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Two Men and a Mule: The Last City of the Incas
The Andes have become a symbol of a ‘lost world’ of Inca wisdom and cities in the clouds, of the Celestine Prophecy and Indiana Jones – it needs two men (and their mule) to cut their way through the mystique with some machetes and wit.
Renowned explorers Hugh Thomson and Benedict Allen join forces with their trusty mule Washington, to journey to the extraordinary ‘Last City of the Incas’, Espíritu Pampa. Deep down in the Amazon, this is where the Incas escaped when on the run from the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th Century, and where the very last Inca emperor, Tupac Amaru, was finally captured and brought back to be executed in the main square of Cuzco.
This arduous trek takes them down off the steep slopes of the Andean cloud-forest into the steamy jungle and down stone-laid Inca path as they trek to the last city of the Incas - Espiritu Pampa – ‘the Pampa of Ghosts’.
Hugh Thomson is the author of a series of acclaimed travel books, including The White Rock and Nanda Devi. His memoir Tequila Oil, about getting lost in Mexico when he was eighteen, was serialised by the BBC and he has led many adventurous expeditions to Peru in search of Inca ruins.
In The Green Road into the Trees: A Walk through England, Hugh wrote for the first time about his own country: 'An immensely enjoyable book: curious, articulate, intellectually playful and savagely candid.' The Spectator. It won the inaugural Wainwright Prize for Best Nature and Travel Writing 2014.
“Everywhere Thomson goes, he finds good stories to tell.”
New York Times Book Review
Renowned explorers Hugh Thomson and Benedict Allen join forces with their trusty mule Washington, to journey to the extraordinary ‘Last City of the Incas’, Espíritu Pampa. Deep down in the Amazon, this is where the Incas escaped when on the run from the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th Century, and where the very last Inca emperor, Tupac Amaru, was finally captured and brought back to be executed in the main square of Cuzco.
This arduous trek takes them down off the steep slopes of the Andean cloud-forest into the steamy jungle and down stone-laid Inca path as they trek to the last city of the Incas - Espiritu Pampa – ‘the Pampa of Ghosts’.
Hugh Thomson is the author of a series of acclaimed travel books, including The White Rock and Nanda Devi. His memoir Tequila Oil, about getting lost in Mexico when he was eighteen, was serialised by the BBC and he has led many adventurous expeditions to Peru in search of Inca ruins.
In The Green Road into the Trees: A Walk through England, Hugh wrote for the first time about his own country: 'An immensely enjoyable book: curious, articulate, intellectually playful and savagely candid.' The Spectator. It won the inaugural Wainwright Prize for Best Nature and Travel Writing 2014.
“Everywhere Thomson goes, he finds good stories to tell.”
New York Times Book Review
51 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 11, 2015
32 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Hugh Thomson
133 books42 followersHugh Thomson believes strongly that the world is not as explored as we like to suppose.
He writes about the wilder corners of the planet, from the edges of Peru to the Himalayas, looking for Inca ruins and lost cultures. Geographical commented that 'he is a writer who explores and not an explorer who writes.'
For 'The Green Road into the Trees', he returned to Britain to write about his own country. It won the inaugural Wainwright Prize for Best Nature and Travel Writing. 'An immensely enjoyable book: curious, articulate, intellectually playful and savagely candid.' Spectator.
For the successful sequel, 'One Man and a Mule', he decided to have ‘a South American adventure in England’ by taking a mule as a pack animal across the north of the country.
His most recent book is his first novel - ‘Viva Byron!’ - which imagines what might have happened if the poet had not died an early death in Greece - but instead lived - and then some! - by going to South America with the great last love of his life, Countess Teresa Guiccioli, to help Simon Bolivar liberate it from the Spanish. "Hugh Thomson is a mesmerising storyteller." Sara Wheeler.
His previous books include: 'The White Rock', 'Nanda Devi' and 'Cochineal Red: Travels through Ancient Peru' (all Weidenfeld & Nicolson), and he has collected some of his favourite places in the lavishly illustrated '50 Wonders of the World'.
In 2009 he wrote 'Tequila Oil', a memoir about getting lost in Mexico when he was eighteen and, in the words of the Alice Cooper song, 'didn't know what he wanted'. It was serialised by BBC R4 as 'Book of the Week'.
"Delightful, celebratory and honest....In a way 'Tequila Oil' is the first installment of his now-complete trilogy, his 'Cochineal Red' and 'The White Rock' being two of the finest books on Latin America of recent years." (Rory MacLean, The Guardian)
See www.thewhiterock.co.uk for more, including his blog and events at which he is speaking.
He writes about the wilder corners of the planet, from the edges of Peru to the Himalayas, looking for Inca ruins and lost cultures. Geographical commented that 'he is a writer who explores and not an explorer who writes.'
For 'The Green Road into the Trees', he returned to Britain to write about his own country. It won the inaugural Wainwright Prize for Best Nature and Travel Writing. 'An immensely enjoyable book: curious, articulate, intellectually playful and savagely candid.' Spectator.
For the successful sequel, 'One Man and a Mule', he decided to have ‘a South American adventure in England’ by taking a mule as a pack animal across the north of the country.
His most recent book is his first novel - ‘Viva Byron!’ - which imagines what might have happened if the poet had not died an early death in Greece - but instead lived - and then some! - by going to South America with the great last love of his life, Countess Teresa Guiccioli, to help Simon Bolivar liberate it from the Spanish. "Hugh Thomson is a mesmerising storyteller." Sara Wheeler.
His previous books include: 'The White Rock', 'Nanda Devi' and 'Cochineal Red: Travels through Ancient Peru' (all Weidenfeld & Nicolson), and he has collected some of his favourite places in the lavishly illustrated '50 Wonders of the World'.
In 2009 he wrote 'Tequila Oil', a memoir about getting lost in Mexico when he was eighteen and, in the words of the Alice Cooper song, 'didn't know what he wanted'. It was serialised by BBC R4 as 'Book of the Week'.
"Delightful, celebratory and honest....In a way 'Tequila Oil' is the first installment of his now-complete trilogy, his 'Cochineal Red' and 'The White Rock' being two of the finest books on Latin America of recent years." (Rory MacLean, The Guardian)
See www.thewhiterock.co.uk for more, including his blog and events at which he is speaking.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 16, 2017
A short, lightweight book describing Hugh Thomson and Benedict Allen's expedition through Peru. It's too short to allow much room for a detailed account of the history of the area but it was nevertheless an enjoyable, informative read. The two appendices were particularly interesting!
I wasn't expecting Benedict Allen to be part of the story. He has been in the news this week as he appears to be missing in Papa New Guinea.
I wasn't expecting Benedict Allen to be part of the story. He has been in the news this week as he appears to be missing in Papa New Guinea.
January 30, 2021
Pamphlet
This is not a book. This is nothing. A ego driven poor quality pamphlet. Scam would be a better definition.
This is not a book. This is nothing. A ego driven poor quality pamphlet. Scam would be a better definition.
August 15, 2016
Lacks substance
While I was attracted to the idea of this book, I felt let down when I finished it. The author gives glimpses into Peruvian history, but spend way too much time describing trivial things like the name of the mule
While I was attracted to the idea of this book, I felt let down when I finished it. The author gives glimpses into Peruvian history, but spend way too much time describing trivial things like the name of the mule
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews