THE ENCHANTED JOURNEY (NATURE , ARCHEOLOGY, OFF BEATEN ROUTES, WILDLIFE CULTURE)
Espiritu Pampa The Inca's last stronghold
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- Additional Info
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What's included
- Activities Listed in the Program
- All meals included (vegetarian, vegan mentioned in advance)
- Best available Lodges in the area
- Duffel Bags for Travelling Light
- Free Storage Room in Cusco
- Professionally Local Guide
- Snacks (fresh fruits, cookies, chocolate)
- Unlimited Purified Water
- Alcoholic Drinks
- First day breakfast
- Services not specifically stated in the itinerary
Espiritu Pampa + Vilcabamba + Vitcos 3 days
A tour to Espiritu Pampa by a car and hikes is an experience along with the extremely rugged country of forested hills, deep gorges, snowy peaks, and swamps, flat land is rare — narrow trail s twist and turns along the hillsides overlooking the river, making this experience off the beaten track. The Espiritu pampa ruins are located on the Chontabamba River, a tributary of the Urubamba River. It is often referred to as Vilcabamba the Old or Old Vilcabamba to distinguish it from the Spanish colonial town of Vilcabamba la Nueva.
Espiritu Pampa Discovered
When Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911. Many believed this magnificent and mysterious ruin to be Vilcabamba where the last remnant of the Incan Empire found refuge from the Spaniards. One must conclude that is the last Inca Refuge. ‘Espiritu pampa or Vilcabamba the Old ‘ refers not only to the legendary city (and to the town of ‘Vilcabamba the New, ‘ founded by Spaniard s in the late 16t h century) but to an entire region of Peru northwest of Cuzco and beyond Machu Picchu.
Features
- The research and findings in Espiritu Pampa have led to a turning point in the study of Peruvian history. The important discovery of the tomb of the Lord of Vilcabamba or Wari in February 2011, as well as the archaeological constructions of apparent hierarchy, revealed the occupation of a pre-Inca culture (Wari) that had overlapped harmoniously.
- Espiritu Pampa is an archaeological complex of great cultural value where the Lord of Vilcabamba-Wari was found, changing the chronology of the development of this culture.
- The Wari arrived at the lowlands of Antisuyu, an area that was also occupied by the Incas, superimposing their knowledge and wisdom in this impenetrable shell of a region that served as the last refuge during the Inca resistance against the Spanish Invasion (1536-1576).
Other ruins in Espiritu Pampa Region
Vitcos Ruins
This Archeological site stands on the northern side of the hill, between the modern villages of Huancacalle and Pucyura, and is the principal portion of a complex that covers the entire hill and portions of the valleys to the south and east.
South of the hill, there is Chuqip’allta, a giant carved stone said to have been an Inca oracle, and a series of terraces. Stretch along the eastern side of the hill within the valley, which is believed to have been decorative or ceremonial gardens.
The palace itself consists of two groups of buildings, one is the upper group is made up of eight large rooms, arranged in four pairs of two rooms back to back. All are joined by a common outer wall and the common wall has doors that lead to passages between the pairs. To the north of the upper group is a terrace wall, below which is the lower group of buildings. This group is made up of a dozen or more buildings arranged around an open courtyard. The exact number of buildings in this group is unclear, as it is in considerably worse condition than the upper group.
Huancacalle- Rosaspata
Located in a broadened expanse of the valley near where several canyons come together. All were Inca travel routes hosting assorted Inca and pre-Inca ruins. Dominating the landscape is the hill above the town called Rosaspata. The Inca constructed a major complex of high-status buildings with an all-around view on top called Vitcos. The Neo-Inca later adopted it as their principal city.
Yuraq Rumi – Hispanic Ñusta
This enormous carved rock is considered an important religious center for the Inka era and during the resistance, where rituals to the sun god and also to the Taki Onqoy were practiced. In the main space, there is an exquisitely carved rock with high relief designs typical of the Inka era, as well as enclosures distributed around patios, terraces, and a paccha carved from local rock. It is located to the east of the town of Huancacalle and the Archaeological Site of Vitkos (Rosaspata), over 2997 meters above sea level; It is accessed by pedestrian path in a time of approximately 25 minutes.
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
Cusco - Santa Maria - Lucma
Pickup from the hotel in the morning time to drive along the Sacred Valley where we stop for a break and explore the village of Ollantaytambo briefly.
We begin our long drive about 2 hours uphills to the Abra Malaga glacier, with stops to see obscure Incan ruins along the way. Once you cross over the 15,000 ft. pass, you descend into the semi-tropical jungle for another 4 hours towards the Vilcabamba valley, upon arrival we will pass by many agricultural fields and follow the river along the Valley to reach Lucma, Pucyura towns.
After arrival, we will trek to the ruins of Vitcos and ñusta hispàna, this trek would take at least two hours returning to our hotel before dusk
Lucma Village - Espiritu Pampa
On this morning we will follow the main and new roads from Lucma to Chontabamba, traveling along the remoteness of the rugged Vilcabamba range of Peru’s southern, this road was recently constructed.
We’ll spend the morning riding out down the narrow dirt road through farmland and villages for hours as we gradually lose altitude and the passing scenery changes from high Andean sceneries to warmer environments with lush vegetation and coffee plantations. This is a spectacular, fun journey through the remoteness of Peru. We will get the Espiritu Pampa by mid-day and have time to explore this marvelous place, as we walk further into the forest we will see several more constructions from what was once a complete city now lost in the jungle by the surroundings.
there is also a great possibility to observe the bright colored Andean cock of the Rock, Oropendolas, and some tamarin monkeys have seen along the road.During the afternoon, the bird activity is interesting, diverse calls emerged from the dense and lush vegetation that also surrounds the ruins so almost everything is covered by epiphytes plants such as; bromeliads, orchids, lichens, and the large trees that are standing up over the ruins are quite impressive.
Camping or hostel at ChontabambaEspiritu Pampa Ruins - Cusco
After breakfast at Chontabamba village,
After this last visit we will make our drive back to Cusco, driving again along the high mountains and having lunch along the way, we will back at Cusco during the night time.
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