 There is some controversy over the actual location of the battle ; according to John Hemming it took place in the town itself , while Jean @-@ Pierre Protzen argues that the nearby plain of Mascabamba better matches the descriptions of the encounter . In any case , the Inca army managed to hold the Spanish forces from a set of high terraces and flood their position to hinder their cavalry . Severely pressed and unable to advance , the Spaniards withdrew by night to Cusco . Despite this victory , the arrival of Spanish reinforcements to Cusco forced Manco Inca to abandon Ollantaytambo and seek refuge in the heavily forested region of Vilcabamba , where he established the small independent Neo @-@ Inca State which survived until 1572 . 
