Vilcabamba

Vilcabamba or Espítu Pampa is the Inca city, their last refugee before the Spaniards defeated them. In attempt to save themselves from the Spanish conquistadors and their army they went to the Vilcabamba with the Manco Inca as their ruler at the time. This city was founded in 1539. It was 36 years later, when the Spaniards finally succeeded in their attempt and killed the last Inca ruler, called Tupac Amru. After the Inca Empire ceased to exist, Vilcabamba was burned and forgotten.

This site was rediscovered in the late 19th century by Manuel Ugarte, Manuel Lopez Torres and by Juan Cancio Saavedra. At that period Vilcabamba was called Espíritu Pampa and later on when Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu he thought that it was Machu Picchu the famous Vilcabamba, the last Inca city.

It was discovered late as in the 1960s that the Espiritu Pampa was in fact Vilcabamba and that was further confiremd and more facts were found in the letters found in the museum in Spain.