Excerpt 1: From the Preface of Inca Land: Explorations of the Highlands of Peru, by Hiram Bingham
[1] This book describes parts of four of my journeys into Peru. Although my travels covered only a part of southern Peru, they took me into every kind of climate. My travels also forced me to camp at many different heights. I camped at very low heights when at sea level and at very high levels when in the mountains. On my journey, I had to cross the harsh and cold Andes Mountains. In the Andes, I experienced heavy snowfalls and low temperatures. I also had to wind my way through huge canyons into the dense jungles of the Amazon Basin. The Amazon Basin is as hot and humid a region as exists anywhere in the world. The Incas lived in a land of extremes. No deserts in the world have less vegetation than their deserts. No fertile tropical valleys have more plant life than their jungles. In Inca Land one may pass from glaciers to tree ferns within a few hours. Present-day writings about the last of the Incas illustrate this contrast. Historians shift rapidly from fact to fantasy and from observation to imagination in their writings. They also often omit important details and give confli ting statements. Because present-day writings are such a mix of fact and fantasy, the story of the Incas remains mysterious.
[2] Some wonderful pictures from an 1800’s explorer first interested me in a relatively unknown region of Peru. The area is sometimes called “the Cradle of the Incas.” I believe my photographs cannot compete with the imaginative pencil of such an artist. However, I hope that some of them may lead future travelers even farther into the Land of the Incas. I also hope my photographs inspire others to further explore the mysterious places mentioned in the stories
