Turn Right at Machu Picchu

by Mark Adams

  Pizarro, Gonzalo: Younger, nastier brother of Francisco. Infamous for his mistreatment of Manco Inca and for stealing Manco’s wife.

  Puquiura: (Pa-kee-yoo-rah) Small town near Vitcos and Huancacalle; its location was an important clue to finding the lost city of Vilcabamba.

  Quechua: (KETCH-wah) Native language of the Peruvian Andes.

  Royal Mausoleum: A cave at Machu Picchu, located directly beneath the Torreon; it is filled with enigmatic stonework, the purpose of which is still a mystery.

  Runcu Raccay: (Roon-KOO Rah-KIE) Circular ruin, found by Bingham near the midpoint of the Inca Trail.

  Sacred Plaza: A group of three important temples at Machu Picchu, including the Temple of the Three Windows and the Principal Temple.

  Sacsahuaman: (Sack-sah-wah-MAHN) Gargantuan walled structure located above Cusco, famous for the size of the carved stones in its walls.

  Salcantay: (Sal-kan-TIE) A sacred mountain (apu) directly south of Machu Picchu. One of the two holiest peaks in the Inca religion, along with Ausangate.

  Sapa Inca: (SAH-pah EEN-kah) Official title of the emperor of the Incas.

  Sayacmarca: An enigmatic, fortlike group of ruins near the midpoint of the Inca Trail.

  Sayri Tupac: (Say-ree TOO-pock) A son of Manco Inca who ruled the rebel Inca state of Vilcabamba from 1544 to 1560.

  Tampu Tocco: (TAHM-poo TOH-koh) According to legend, the three-windowed hill from which emerged founders of the Inca dynasty. Bingham believed that he had found it at Machu Picchu.

  Tawantinsuyu: (Tah-WAHN-tin-soo-yoo) The original name of the Inca empire.

  Temple of the Three Windows: An important building at Machu Picchu. Its signature feature is a wall of three large windows that face east toward the sunrise.

  Titu Cusi: (TEE-too KOO-see) A son of Manco Inca who ruled the rebel Inca state of Vilcabamba from 1560 to 1571.

  Torreon: (Tor-ray-OHN) A large building at Machu Picchu—also known as the Sun Temple or Semicircular Temple—noted for its curved wall. A beam of light shines through a small window there on the June solstice. Located directly above the Royal Mausoleum.

  Tupac Amaru: (TOO-pock Ah-MAR-roo) Last of the rebel Inca emperors. He was captured by the Spaniards in 1572 and beheaded in the main square in Cusco.

  Urubamba River: (Oo-roo-BAHM-bah) The most sacred river in Inca cosmology, it curves around the spur on which Machu Picchu sits. Also known as the Vilcanota River near Cusco.

  Usnu: (OOS-noo) Raised platform used by the Incas for religious ceremonies.

  Vilcabamba: (Veel-kah-BAHM-bah) The jungle capital of the rebel Inca state, where Manco Inca went to hide after being chased from Vitcos in 1537. Sacked by the Spaniards in 1572, the city was soon reabsorbed into the tropical foliage—leading to the legend of the Lost City of the Incas.

  Vitcos: (Veet-khos) Fortified settlement west of Machu Picchu, near Puquiura and Huancacalle. Probably built by Pachacutec. Site of an important religious complex, constructed around a large carved boulder known as the White Rock.

  Vista Alegre: (VEES-tah Ah-LAY-gray) Small settlement on the trail between Vitcos and Espiritu Pampa, or Old Vilcabamba.

  White Rock: A sacred carved Inca boulder located near Vitcos; it was an important clue in Bingham’s 1911 investigations. Also known as Yurak Rumi.

  Wiñay Wayna: (WEEN-yay WHY-nah) A spectacular set of Inca buildings and terraces near the end of the Inca Trail.

  Yanama: (Ya-Nah-mah) A small town on the trail between Choquequirao and Vitcos.

  Chronology

  Ca. 1200 Founding of what became the Inca dynasty.

  1438 Pachacutec becomes Sapa Inca and begins his territorial expansion. He launches a massive building program, which will include the construction of Machu Picchu, the Koricancha sun temple in Cusco and the Capac Ñan.

