Vilcabamba was the capital of the Neo-Inca State from 1539 to 1572. The Neo-Inca State was the last refuge of the Inca Empire until it fell to the Spaniards and their indigenous allies in 1572, signaling the end of Inca resistance to Spanish rule. Subsequently, Vilcabamba was abandoned and its location forgotten. In 1911 explorer Hiram Bingham met local Peruvians who knew where the ruins were, which they called Espiritu Pampa . In 1964, Gene Savoy identified the ruins of Espiritu Pampa as the fabled Vilcabamba, a designation widely accepted by archaeologists and historians.