The lost Inca Gold is one legend that still fascinates adventurers all over the world. Over the years, Searches have been carried out and explorers have embarked on lifetime journeys to this lost gold all to no avail. The gold; however, is said to still be out there waiting for its uncovering but one might have to consider the mystery surrounding the lost treasure before embarking on such a perilous journey. For adventurers yearning to embark on this adventure and prove the legend true, here’s what to know about the lost Inca Gold and its location.
What The Legend Tells
For hundreds of years, the Inca people had dwelled in South America. Their people flourished and the city was one of immense wealth in the form of gold, jewelry, and other precious minerals of the earth. But everything changed with their contact with the Spaniards who sought this wealth for themselves. It all began with a war between Atahualpa - the Inca Ruler and his brother Huascar. The war eventually led to the division of the Inca Empire. This was the opportunity seized by Francisco Pizarro to conquer the Empire. Pizarro soon captured the Inca Ruler - Atahualpa in the Cajamarca palace. There, the Inca would appeal for his release from the hands of the Spanish Conquistadors in exchange for a large amount of gold.
The offer was appealing so Pizarro - the leader of the Spanish Conquistadors, accepted the deal and soon the gold began coming in. Unfortunately, that deal was soon terminated after the Spanish Conquistadors took the life of the Inca Ruler for reasons best known to them. How his life was taken was even more disturbing as he was strangled to death after which his body was burnt at the stake. This single act led to the rugged decision that would forever change the fate of the conflict and lead to the ages-long search for lost gold.
After realizing the Inca Ruler had been put to death, the Inca General - Ruminahui, who was in charge of collecting and bringing the ransom made a decision that would forever be remembered. He hid the gold deep in the wilderness where it would never see the light of day. After that, the Inca General continued fighting the Spaniards until he was captured. The general would go on to keep the location of the treasure secret till his last breath.
One would wonder why a lost treasure still sparks interest in today’s world but the sheer size of the treasure is what makes the lost Inca Gold so inspiring. It was 750-ton gold - the largest single amount of gold ever collected in one place in history. According to modern estimates, this massive amount of gold is worth more than 30 billion US dollars.
The Centuries-Long Search For The Lost Gold
Over the years, ambitious explorers and archaeologists have embarked on lifetime adventures to search for the lost treasure of the Inca. The search began approximately 50 years after the treasure was proclaimed to be lost. A Spaniard living in South America married the daughter of an Indigenous man who happened to have found the lost treasure. The bond of marriage eventually led the father of the newly wedded bride to reveal the location of the Inca treasure to the Spaniard son-in-law who became rich instantly. This secret stayed hidden for years but soon came to the limelight again when the Spaniard lay on his deathbed. As he drew his final breath, he revealed the secret location of the Inca treasure to the Spanish King who, knowing the value of this treasure, dispatched a religious team of explorers to the Llanganatis Mountains ranges to embark on the search.
With the written directions of the Spaniard, this Friar set out to find this treasure. They eventually found the treasure and sent word about the discovery but what happened afterward makes one ask whether the treasure holds some kind of curse or perhaps the events were just coincidences.
After sending word about the discovery of the lost Inca gold, the Friar itself got lost and could not make it back to the King. This mysterious disappearance of the Friar put fear into the hearts of lovers of the lost gold as it was not heard of until approximately a hundred years later when a Miner also disappeared after he claimed to have a map that led to the treasure.
The topic of the Lost Treasure came into public again in 1860 when an Englishman named Barth Blake claimed to have found the treasure in the series of letters he sent to his friends. Blake was the last person to locate this treasure and his documentation would turn out to be the best description of the Lost Inca gold known to the world today. According to his writings;
“There are thousands of gold and silver pieces of Inca pre-Inca handicraft, the most beautiful goldsmith works you are not able to imagine, life-size human figures made out of beaten gold and silver, birds, animals...”
Since he could not carry all the gold alone, Blake took the little he could and embarked on a return journey, although that was the last to have been heard from him as he also mysteriously disappeared. Over a hundred years since Blake disappeared with the knowledge of the Lost Inca gold's location, the gold has not been found and the search continues.
The Location Of The Inca Gold
The actual location of the Inca Gold has been an impossible riddle to solve. Although the region where the gold is located is known to the world as the Llanganates Mountain, looking for the treasure in such a vast expanse of mountains and forests is like searching for a needle in a haystack. The Llanganates Mountain is located in Modern-day Ecuador and is now protected within the Llanganatis National Park. Besides being surrounded by so much history and mystery, the landscape is quite beautiful and has now become a great place for hiking. Treasure hunters and explorers still come from all over the world to explore this mountain range and search for lost treasure but the difficulties of the mountain and the mystery of the gold make exploration difficult.
Explorers will be exposed to the intense heat of the sun and the natural dangers of the path. Tall grasses as sharp as blades, confusing trails, hunger, dehydration, and insect attacks are some of the difficulties that have led to the deaths of many explorers in this region hence one should be fully prepared before embarking on such a perilous adventure.