Conquistadors destroyed the great Inca empire. They destroyed it in such a devastating state that no evidence can be found. These Spanish Conquistadors indulged in loot, plunder, pillaging and burning. They enslaved the last Inca ruler and killed him. But before his death, he escaped to jungles with the wealth. What happened to the great mass of wealth, is still to be identified. In fact, the identification of two primary cities - Vitcos and Vilcabomba is itself unknown. The Spanish colonial maps do not mention it, but historians believe otherwise.
The scholars and adventurers have been eager to locate the last refuge of the Incas, one of the greatest civilizations of America. The scholars have been eager to locate the last hiding place of the Incas (Vitcos or Vilcabamba) because the rumour goes that the last ruler had buried his treasures there. No one knows how true this assumption can be. The place has still not been unearthed.
Inca was a powerful kingdom in America. But by 1527, a virulent epidemic swept Peru. It claimed the life of the emperor, Huayna Capac Inca and his successor, Ninan Cuyachi in the confusion that prevailed, Huayna Capac’s two sons seized power. Huascar became the ruler and Atahualpa took the command of the imperial army. Both the brothers tried to usurp the power from the other. Naturally, civil war ensued and finally Atahualpa won. But he was not destined to enjoy the fruits of his success for a long time. In 1532, the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro seized Atahualpa.
Atahualpa was eager to get himself released. For this purpose, he lured the Spanish Conquistador. Atahualpa filled up a room with gold, other jewels jars, pots, tiles and plaques. He filled another room with silver. Pizarro accumulated the wealth and planned a plot against Atahualpa. He accused Atahualpa of plotting against him to kill him. He then appointed Huascar’s brother Manco as successor to the slain emperor.
Manco’s fate was no better than that of Atahualpa. He was subjected to daily insults and harassment. The frightened Manco when attempting to fee the capital was overtaken and imprisoned. Manco did not accept defeat. He plotted revenge and in 1536, Manco smartly took the permission to pay homage to the ancient Gods at Yucay Valley. Manco promised to bring back the life-sized gold statue of Huayna Capac. Pizarro’s judgment betrayed him at this point. The lust of gold blinded him. He gave permission and with days Manco assembled an army of 100,000 strongmen. He attacked the Spaniards and thus began a struggle led first by Manco and later by his sons that was to last 36 years – 1536 to 1572.
The Spanish forces accepted the challenge forcefully. These forces under Rodrigo Orgonez forced Manco to fee again to the valley of the Vilcabamba. The Spanish forces indulged in loot and plunder at Vitcos. When they returned to Cuzco in July 1537, Manco and remnants of his army disappeared into the mountains.
In the court of Francisco Pizarro, human greed took a great toll. The insatiable hunger for gold and empire led the Spanish to indulge in killing one another. Pizarro was murdered and when Manco soldiers heard this new, they burst into of Pizarro’s palace and hacked him to death with their swords. Some learnt the fighting techniques. Manco himself learnt to ride a horse and fre an arquebus (an old fashioned hand gun).
But even this blessing proved to be short lived. Soon the fresh Spanish forces arrived from Spain and Manco was finally killed. Then the reins of rebellion was undertaken by Manco’s son, Sayri Tupac.
Some years later Sayri Tupac accepted the Spanish offer. He was pardoned and taken to Cuzco where a Christian marriage with Cusi Huarcay was formalized. This marriage proved short-lived. After two years, Sayri Tupac died (or was killed?) on his estate in the Yucay Valley.
After this death, second son of Manco Titu Cusi succeeded to the Inca throne. He died after eleven years and the succession passed on to Tupac Amaru, another son of the Manco. He was the last Inca emperor who led a strong crusade against the Conquistadors, which his father had started three decades earlier. In March 1572, the new viceroy of Peru, Francisco de Toledo, sent an emissary to Vilcabamba. But Toledo’s envoy could not reach Vilcabamba. Inca soldiers intercepted and killed him. This enraged the new viceroy so much that he launched a brutal assault on the Inca’s citadel.
The Spaniards entered the gates of Vilcabamba and were received by the smoking ruins of a deserted town. Tupac Amaru with his followers had already fled into the vast Amazon jungle, only to escape death for a short-time. He was ultimately caught and beheaded before a huge crowd of prostrate Indians.
Surprisingly, despite such political intrigues, none of the Spanish Colonial maps revealed the exact location of Vilcabamba or archaeologists and scholars for they believe that the last ruler buried his treasure there.
In 1768, a theory was put forward that the legendary city of Vilcabamba was the ruins at Choqquequirau when is situated in the steep range near Apurimac river.
American scholar, Hiram Bingham started the search for Apurimac region in 1909. He found in the jungle the infested ruins of Choqquequirau. But Lima historian, Don Carlos Romero and Bingham himself did not believe that Choqquequirau was Vilcabamba for the description of the 16th century writers just did not correspond with the area discovered.
However, Bingham re-read the accounts and restarted his search. On the way, he met an Indian, named Melchor Anteaga. He offered to reveal the secret to him and guided Bingham to some ruins in the hollow peak towering more than 2,000 ft. above the Urubamba. These ruins were no doubt exemplary in their construction and beauty but that it was the last city of Vilcabamba, it was doubtful.
As late as in 1964, the question of Vilcabamba again propped up. A group of farmers who set out in search of arable land in the north of Peru came across some unknown ruins. They named these ruins as Gran Pajaten. This newly discovered city is situated on a crescent-shaped cliff about 9,500 ft. above the sea level. Its architecture is round with paved paths, short fights of steps and small squares. An aerial survey showed that there were many ruins at Gran Pajaten. About three thousand have been recorded so far. They are scattered over seven hills and are linked by a roadway. This roadway is in some places not more than 4 yards wide and disappears into the forest.
Still unsatisfied with the discovery, Americans started a new expedition in 1964-65. The expedition was led by General Savoy. He started where Bingham left. He identified the ruins discovered by Bingham at Espiritu Pampa and based his assumptions on several pieces of evidence. He observed the walls, the ceramics, the art and related them with several reports furnished by the Spanish writer. He finally drew the conclusion that Espiritu Pampa was infact, Vilcabamba. But several researchers do not agree with such vaguely drawn conclusion. Only recently, one of the General Savoy’s guides discovered yet another lost city with an area of just over a square mile. The entrance to this town is cut out of a single block of stone and instead of being trapezoid shaped the Inca tradition, this is in the form of a half moon. Some scholars put forward a theory that it could have been an attempt to build a arch, a sign of the presence of Spanish influence. The Indians who live there call it Hatun Vilcabamba, meaning Great on High.
However, not all agree to this suggestion. The Indians who claim to be the only legitimate heir of Inca tradition do not agree with the several finds. According to them, the Inca treasures lay at the bottom of a lake which only they could approach. Even the Peruvian archaeologists do not make any remarks. They remain silent as there are many more ruins which are yet to be dissected.
Thus, even till this day the controversy remains open. Nobody has or could so far authoritatively prove the place where the last Inca ruler hid his treasures. The mystery is still unvalued.
