{"product_id":"lost-city-of-the-incas","title":"Lost City of the Incas by Hiram Bingham","description":"\u003ch2\u003eLost City of the Incas by Hiram Bingham\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003eBingham's book is organized into a chronological travelogue that seamlessly weaves personal survival, geography, and historical speculation into a single narrative.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003eThe book's structure tracks Bingham's obsession with locating the final holdouts of the Inca civilization:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003e1. The Search for Vilcabamba\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"8\"\u003eThe narrative begins with Bingham mapping out the historical backdrop of the Spanish Conquest of Peru. He details his primary mission objective: locating \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"8\" data-index-in-node=\"154\"\u003eVilcabamba\u003c\/b\u003e (the \"Lost City of the Incas\"), the secret jungle fortress where the last independent Inca emperors waged a fierce guerrilla war against Spanish conquistadors until 1072.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"9\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"9\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003e2. The July 24, 1911 Discovery\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003eBingham walks readers through the treacherous, rain-soaked trek along the Urubamba River. Led by a local Quechua farmer named \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10\" data-index-in-node=\"126\"\u003eMelchor Arteaga\u003c\/b\u003e, Bingham climbed a sheer mountain ridge known as Machu Picchu (\"Old Peak\"). He describes his shock at finding a massive, beautifully preserved citadel hidden beneath centuries of dense jungle vines and cloud-forest canopy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"17\"\u003eWhile Bingham's descriptions of the landscape are stunning, his academic conclusions were heavily colored by his own biases and the limited archaeological tools of the 1940s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"18\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"18\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003e1. The Myth of the \"Lost City\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"19\"\u003eBingham famously framed Machu Picchu as an untouched secret, completely forgotten by humanity. Modern historians emphasize that while the Spanish Conquistadors never found it, local indigenous families were actively farming the terraces when Bingham arrived. In fact, graffiti on the walls showed that travelers like Agustín Lizárraga had visited the site years before Bingham did. Bingham’s contribution was not \"discovering\" it, but introducing it to the global scientific community.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"20\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"20\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003e2. The Wrong Identity (Vilcabamba vs. Royal Estate)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"21\"\u003eBingham died fiercely believing that Machu Picchu was Vilcabamba, the final military refuge of the Incas. \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"21\" data-index-in-node=\"106\"\u003eHe was wrong.\u003c\/b\u003e Modern archaeology has proven that the actual ruins of Vilcabamba lie much deeper in the jungle at a site called \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"21\" data-index-in-node=\"233\"\u003eEspíritu Pampa\u003c\/b\u003e. Machu Picchu was actually built around 1450 CE by Emperor \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"21\" data-index-in-node=\"307\"\u003ePachacuti\u003c\/b\u003e as a seasonal, elite royal estate and spiritual sanctuary—not a military fortress.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage: English.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre: Mythology.\u003cspan class=\"BookPageMetadataSection__genreButton\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding: সেলাই করা বাইন্ডিং\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eQuality: Premium Quality Books.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrinting: High Quality Printing.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaper: Eye Friendly paper (Cream White)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCover: Matt cover (Paperback).\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Royal Books BD","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47274870341817,"sku":null,"price":240.0,"currency_code":"BDT","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0780\/0874\/6169\/files\/Lost_City_of_the_Incas.jpg?v=1779475755","url":"https:\/\/royalbooksbd.com\/products\/lost-city-of-the-incas","provider":"Royal Books BD","version":"1.0","type":"link"}