of corrugated t i n . Inside, dim e l e c t r i c l i g h t bulbs hung suspended over pounded d i r t f l o o r s .

In M o n t e r r i c o we boarded a large truck loaded with bales of coffee, beans, bananas and animal hides, and began the long, bumpy ride t o Quillabamba. From there we took the t r a i n t o Cuzco.

On t h i s r e t u r n t r i p t o Cuzco, the 'navel' of the Inca Empire, I savored the contentment t h a t comes w i t h f u l f i l l i n g a dream. That f a s c i n a t i o n of mine fo r l i t t l e -known and long-forgotten places — well, I had been t o Vilcabamba! I

ABOVE: Gregory Deyermenj ian a t Vilcabamba. The author i s presently planning an expedition to " P a i t i t i , " a mysterious c i t y thought t o be the u l t i m a t e Inca r e t r e a t .