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El Dorado, hunting the legend - 2002
El Dorado, hunting the legend - 2002
Jacek Pałkiewicz2006-06-25 13:24:31
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www.palkiewicz.com
Press Agency EFE 28.07.2002
The quest began on June 30, when more than two dozen researchers began combing the wild and unexplored jungle region along the basin of the Madre de Dios River.
l Dorado, called "Paititi" by the region's Indian population, is known as the last bastion of the Incas as they sought refuge from advancing Spanish conquistadors.
The leader of the expedition, the Polish-Italian journalist and explorer Jacek Palkiewicz, told EFE Saturday he was very pleased with the expedition and felt "certain" he had found El Dorado.
After two years of research and exploration, Palkiewicz said, the lost city had been found in an area adjoining the Manu national park, southeast of Lima.
The journey to El Dorado has allowed the researchers to confirm all the written accounts and myths surrounding the lost city, including reports that it was a 10-day walk from Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inca empire.
Palkiewicz said he was most surprised to learn that stories of the city being under a lake were completely accurate.
The lake has been discovered in a four-square-kilometer (1.5-square-mile) plateau totally covered in vegetation.
Russian specialists taking part in the expedition used terrestrial radar to confirm the existence of an underwater network of caverns and tunnels.
His most recent expedition had a budget of more than $1 million and received the symbolic support of Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Poland's Aleksander Kwasniewski and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
According to legend, the treasures of the last Inca rulers were buried under the lake.
He added that a final extensive expedition would be carried out in October and would include scientists specializing in the study of caves.
Palkiewicz said he had found traces of pre-Inca constructions, which indicate that
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