Vilcabamba (Peru)
Coordinates: 12 ° 54 ′ 16.5 ″ S , 73 ° 12 ′ 9.9 ″ W.
Vilcabamba ( Willkapampa , Quechua Wilka 'holy' and pampa 'plain' = "sacred area") is considered the last retreat of the Inca in Peru after the Spaniards had conquered their empire. In this area, which is traversed by the Río Vilcabamba and Río Cushireni , the places Vilcabamba Viejo (Espíritu Pampa) and Vilcabamba Nuevo (San Francisco) are located.
Today the Vilcabamba district exists in this area as an administrative unit of the La Convención province in the Cusco region .
Vilcabamba is located between the large rivers Apurímac and Urubamba in the triangle of Choquequirao (approx. 120 km west of Cusco ), Chaullay / Santa Ana (approx. 20 km northwest of Machu Picchu ) and Espíritu Pampa (approx. 110 km west of Machu Picchu).
history
After the Inca ruler Manco Cápac II, appointed by Francisco Pizarro , stood against the Spaniards in 1536 (see Siege of Cuzco ) and his uprising failed, he fled to Vilcabamba with several thousand supporters and continued to resist the European invaders from there. In 1544, after his murder, he was successively followed by his two sons Sayri Túpac and Titu Cusi Yupanqui, and through clever policies they were able to preserve Vilcabamba's independence. The fragile peace with the Spaniards lasted until, after Titu Cusi Yupanqui's death in 1571, Túpac Amaru was the last to take over the dignity of the Inca. On July 24, 1572, the Spaniards captured Vilcabamba Viejo. The Incas burned down their city. The Spaniards captured Túpac Amaru, who had fled into the lowlands. He was taken to Cusco and beheaded two months later on the viceroy's orders.
From the 19th century, the lost city was initially unsuccessfully sought. There are numerous ruins from the Inca period in the area. Vilcabamba is still unexplored in parts, which is partly due to the difficult accessibility and also to the terror of the Sendero Luminoso (until 1992). It was only discovered in the 1960s through American aerial photographs. New discoveries have been reported since then.
Inca ruins in the area
- Vitcos : Near Huancacalle. Presumed palace of Manco Capac II.
- Yurak Rumi or ( Ñusta Hisp'ana ): sanctuary 1 km from Vitcos. Quechua for "the white stone", also known as Ñusta España or Chuquipalta.
- Puncuyoc: Very well preserved Inca building in a beautiful area
- Choquequirao : Large Inca complex with very well preserved buildings
- Corihuayrachina (approx. 5 km north of Choquequirao): The discovery on Cerro Victoria by a National Geographic Society- sponsored expedition led by Peter Frost was reported in March 2002.
- Cota Coca (about 2 km northwest of Choquequirao): The Royal Geographical Society reported on the discovery by an expedition led by Gary Ziegler and Hugh Thompson in June 2002. Major New Inca Site Discovered , June 6, 2002, accessed June 27, 2002 June 2020.
literature
- Aude de Tocqueville: Atlas of the lost cities . Frederking & Thaler , Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-95416-179-9 .