The
Vilcabamba cordillera / range of the Andes Mountains sits between two great rivers,
the Urubamba and the Apurimac. Both rivers are Amazon tributaries and on maps
their names change along their courses according to centuries old local lore.
This map accompanied numerous reports published in the Peruvian Times in
the 1960s... | MAP |  |
1963
Nicholas Asheshov was exploring and reporting for the Peruvian Times. One
of Nick's great achievements of the year was to make the first recorded ascent
of the Pichari river and reach the interior of the northern zone of the Vilcabamba
cordillera. The Pichari flows into the Apurimac river a short distance below the
settlement of Luisiana and Nick was chasing a a National Geographic Society expedition
that set out to explore the unexplored heights of the Vilcabamba mountains. While
Nick went in on foot the NGS team used a small aircraft and parachutes to reach
the rain dden divide between the two main rivers... | READ |  |
Machu
Picchu 1961 The last stronghold of the
Incas has featured in dozens of stories and perhaps the best known is Hiram Bingham's
1911'discovery' of Machu Picchu.
. | One
of the first TV films of Machu Picchu - 1961 VIDEO |  |
Machu
Picchu 1964
- Mark Howell
one of the founders of Nonesuch Expedition realised that mass tourism was inevitable
and was a of little benefit to the toursists most of whom had no serious interest
in what they saw. Mark
wrote a feature for the Bristol Evening Post, England - The tourists
are in action now in the City of the Incas 1964 | READ |  |
Machu
Picchu 2014 The National Geographic Magazine chose Machu Picchu
as 'the number one place to visit in 2015' In
sheer numbers the Machu Picchu legend is now part of the local mythology and it
draws thousands visitors every day. Recently there is a plan to allocate tickets
on a morning and afternoon system to permit more visitors to visit each day | |  |
Less
well known is another Inca settlement, Espirítu Pampa in a remote
heavily forested part of the Vilcabamba range. The place was visited by Bingham
in the year he reached Machu Picchu but it never received the acclaim
1964 an American mystic and explorer, Gene Savoy
reached Espirítu Pampa and cleared some of the ruins. In August, Savoy
announced to the world that he had discovered the true Lost City and.to check
on the report Tony Morrison and Mark Howell with two colleagues, John von Trapp
and Hugo Echegueray trekked to the site and recorded what they found. Tony and
Mark were film-making for the BBC and here are some of the 'stills' .. | PHOTOS |  |
2013
Terrorists As 2013 began reports were circulationg of a small band
of armed terrorists active in the heart of Vilcabamba and Espiritu Pampa was 'off
limits' to visitors because of the threat. Nick Asheshov with over fifty years
experience of the region looks at the history of conflict from the Spanish oppressionn
of the Inca to modern day political insurgency. Nick is no newcomer to the story
as he made his first journey to Machu Picchu back in the 1960's when he went to
the Vilcabamba to interview guerillas for the Peruvian Times. See Nick
talking of that experience in his interviiew with Marion MorrIson. Myth
and Reality Slug it Out in the Glorious Vilcabamba was wriitten by Nicholas
Asheshov for the Lima news and social magazine Caretas | WATCH |  |
| READ | |
