The capital of the Neo-Inca State wasn't Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu . Often mistakenly referred to as the `` Lost City of the Incas '' ( a title more accurately applied to Vilcabamba ) , it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization . Vilcabamba ( in hispanicized spelling ) , Willkapampa ( Aymara and Quechua ) or Espíritu Pampa was a city founded by Manco Inca in 1539 and was the capital of the Neo-Inca State , the last refuge of the Inca Empire until it fell to the Spaniards in 1572 , signaling the end of Inca resistance to Spanish rule .