  1492 Christopher Columbus lands at what is now the Bahamas.

  1513 Vasco Nuñez de Balboa sees the Pacific.

  1519 Hernán Cortés conquers the Aztec empire in Mexico.

  1522 A Spanish explorer reports the existence of a land known as Birú, later to be called Peru.

  1527 First meeting between Francisco Pizarro and the Incas takes place in northern Peru.

  1527–28 Emperor Huayna Capac dies unexpectedly. His son Huascar takes over but is opposed by another of Huayna Capac’s sons, Atahualpa. Five years of civil war ensue.

  1532 Atahualpa wins the Inca civil war. Pizarro captures Atahualpa. Atahualpa offers a huge ransom for his freedom.

  1533 Atahualpa is executed. Manco is crowned Inca by Pizarro.

  1536 Manco leads an attack against the Spaniards in Cusco.

  1537 Manco flees his rebel headquarters at Ollantaytambo for Vitcos. When Vitcos is sacked by the Spaniards, he escapes to the new jungle capital of Vilcabamba.

  1539 Vilcabamba is sacked for the first time. Manco’s queen Cura Ocllo is executed by Pizarro.

  1541 Francisco Pizarro is murdered in Lima.

  1544 Manco Inca is murdered by Spanish refugees at Vitcos. He is succeeded by his sons Sayri Tupac and Titu Cusi.

  1570 Spanish friars burn the temple complex near the White Rock of Vitcos.

  1572 The Spaniards declare war on the rebel Inca state. Vilcabamba is sacked and burned for a second time. Tupac Amaru, the last Inca emperor, is captured in the jungle and returned to Cusco, where he is executed in the Plaza de Armas.

  1781 Would-be revolutionary Tupac Amaru II is executed in Cusco.

  1800s French explorers visit Choquequirao, sparking the legend that it is the site of Vilcabamba.

  1847 William Prescott publishes The Conquest of Peru.

  1895 A new mule road is completed alongside the Urubamba River, passing below Machu Picchu.

  1906–07 Hiram Bingham makes his first visit to South America, through Venezuela and Colombia.

  1908–09 Bingham attends a scientific conference in Chile, and stays on to make his initial visit to Peru, including Cusco. He visits the ruins of Choquequirao, believed by some to be Vilcabamba—the Lost City of the Incas.

  1911 Bingham’s annus mirabilis. In one summer as the leader of the Yale Peruvian Expedition, he discovers Machu Picchu, Vitcos and Espritu Pampa. He leaves Peru uncertain if he has actually found Vilcabamba.

  1912 Bingham returns to Peru, cosponsored by Yale and the National Geographic Society.

  1913 The publication of Bingham’s first National Geographic story makes stars of both Machu Picchu and its discoverer. Bingham begins to formulate his theory that Machu Picchu is Vilcabamba.

  1914–15 Bingham’s third trip to Peru, during which he finds the Inca Trail. He leaves under a cloud of suspicion.

  1948 Bingham publishes Lost City of the Incas, makes a final return trip to Machu Picchu.

  1956 Bingham dies.

  1964 Gene Savoy explores Espiritu Pampa, uncovers new evidence that it is the true Vilcabamba.

  1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark is released, raising questions about which real-life explorers inspired Indiana Jones.

  1982 Yale researchers Richard Burger and Lucy Salazar publish their theory that Machu Picchu had been the royal estate of Pachacutec.

  2008 Paolo Greer publishes his article “Machu Picchu Before Bingham,” which concludes that the prospector Augusto Berns likely looted Machu Picchu’s artifacts long before Bingham arrived.

  2011 100th anniversary of Hiram Bingham’s first trip to Machu Picchu.

  A Few Notes On Sources

  A researcher could spend several lifetimes exploring the intertwined histories of Hiram Bingham, Machu Picchu, and the conquest of the Incas. Some of the tales surrounding these subjects have been told again and again, and attempting to trace information back to its original source is often impossible. Whenever possible I’ve relied on the earliest or most definitive source available, but if you spot an error or have a question about something, feel free to e-mail me at turnrightMP@gmail.com.

  While writing this book, I always kept a small stack of key materials close at hand. A
nyone interested in learning more about Machu Picchu would find any of them worth reading:

  Portrait of an Explorer: Hiram Bingham, Discoverer of Machu Picchu, by Alfred Bingham.

