| Machu Picchu has become a very popular destination | | | | Bingham started his first expedition to identify lost Inca |
| for travel lovers in recent years. Recently it has been | | | | capitals. While asking people about those cities, he |
| declared as one of the 'New Seven Wonders of the | | | | came across a prospector who said there were |
| World". Now Machu Picchu has become more popular | | | | numerous ruins around Urubamba valley and Huayna |
| with the travelers who like to travel historic | | | | Picchu. Since the new government road passed very |
| destinations. | | | | close to Huayna Picchu, they moved along that way. |
| We all know, Machu Picchu is known as lost Inca city. | | | | When they reach closer to Huayna Picchu, they |
| But have you ever thought why it is called lost? There | | | | camped one night on Mandor Pampa. That night one |
| are other cities built by Inca civilization, and remained | | | | person named Melchor Arteaga came into their camp |
| lost, until they were discovered on the last century. But | | | | and introduced himself as owner of the area. He said |
| nobody calls them lost city. It seems only Machu | | | | that there were ruins across the river, on top of the |
| Picchu is known as lost city. So there are reasons | | | | mountain Huayna Picchu. He agreed to lead the party |
| behind this name. If we get inside the history of Machu | | | | towards the ruins, in exchange of fifty cents a day. |
| Picchu, we may get the answer. | | | | Next morning they followed him and found the ruins on |
| The great "Hiram Bingham" wrote number of books on | | | | the ridge called Machu Picchu. Since this ruins had no |
| Machu Picchu after his discovery. I hope you know | | | | name, according to the name of the mountain, Hiram |
| about Hiram Bingham. He was a Yale historian who | | | | Bingham and others started to call it Machu Picchu. |
| went to Peru number of times to discover Inca cities | | | | Bingham tried to identify this city and mistakenly |
| hidden in the deep forest and mountains. Bingham had | | | | thought it was the last Incan capital Vilcabamba la |
| a very colorful life. He was also a senator of US | | | | vieza. |
| senate and Governor of Connecticut of United States. | | | | Bingham actually found Vitcos and even Vilcabamba, |
| You may be surprised to know that he even served in | | | | which is presently known as Espiritu Pampa, but he did |
| US army and reached to the rank of Lieutenant | | | | not realize that Espiritu Pampa is Vilcabamba. Bingham |
| Colonel. He was an aviator too and served as | | | | died thinking that Machu Picchu was the Vilcabamba |
| Instructor for one of the Aviation academy of US | | | | he had searched for. |
| navy. | | | | Vilcabamba the old |
| One of Bingham's books was 'Lost City of the Incas', | | | | As I just discussed, Bingham found Vilcabamba the old, |
| since the publication of the book the name became | | | | which was then (and now too) named as Espiritu |
| popular. He named it as lost city, because he thought | | | | Pampa. He failed to realize the importance of this |
| this city was the last capital of Inca-'Vilcabamba the | | | | discovery, because he preferred to believe that Machu |
| old', which was lost to Peruvian Historians and could | | | | Picchu was Vilcabamba. Anyway after he died |
| not be traced until 1960. Most important fact is that it | | | | Antonio Santander and Gene Savoy were the very |
| was lost to Spaniards too, that is why this city | | | | first persons in the 1960s who realized that Espiritu |
| remained intact. All the Incan city were partly of fully | | | | Pampa is the actual Vilcabamba the Old. In 1976 Prof. |
| destroyed by Spaniards. They did not know about | | | | Edmundo Guillen and Polish explorers Tony Halik and |
| Machu Picchu, so it remained hidden for centuries until | | | | Elibieta Dzikowska again found the ruins. However, |
| Hiram Bingham brought this city to the attention of | | | | before the expedition in a museum in Seville, Spain |
| whole world. | | | | Guillen discovered letters from Spaniards, in which they |
| The last Incan capitals | | | | were describing the progress of the invasion and what |
| When Spanish invaders took hold of Peru from Incas, | | | | they found in Vilcabamba. Comparison between the |
| Inca Emperor left their capital (which was Cusco city) | | | | letters' content and the ruins provided additional proof |
| and went to deep forest and continued their fighting | | | | of the location of Vilcabamba. |
| from there. This place was known as Vitcos. | | | | Why Incas left Machu Picchu |
| Afterward they shifted to a more remote place, | | | | Long before the Spaniard conquered Peru, it was |
| Vilcabamba the Old. When Spaniards got hold of the | | | | abandoned by Incas. That is why when the Spaniards |
| last Incan Emperor, they destroyed these cities. | | | | conquered Incas, they did not find it. The Spaniard |
| Afterwards nobody knew the existence or location of | | | | writers did not write anything about it and that is simply |
| those two cities. Historians and Archeologists were | | | | because they did not know about the existence of |
| always looking for those two cities, but never found | | | | Machu Picchu. Since most of our present knowledge |
| them, until they were discovered by Bingham. | | | | on Inca civilization is from the writings of Spaniards, until |
| How Bingham started | | | | Bingham discovered Machu Picchu, nobody knew |
| Hiram Bingham visited Santiago, Chile as a delegate to | | | | anything of it. |
| the First Pan American Scientific Congress in 1908. At | | | | Present days it is the most beautiful city of all Incan |
| this tour he went to Peru. While he was coming back, | | | | ruins, because it was not destroyed by the Spaniard. |
| one of the high officials of Peruvian government | | | | All ruins got some treatment by Spaniard except this |
| requested him to visit one of the Inca city at | | | | city, since they did not know the existence of this city. |
| Choqquequirau, which could be lost Incan capital. He | | | | It is fully understandable that Incas abandoned the city |
| visited that place and found that it was not any of the | | | | before the Spanish arrival. But it is still mystery whey |
| last Incan capitals. But he became interested in Incan | | | | they abandoned the city. |
| ruins. Though he was a professor of History in Yale | | | | Machu Picchu - why this beautiful city was built? |
| University and his subject was South American history, | | | | Most of the source of information on Inca was the |
| but he did not know much about the ruins beforehand. | | | | writing of Spaniards, but they did not know about it. So |
| But after his visit to Choqquequirau he became very | | | | it is difficult to identify the exact reasoning of creation |
| much interested in discovery of Incan ruins. After his | | | | of this city. Archeologist worked hard on this fact |
| return he spent long time reading old Spanish | | | | during the last few decades. But we still do not know |
| Chronicles and papers. He was trying to find out the | | | | the purpose Machu Picchu served to the Incan. |
| last two Incan capital. When Manco II left Cusco, he | | | | Bingham thought it was Vilcabamba the old- the last |
| started to live in Vitcos, and continued his battle against | | | | Incan Capital. But afterwards it was proved that |
| Spaniard from Vitcos. But after his death they | | | | Machu Picchu is not Vilcabamba. |
| searched a new place, which should be difficult to | | | | So what is Machu Picchu? There is lot of speculation |
| reach and in between river and mountains. Finaly they | | | | on the purpose it served. According to one theory, it |
| selected a new place from where they could continue | | | | was the royal retreat. Other theory states that it was |
| battle. This place was the very famous Vilcabamba la | | | | a religious place. Also it is believed that it was an |
| vieza, or 'Vilcabamba the old'. Hiram Bingham read | | | | ancient fortress. Because of its location, the city was |
| about Vitcos and Vilcabamba and just like the | | | | easily defendable. Think of the steep trail and |
| Peruvian historian, he was interested to find those | | | | drawbridges - it was really difficult to conquer the city. |
| cities. | | | | But still nobody knows which theory is the true one. |
| Discovery of Machu Picchu | | | | That is why it is so mysterious. |