Peru Caves, Gold of Incas, the Legend

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Peru Caves, Gold of Incas, the Legend

Postby Expeditioncave » Mar 27, 2008 10:30 am

On an expedition a few years ago, we explored the vast La Libertad, Utcubama, and upper Amazonas area of Peru. There are probably more caves in this area of Peru than a team of a hundred cavers could ever explore and map in their lifetime... it has almost unlimited big-expedition caving potential. Over several months, we still had so many going leads and entrances that we felt like we barely scratched the surface. Among the interesting surprises, we discovered a previously-undescribed form of rock-eating microbe similar to moonmilk, in one particularly impressive river cave with a huge flowing waterfall cascade.
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Numerous vertical caves and going river/stream caves are all over the higher plateaus and ridges. Perhaps all my notes and photos and maps will end up in an expedition report on the Expeditioncave.com website at some point when I get the time. For now, though, I thought it might be nice to post a few snapshots here, and chat with others who are interested in the fantastic caving of Peru.
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The only drawback of caving in this area is the inaccessibility by any convenient form of transportation. Not just getting to this remote area of Peru, but once you get there and set up basecamp, just getting to and from each cave entrance with gear can be a major ordeal, especially when trying to breathe while climbing rope or hauling stuff around in the high elevation areas. Mules and horses are commonly used, but even pack animals have their limitations when the going gets steep.
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Some enormous cave entrances are visible on cliffsides, but with only possible access via difficult aid climbs or hundred-metre rappels from above after 45degree-angle thrashing dense jungle climbing assaults to the top... so close, yet so far away. Then, there is the issue of locals' constant suspicion that your whole team must be mummy-stealing tomb-robbers or Inca gold seekers!
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After all, this is the exact area of the Legend of the Lost Inca Gold.
The legend says that when the Spaniards took the Inca Emporer Atahualpa hostage in Cajamarca, Atahualpa called upon his subjects from all points of the empire to fill a room with gold to pay the ransom. Yet, when the room was full of gold (still known as The Ransom Room), on 26 July 1533, Spaniard expedition leader Francisco Pizarro had Atahualpa executed. Of course, Pizarro was kind enough to let him be converted to christianity so that he could be strangled by a priest instead of burned at the stake. But, what the Spaniards didn't fully realize at that time, there was still many tons more gold on its way to Cajamarca than the Ransom Room could hold, it was moving slowly over the vast network of Inca trails, when the word spread out that Atahualpa had been killed. As the legend goes, the Inca gold that was in transit was thrown down into the deepest pits and caves the Incas could find along the way, to keep the Spaniards from getting any more of it. The Spaniards later wrote that they regretted this... no not regret for slaying Atahualpa... regret that they didn't get all the gold.
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The lost Inca gold is still there, waiting for future cavers of this century to land on it while shouting "Off Rope" at the bottom of the drop into one of the many 100m-200m virgin pits that abound along the Inca trails. Perhaps I already stepped on a pile of Lost Inca Gold and didn't realize it... there are midden mounds of organic debris and skeletons of humans or animals at the bottom of many of the entrance pits... these could easily conceal a cache of gold! Maybe next time, I'll bring along a handy pocket metal detector :) Some of the deepest free-drop pits in Peru, known as infiernillos in local slang, are not far from the largest present-day gold mine. So, running across some gold or other artifacts in this area while caving is likely. Try to remember the caver's motto...Take only pictures... even when you are tempted like I was.
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Well, if you've been caving in Peru, you already know about this stuff.
If you haven't yet, perhaps you are more interested now. Even if you don't find the Lost Inca Gold, you are guaranteed of a golden caving experience there that you will remember for the rest of your life.

I'm looking forward to chatting with others who may be interested in Peru caving.

Regards,
Bonnie Crystal

(now exploring in China)
Expeditioncave
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