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Berns, Augusto: Nineteenth-century German prospector, whose papers—located by the researcher Paolo Greer—suggest that he may have been looting Machu Picchu’s artifacts long before Hiram Bingham arrived.

Bingham, Hiram: American explorer who located Machu Picchu, Vitcos and Espritu Pampa as the leader of the 1911 Yale Peruvian Expedition.

Cachora: (Cah-CHOR-ah) Small town at the trailhead to Choquequirao. Calancha, Antonio de la: Augustinian monk and author of the seventeenth-century Coronica Moralizada, a history that contains important clues to the location of Vilcabamba.

Capac Ñan: (Cah-POCK-Nyahn) The royal Inca highway system, which, at its peak, stretched more than ten thousand miles.

Choquequirao: (Choh-kay-kee-ROW) An important Inca citadel constructed high above the Apurimac River. It was first visited by Bingham in 1909, when it was believed to be the legendary Lost City of the Incas. It is considered by many to be the sister site of Machu Picchu, because of physical similarities between the two. Several terraces decorated with stone llamas were discovered there in 2005.

Concevidayoc: (Chon-sch-vee-DIE-ock) Small settlement on the trail from Vitcos to Espiritu Pampa. Bingham expected to confront the savage potentate Saavedra there in 1911.

Cura Ocllo: (Koo-rah-OH-klo) Manco Inca’s favorite wife and queen (and half sister).

Cusco: (koos-koh) Onetime holy city and capital of the Inca empire, known then as the Tawantinsuyu. Now a hub for tourism.

Espiritu Pampa: (Es-PEER-ee-too POM-pah) Modern name of Vilcabamba, a large Inca settlement in the rain forest and the last capital of the rebel Inca empire.

Hidroeléctrica: (Hee-droh-ee-LECK-tree-kah) Lesser-known train station on the far side of Machu Picchu, named for the nearby hydroelectric plant.

Huadquiña: (Wahd-KEEN-yah) Hacienda near Machu Picchu, where Bingham often visited on his trips to Peru.

Huancacalle: (Wahn-kah-KIE-yay) Small town near Vitcos and Puquiura; location of the Cobos family hostel, Sixpac Manco.

Huascar: (WAHS-kar) Inca emperor from 1527 to 1532. The civil war he fought against his half brother, Atahualpa, weakened the empire’s armies just prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.

Huayna Capac: (WHY-nah KAH-pock) Inca emperor 1493–1527. Died suddenly, making possible the devastating war of succession between his sons Huascar and Atahualpa.

Huayna Picchu: (WHY-nah PEE-chow) Moderate-sized but very sacred peak at the north end of the Machu Picchu site.

Huayna Pucará: (WHY-nah Poo-kar-AH) Defensive fortification constructed by the Incas high above the road from Vitcos to Vilcabamba; their strategy—unsuccessful—was to crush advancing Spanish soldiers by dropping boulders onto them from above.

INC: The Instituto Nacional de Cultura, the Peruvian agency in charge of maintaining the country’s ancient heritage.

Inca Trail: Former royal path to Machu Picchu, now famous as a hiking trail. Rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1915.

Intihuatana: (In-tee-wah-TAH-nah) This name can refer to almost any carved Inca stone dedicated to sun worship, but the two most famous intihuatanas are 1) the angled, sculpted stone at Machu Picchu’s highest point, and 2) the larger granite carving below the site, near the Hidroeléctrica train station.

Koricancha: (Kor-ree-CAHN-chah) Primary sun temple of the Inca religion, located in Cusco.

Llactapata: (Yahk-tah-PAH-tah) An Inca site located across the valley from Machu Picchu; found by Bingham in 1912.

Manco Inca Yupanqui: (Man-KOH-Een-KAH Yoo-PAN-kee) Puppet king selected by conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1533; he soon turned against his patron and led the Inca rebellion against their occupiers. He established Vilcabamba as the new capital of his empire, but was killed at Vitcos in 1544.

Mandor Pampa: (MAN-dor POM-pah) A small flood plain below Machu Picchu, where Bingham camped the night before his famous discovery.

Markham, Clements: President of the Royal Geographical Society at the turn of the twentieth century and an expert on ancient Peru; his work on the Incas greatly influenced Bingham