  This somewhat critical biography, written by one of Bingham’s seven sons, was the first attempt to place Hiram III’s career in the context of the golden age of exploration. While I disagree with its author’s thesis that Bingham was completely fixated on climbing Mt. Coropuna and required months to realize the importance of Machu Picchu, its account of the 1911 Yale Peruvian Expedition is unparalleled. Also published under the title Explorer of Machu Picchu.

  The Conquest of the Incas, by John Hemming.

  The definitive history of Francisco Pizarro’s occupation of Peru, and the starting point for any serious examination of Inca history.

  History of the Conquest of Peru, by William H. Prescott.

  Published in 1847, this book became the model for all future studies of Inca history. Its bias in favor the gallant Spaniards is offset by Prescott’s thrilling narrative style.

  Inca Land, by Hiram Bingham.

  The explorer’s first book-length account of his travels in Peru. Not exactly a page-turner, but it does give a more honest account of his actions and motivations than one finds in the famous Lost City of the Incas.

  “In the Wonderland of Peru,” by Hiram Bingham, National Geographic, April 1913.

  This is probably the best account of Bingham’s first two trips to Peru; it conveys the thrill of discovery better than his later retellings.

  Lost City of the Incas, by Hiram Bingham.

  Bingham’s most readable book about Machu Picchu, in which he builds a case for himself as an important explorer and for his theories regarding the citadel. The best edition includes Hugh Thomson’s insightful introduction.

  The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland, by Hugh Thomson.

  A travel book that follows many of Bingham’s routes through Peru; its sequel, A Sacred Landscape (published in the UK as Cochineal Red) describes the 2002 mapping of Llactapata in depth, and features several appearances by Mr. John Leivers.

  “Machu Picchu Before Bingham,” by Paolo Greer, South American Explorer Magazine, Summer 2008.

  The article that dragged Bingham back into the news.

  Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas, by Richard L. Burger and Lucy C. Salazar.

  A thorough, scholarly overview of what is known about Machu Picchu, with particular emphasis on the authors’ theory that it was one of Pachacutec’s royal estates.

  The Machu Picchu Guidebook: A Self-Guided Tour, by Ruth Wright.

  An excellent guidebook that explains how and why the Incas built the various structures at Machu Picchu.

  Cradle of Gold: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu, by Christopher Heaney.

  An engaging modern account of Bingham’s life and career, with an emphasis on his archaeological work, by a historian who spent an enormous amount of time digging through archives on three continents.

  Forgotten Vilcabamba: Final Stronghold of the Incas, by Vincent Lee.

  Following clues left by Bingham and others, an architect-explorer ventured into the former rebel Inca kingdom in the 1980s to see if anything remained. As it turned out, quite a bit did.

  Machu Picchu: Exploring an Ancient Sacred Center, by Johan Reinhard.

  The original, and best, explanation of why Machu Picchu is most likely situated where it is.

  Selected Bibliography

  Adelaar, Willem, with Pieter Muysken. The Languages of the Andes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

  Bauer, Brian. Ancient Cuzco: Heartland of the Inca. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004.

  Betanzos, Juan de. Narrative of the Incas. Translation by Roland Hamilton. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996.

  Bingham, Alfred M. Portrait of an Explorer: Hiram Bingham. Ames: University of Iowa Press, 1989.

  Bingham, Alfred M. The Tiffany Fortune, and Other Chronicles of a Connecticut Family. Chestnut Hill, MA: Abeel & Leet, 1996.

  Bingham, Hiram (I). A Residence of Twenty-One Years in the Sandwich Islands. Hartford: H. Huntington, 1848.

  Bingham, Hiram (III).

  The Journal of an Expedition Across Venezuela and Colombia, 1906–1907. New Haven: Yale Publishing Association, 1909.

  Across South America: An Account of a Journey from Buenos Aires to Lima. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1911.

  “Preliminary Report of the Yale Peruvian Expedition.” Bulletin of the American Geographical Society. January 1912.

  “Vitcos, the Lost Inca Capital.” Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society , April 1912.

  “A Search for the Last Inca Capital.” Harper’s, October 1912.

  “The Discovery of Machu Picchu.” Harper’s, April 1913.

  “In the Wonderland of Peru: The Work Accomplished by the Peruvian Expedition of 1912, Under the Auspices of Yale University and the National Geographic Society.” National Geographic, April 1913.

  “The Ruins of Espiritu Pampa, Peru.” American Anthropologist, April–June 1914.

  “Along the Uncharted Pampaconas.” Harper’s, August 1914.

