Vitcos

Coordinates: 13°05′54″S 72°55′55″W / 13.0982049°S 72.9319239°W / -13.0982049; -72.9319239

Vitcos is an archaeological site in the Cusco Region in Peru, believed to have been used by ruler in exile Manco Inca during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. It may in fact have been built by Manco Inca, but this is unlikely, and it was probably a pre-existing site.

History

After fleeing first the city of Cusco and then Ollantaytambo, Manco Inca settled in a region now known as the Cusco Region, a heavily forested region that also contains the Inca sites of Machu Picchu, Choquequirao, Vitcos, and Vilcabamba, now called Espíritu Pampa, the capital of the Neo-Inca State. It is theorized that the city of Vilcabamba, having more of a tropical jungle climate, as opposed to the cooler climate of the Andes, was considered inhospitable by the Inca and so the construction of Vitcos was ordered so that Manco and his court could have a refuge that was closer in climate to what they were accustomed to.