The INCAS found a perfect way of living in one of the most inaccessible parts of the Andes, in Peru, the REGION lying BETWEEN the APURIMAC River and the URUBAMBA River.
The REGION was considered the heartland of the Inca Empire. It comprises the departments of Cuzco, Puno and Apurimac, bordered by the highlands and Amazon on the North and West; and by Bolivia and the Amazon on the South and East.
URUBAMBA rises in the Andes Mountains to the southeast of Cuzco. It originates in the Mountain Khunurana in the Puno Region, Melgar Province, near La Raya pass. The River's upstream change the name to its Aymara name VILCANOTA, which means "House of the Sun." It is called Vilcanota in the area where it comes above the ground (near Puno Region's border).
The section of the River that flows across the Sacred Valley of the Incas (exactly between PISAC and OLLANTAYTAMBO) is called WILLCAMAYU or HUILCAMAYO meaning "Sacred River."
Then it flows North- North-West for 724 kilometers when it is called URUBAMBA in Northern Peru, where it is partially navigable, before coalescing with the Tambo River to form the UCAYALI River.
The Sacred River then meets with the Apurimac and Ucayali Rivers, together with them it forms the mighty AMAZON River.
The REGION was considered the CENTER OF THE INCA UNIVERSE. Here they shared their habitat with mighty precipices, passes three miles high, granite canyons more than a mile in depth, glaciers and tropical jungles, as well as dangerous rapids.
The INCAS had excellent skills in building such stone structures all over the mighty Valley. Heavy granite stones were the primary materials. Extremely hard to cut, even with today's technology.
Why the Incas chose this complex way of building is not known. Certainly with today's eyes and minds we can observe that the Inca buildings were done to defy time.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Thursday, March 5, 2015
VILCABAMBA, one of the great mysteries of the INCAS.
The city of Vilcabamba, hidden in the mountains, is one of the great mysteries of the Inca's Empire. It is the last great city silently waiting to be found in the heart of Peru.
The city was a sacred shrine hidden on top of great precipices in a canyon where the secrecy of its existence was safely buried under the shadow of Machu Picchu mountain.
Shortly after the invasion of Cuzco, in 1533, Pizarro placed a young Inca nobleman, Manco, on the throne. In 1537 Manco rebelled against the Spanish and fled into the mysterious and remote regions of Vilcabamba.
Around 1553, Manco Inca installed a rebellious kingdom about 50 miles away from Cuzco in the Grand Canyon of the Urubamba River, protected by the mountains of Vilcabamba, while the Spaniards invaders had already taken almost the rest of the Empire.
From his hidden refuge Manco and his warriors, estimated to be from 50,000 to 80,000 strong and mountain trained men, launched successful attacks against the invaders' supply routes. Several counter-strikes launched by Pizarro failed to dislodge Manco.
Following Manco's death in 1545, the rebellion continued under Manco's sons : Sayri Tupac,Tito Cusi, and Tupac Amaru. They resisted until 1572, the latter finally being captured near the River Urubamba, taken to Cuzco and executed there.
The Vilcabamba area, and Espiritu Pampa is believed to have been the long-sought "last refuge" of the Sapa Inca, and was never found by the invaders.
Few people realize how much we owe to the ancient Peruvians. They gave to the world the countless varieties of potato, gigantic corns, quinoa, etc. Their knowledge of agriculture has never been surpassed. The fine textiles and the beautiful pottery surpassed the best that Egypt could offer.
The Incas governed their millions of subjects with firmness and justice under a benevolent system that allowed no one to be hungry or cold.
They had no written language, not even hieroglyphics. What we know about them has had to depend on what they left, aided by the oral lore that was pass on from generations to generations.
They found a perfect way of living in one of the most inaccessible parts of the Andes, the region lying between the APURIMAC river and the URUBAMBA river, two important affluents of the AMAZON river. Here they shared their habitat with mighty precipices, passes three miles high, granite canyons more than a mile in depth, glaciers and tropical jungles, as well as with dangerous rapids. In other words they had one of the most wonderful places in the world.
The city was a sacred shrine hidden on top of great precipices in a canyon where the secrecy of its existence was safely buried under the shadow of Machu Picchu mountain.
Shortly after the invasion of Cuzco, in 1533, Pizarro placed a young Inca nobleman, Manco, on the throne. In 1537 Manco rebelled against the Spanish and fled into the mysterious and remote regions of Vilcabamba.
Around 1553, Manco Inca installed a rebellious kingdom about 50 miles away from Cuzco in the Grand Canyon of the Urubamba River, protected by the mountains of Vilcabamba, while the Spaniards invaders had already taken almost the rest of the Empire.
From his hidden refuge Manco and his warriors, estimated to be from 50,000 to 80,000 strong and mountain trained men, launched successful attacks against the invaders' supply routes. Several counter-strikes launched by Pizarro failed to dislodge Manco.
Following Manco's death in 1545, the rebellion continued under Manco's sons : Sayri Tupac,Tito Cusi, and Tupac Amaru. They resisted until 1572, the latter finally being captured near the River Urubamba, taken to Cuzco and executed there.
The Vilcabamba area, and Espiritu Pampa is believed to have been the long-sought "last refuge" of the Sapa Inca, and was never found by the invaders.
Few people realize how much we owe to the ancient Peruvians. They gave to the world the countless varieties of potato, gigantic corns, quinoa, etc. Their knowledge of agriculture has never been surpassed. The fine textiles and the beautiful pottery surpassed the best that Egypt could offer.
The Incas governed their millions of subjects with firmness and justice under a benevolent system that allowed no one to be hungry or cold.
They had no written language, not even hieroglyphics. What we know about them has had to depend on what they left, aided by the oral lore that was pass on from generations to generations.
They found a perfect way of living in one of the most inaccessible parts of the Andes, the region lying between the APURIMAC river and the URUBAMBA river, two important affluents of the AMAZON river. Here they shared their habitat with mighty precipices, passes three miles high, granite canyons more than a mile in depth, glaciers and tropical jungles, as well as with dangerous rapids. In other words they had one of the most wonderful places in the world.
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