Lost City of the Incas (Phoenix Press)
“And that name has been accepted and will continue to be used even though no one now disputes that this was the site of ancient Vilcapampa.
The sanctuary was lost for centuries because this ridge is in the most inaccessible corner of the most inaccessible section of the central Andes. No part of the highlands of Peru is better defended by natural bulwarks – a stupendous canyon whose rock is granite, and whose precipices are frequently 1,000 feet sheer, presenting difficulties which daunt the mos...t ambitious modern mountain climbers. Yet, here, in a remote part of the canyon, on this narrow ridge flanked by tremendous precipices, a highly civilized people, artistic, inventive, well organized, and capable of sustained endeavour, at some time in the distant past built themselves a sanctuary for the worship of the sun.
Since they had no iron or steel tools – only stone hammers and little bronze crow-bars – its construction must have cost generations, if not centuries, of effort. To prevent their enemies or undesirable visitors from reaching their shrines and temples, they relied, first, on the rapids of the Urubamba, which are dangerous even in the dry season and absolutely impassable during at least half of the year.MoreLess
The sanctuary was lost for centuries because this ridge is in the most inaccessible corner of the most inaccessible section of the central Andes. No part of the highlands of Peru is better defended by natural bulwarks – a stupendous canyon whose rock is granite, and whose precipices are frequently 1,000 feet sheer, presenting difficulties which daunt the mos...t ambitious modern mountain climbers. Yet, here, in a remote part of the canyon, on this narrow ridge flanked by tremendous precipices, a highly civilized people, artistic, inventive, well organized, and capable of sustained endeavour, at some time in the distant past built themselves a sanctuary for the worship of the sun.
Since they had no iron or steel tools – only stone hammers and little bronze crow-bars – its construction must have cost generations, if not centuries, of effort. To prevent their enemies or undesirable visitors from reaching their shrines and temples, they relied, first, on the rapids of the Urubamba, which are dangerous even in the dry season and absolutely impassable during at least half of the year.MoreLess
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