TY - JOUR T1 - The Incas: a journey through history and spirituality JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 134 LP - 135 DO - 10.3399/bjgp09X395175 VL - 59 IS - 559 AU - Sonia Grover AU - Edin Lakasing Y1 - 2009/02/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/59/559/134.abstract N2 - The Incas of Peru are undoubtedly one of the most admired of ancient civilisations. An amalgamation of tribes, it has been difficult to date their start, for they left no written records, although it is thought that they became a force by the 13th century.1 However, it was during the 15th century that they undertook one of the most rapid cultural and territorial expansions ever seen.1 Less than two centuries later, however, their culture was extinct, victims of arguably the cruellest episode of Spanish colonial history. Under Francisco Pizarro's leadership, the conquistadors arrived in 1532. They captured the Inca leader Atahuallpa, and executed him a year later. After fighting a number of battles bravely but in vain (including the one in which Pizarro was killed in 1541), their last leader Tupac Amaru was executed in 1572, and the civilisation effectively decimated.We had, for several years, a real desire to visit Peru, not least because the Inca culture held a remarkable fascination for both of us. Often, however, a traveller's fate is disappointment when reality does not match expectation; fortunately, however, Peru left a different, and very positive impression.The capital Lima was our first stop. Although its city centre was possessed of several fine colonial buildings and churches, it palpably suffered some of the clichéd problems of so many large cities, particularly capitals — overcrowding, the uneasy mix of extremes of wealth and poverty, and an excess of the ostentatious, yet ultimately soulless brand … ER -