Local History
On the 12th of October 1492, the Spaniards arrived to the New World. They called this new land “The indies” and later called it “America”. It was here they found a valley which they later named Vilcabamba.
This valley used to be a wonderful forest amidst the subtropical jungle. It was situated between the lower mountains of the west, where the “Mandango” rises like a stone cathedral, and the “Podocarpus” on the east, where untouched vegetation and fauna reigns. The region was populated by the people of the Palta nationality and their diverse ethnicities such as Malacatos, Bracamoros, Chaparras, Calvas, Garrochambas and Zarzas, who were either solitary groups o confederates. At times, The Incas, who reign in the South, would trespass the area. During this period, there were neither towns nor settlements, only the virgin vegetation, multicolored birds, small wild animals such as deer, “guanchacas”, and lynxes. At the peaks of the nearby mountains of Quinara and Solanda, which are to the west of Tambo Blanco, the chasquis, who were the messengers of the empire, would cross “Camino Del Inca” (The path of the Inca). These messengers would bring and carry news and rumors from one part of the land to another, especially from the cities of Quito, Cuzco, Cajamarca, and Lima. With the death of Huascar and Atahualpa, the royal families and their subjects were left without protection or strength to fight the Spaniards, thereby with no hopes of ever regaining their power.
It was then in 1534 that the defeated ones chose a forgotten town of Peru located between Cuzco and Machupichu called Vilcabamba, It was an appropriate site due to its altitude, climate, and vast amounts of healing water, which would cure the wounded and the sick, appease feelings of defeat and provide shelter until death. Moreover, the valley was an adequate place to hide from the insatiable persecution of the victorious invaders, and thus it became “the last capital city of the Incas” for more than thirty years. This healing town would later get lost in time, in mystery, and in fable, until not even a single stone would remain intact. Around 1578, the adventurous Spaniards found a valley to the north. This valley was similar to the one the indigenous legends called the “magical valley” within the depths of the jungle due to its healing powers and enchanted rivers. The valley supply of water was known to purify men from death, and it was in this valley where the last men and women from the royal families had lived the last years of their resistance against Spain. The Spaniard also decided to name this Ecuadorian valley Vilcabamba, because it was also a “Valley of Huilcos”, the tree from which a hallucination mixture could be obtained. This substance was then mixed with Sanpedro and Guanto for the religious rituals of the Shaman.
After 1600 this valley provided no historical records beyond the continuous struggle among indigenous groups, Spaniards, and mestizos, who fought for the domain of the land. On September 1, 1756, the town of Vilcabamba was founded by orders from General Joseph de Piedrahita and authenticated by Royal Decree of the High Court of Quito. Later its limits were determined through a resolution by General Don Pedro Xavier Valdivieso y Torres, Chief Magistrate of Loja; and Don Pedro de Leon, Marquee of Cañete, who was appointed First Commissioner (Encomendero) of Vilcabamba. In 1603, that is 153 years before the founding of the town, historical documents already recognized the existence of the Hacienda “El Atillo”, it was in this year when General Don Joseph Gracián Falconí expelled a group of indigenous people who had taken over some of the land belonging to this large property. The hacienda occupied the lower part of the valley crossed by the Uchima River; the south side neighbored “La Palmira”; and to the west it extended until “Mandango”.
In the middle of XVIII Century it was known that the property belonged to the Congregation of Conceptas Nuns. Between 1756 and 1780, it was owned by Michaela Del Castillo, wife of Don Fernando de la Vega, who donated nineteen squares of land to be part of the town of Vilcabamba, This donation extended from La Tina to Quebrada Seca. It reached beyond the Uchima and Chamba Rivers until a large walnut tree that served as a border with the Hacienda Cucunamá, which belonged to the St. Agustin Convent. It also reached the gorges of Fucaimini and Polichi that were part of Mandango. Moreover, Fernando de la Vega built with his own funds the church and the expensive golden altarpiece. In 1864, the Archbishop of Quito, Jose Maria Riofrio y Valdivieso, bought the Hacienda “El Atillo” to spend there his last days. For thirteen years, he lived in the old house that still exists at the height of the hillock near the town. The Archbishop was fortunate enough to recover his health, and he accepted the position of Apostolic Administrator of Loja, the church highest rank position. He eventually died in the hacienda on October 22, 1877. His inheritors, brothers and nephews, were incapable of reaching an agreement on how to divide the land. Therefore, they looked for a single buyer since this would simplify the partition of the legate; they found David Vivanco Arias, a man of wealth from Catacocha, who bought the whole land. He was the son of Peruvian and Basque immigrants. Owner of many agricultural properties in the province, and father of five daughters and four sons named Lauro David, Rosalino, Reinaldo (a priest), and Manuel Jose Vivanco Córdoba. Rosalino worked the land with great effort and raised cattle for about fifteen years until it was leased to Don Jose Freddy Bravo until 1948. The latter was in charge under contract of rebuilding the old hacienda house, which until then was made of barenque, wood, lime, and stone foundations, Some years later, David Vivanco widow, Ricarda Cordova Ramirez, leased the Hacienda “El Atillo” to her eldest son Lauro, who bought all shares from his brothers and sisters. After 1963, because of the land reform and the death of the owner, Lauro widow, Marina Riofrio Rey, worked the land for a half a century while the hacienda was being divided into small parcels or minifundios. One of these small portions of land, located in the “huertas” of Joaquin Ortega, Pablo Japón, Segundo Poma, and Alejandro Ruilova, contained the most beautiful gardens.
Today, this minifundio is occupied by “Club Hacienda” with the same name “El Atillo”.
Around 1970, after centuries of peaceful agricultural life and seclusion, Vilcabamba gained the attention of many visitors when a group of American doctors and Japanese researchers noticed the high percentage of the senior population who presented miraculous health records. This discovery was credited to the valley especial geographical characteristics, climate, and water: thus, becoming known around the world as the valley of Longevity, “Sacred Valley”, “Island of Peace”, and “Paradise Lost”. Since then the valley has attracted thousands of tourist from all over the plant such as young people, hippies, adults, seniors, dreamers, scientists, ecologists, intellectuals, and artists. Many of them stay in Vilcabamba for a while, others decide to remain permanently, but all of them share a common bond: the search for the magic and peace that flourishes from this unique town and valley.
Article written by Manuel Vivanco.