  “The Story of Machu Picchu.” National Geographic, February 1915.

  “Further Explorations in the Land of the Incas.” National Geographic, May 1916.

  An Explorer in the Air Service. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1920.

  Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1922

  Machu Picchu, a Citadel of the Incas. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1930.

  Lost City of the Incas. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1948. Reprinted, with an introduction by Hugh Thomson. London: Phoenix House, 2002.

  Bingham, Woodbridge. Hiram Bingham: A Personal History. Boulder, CO: Bin Lan Zhen Publishers, 1989.

  Boorstin, Daniel. The Discoverers. New York: Random House, 1983.

  Buck, Daniel. “Fights of Machu Picchu.” South American Explorer, January 1993.

  Cobo, Bernabé. History of the Inca Empire: An Account of the Indians’ Customs and their Origin, Together with a Treatise on Inca Legends, History, and Social Institutions. Translation by Roland Hamilton. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983.

  Dearborn, David and Raymond White, “Archaeoastronomy at Machu Picchu.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, May 1982.

  Dearborn, David, and Raymond White. “The ‘Torreon’ at Machu Picchu as an Observatory.” Archaeoastronomy, 1983.

  Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999.

  Dougherty, Michael. To Steal a Kingdom. Waimanaolo, HI: Island Style Press, 1992.

  Fejos, Paul. Archaeological Explorations in the Cordillera Vilcabamba, South-eastern Peru. New York: Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology, 1944.

  Fiennes, Ranulph, Sir. Race to the Pole: Tragedy, Heroism, and Scott’s Antarctic Quest. New York: Hyperion, 2004.

  Frost, Peter. Exploring Cusco. Lima: Nuevas Imágenes, 1999.

  Gasparini, Graziano and Luise Margolies. Inca Architecture. Translated by Patricia Lyon. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1980.

  Gilfond, Duff. “A Superior Person.” The American Mercury, March 1930.

  Grann, David. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. New York: Doubleday, 2009.

  Greer, Paolo. “Machu Picchu Before Bingham.” South American Explorer, May 2008.

  Guamán Poma de Ayala, Felipe. Letter to a King; a Peruvian Chief’s Account of Life Under the Incas and Under Spanish Rule. New York: Dutton, 1978.

  Guevara, Ernesto “Che.” The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey.

  Heaney, Christopher. Cradle of Gold: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

  Hemming, John. Machu Picchu. New York: Newsweek, 1981.

  Hemming, J
ohn. The Search for El Dorado. London: Joseph, 1978.

  Hemming, John and Edward Ranney (photographer). Monuments of the Incas. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1982.

  Hergé. Prisoners of the Sun. Translated by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner. London: Methuen Children’s Books, 1962.

  Hilton, James. Lost Horizon. New York: Morrow, 1936.

  Lee, Vincent. Forgotten Vilcabamba: Final Stronghold of the Incas. Sixpac Manco Publications, 2000.

  Lee, Vincent. Sixpac Manco: Travels Among the Incas. Self-published, 1985.

  Lubow, Arthur. “The Possessed.” The New York Times Magazine, June 24, 2007.

  Lumbreras, Luis. Peoples and Cultures of Ancient Peru. Translated by Betty J. Meggers. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1974.

  MacLaine, Shirley. Sage-ing While Age-ing. New York: Atria Books, 2007.

  MacQuarrie, Kim. The Last Days of the Incas. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.

  Magli, Giulio. “At the Other End of the Sun’s Path. A New Interpretation of Machu Picchu.” Accessed through the Web site arXiv.org.

  Malville, J. McKim, Hugh Thomson and Gary Ziegler. “Machu Picchu’s Observatory: the Re-Discovery of Llactapata and its Sun-Temple.” Self-published, 2004.

  Mann, Charles. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York: Knopf, 2005.

  Markham, Sir Clements. The Incas of Peru. New York, E.P. Dutton and Company, 1910.

  Matthiessen, Peter. The Cloud Forest. New York: Viking, 1961.

  McBrian, William. Cole Porter: A Biography. New York: Knopf, 1998.

  McCullough, David. The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal. New York: Simon and Schuster, c1977.

  McEwan, Gordon. The Incas: New Perspectives. New York, W. W. Norton, 2006.

  Meadows, Anne. Digging Up Butch and Sundance. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.

  Miller, Char. Fathers and Sons, the Bingham Family and the American Mission. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1982.