The endless search for Paititi and the analysis of the manuscript by Andrea Lop
What is Paititi really? Can a myth survive five centuries of history and still be more alive than ever in the 21st century?
Paititi, the lost city hidden somewhere in the vast Amazon rainforest east of Cusco, is, in fact, the convergence of several legends. From one perspective, it can be included in the broader myth of South American El Dorado, which I explored in my book The Search for El Dorado.
During the Inca era, the jungle traversed by the Amarumayo River—now known as the Madre de Dios—was called Antisuyo, and its inhabitants were known as Antis (from which the term Andes originates). According to accounts, the Inca ruler Pachacutec ventured into Antisuyo with a powerful army, subjugating various Amazonian tribes that, as tribute, provided coca leaves, gold, bird feathers, and medicinal plants.
According to an Inca legend, the Andean god Inkarri founded a city identical to Cusco deep in the jungle, ten days east of the Inca capital, long before the arrival of the conquistadors. The Quechua name Paikikin is thought to mean "equal to," aligning with this interpretation.
After the arrival of the conquistadors (1533), some Inca priests reportedly transported vast riches to Paititi to protect them from Spanish plunder. Paititi thus served as the final stronghold following the fall of Vilcabamba and the execution of Tupac Amaru in 1572—not only to conceal great treasures but also to preserve ancient traditions, mystical practices, scientific knowledge (such as the use of medicinal plants and alchemy), and linguistic heritage (quellca).
According to these beliefs, a multi-level underground city in the Madre de Dios region is still active today. The king of Paititi, said to hold the ancient wisdom of a long-lost civilization, is believed to be waiting for the right moment to return to the "world of light" and restore the order disrupted in the past.
There is another version of the Paititi legend that places the lost city much further east and describes it as a vast kingdom near the current Bolivia-Brazil border. This area was ruled for centuries by the Mojos people, who spoke a language of the Arawak family. According to this version, the name Paititi means "all white and bright," like gold. Recent archaeological findings in the Bolivian Amazon (Llanos de Moxos), including walls and canal-like trenches, suggest the existence of a confederation of tribes that may have been called Paititi. However, this Paititi was distinctly Amazonian rather than post-Inca.
The first adventurer to enter the Madre de Dios forest was Pedro de Candia, one of Peru's conquistadors and a lieutenant of Francisco Pizarro. Guided by information from some of his indigenous concubines about a golden city called Ambaya, he embarked on an expedition. In 1538, with 600 men, he departed from Paucartambo and ventured about 150 kilometers into the eastern tropical jungle. The expedition, however, failed when they were attacked by fierce natives in a village called Abiseo, prompting a retreat to Cusco.
The quest for Paititi continues even in modern times. In the 1960s, Peruvian Carlos Neuenschwander Landa led 27 expeditions in search of Paititi, mainly in what is now Manu National Park. Although he collected significant archaeological evidence of post-Inca presence in the Madre de Dios basin, the mystery of the world's most famous lost city remained unsolved.
In 1970, three adventurers—American Nichols and Frenchmen Debrù and Puel—disappeared in the Manu National Park area while searching for the lost city of Paititi. They were likely killed by Kuga-Pacori natives (of the Matsiguenka ethnicity), who felt threatened by the invasion of their ancestral territory.
In 1979, Franco-Peruvian couple Herbert and Nicole Cartagena, guided by Peruvian Goyo Toledo, discovered an Inca settlement near the Rio Mameria, an affluent of the Nistron River (which in turn feeds into the Alto Madre de Dios). Subsequent studies by American explorer Gregory Deyermenjian confirmed that Mameria, though not Paititi, was a significant Inca outpost in the Nistron valley, primarily used as a coca collection center for the empire.
Deyermenjian has also conducted numerous expeditions in the remote Pantiacolla Plateau, straddling the departments of Cusco and Madre de Dios. He discovered and traversed an ancient stone-paved Inca road leading from the Pantiacolla Plateau toward the jungle, but it remains unexplored in its entirety.
In 1997, Norwegian biologist Lars Hafskjold departed from Sandia heading east, possibly in search of Amazonian Paititi or the legendary Mojos land. However, he never returned, and his traces were lost in the unexplored territory of Bolivia's Madidi National Park.
Account of a miracle that occurred through the mercy of God in the Indies of Peru, or rather in the Kingdom of Payititi adjacent to Peru.
When Father Andrea Lopez arrived in the city of Rome as a representative from those lands, he reported to the Superior General the miracle that the Lord, in His mercy, performed in those countries. Father Andrea Lopez, as rector of the Jesuit College in the city of Cusco in the Indies of Peru, recounted that some Indians in that city, though baptized Christians by his own hand, became indignant over mistreatment by soldiers of the garrison. They resolved to leave their homeland and journey to another kingdom ten days' distance from Peru, called Payititi. This kingdom is said to cover 1,000 Spanish leagues (equivalent to 3,000 Italian leagues), inhabited by white men resembling Germans, who are warlike yet civil in their ways and governance.
The King of Payititi, a mighty ruler, maintains a court of great majesty akin to the Great Turk. His kingdom is rich, adorned with gold, silver, and countless pearls, used even for cooking utensils as we use metal or iron. Upon arriving at the borders of Payititi, the fleeing Indians were inspected by guards, who were astonished to find among their belongings a wooden crucifix. Questioned about its meaning, the Indians explained that it represented the Christian God. The guards mocked and dismissed it, allowing the Indians to enter the kingdom.
Upon hearing of their arrival, the King summoned them to court to view the crucifix and learn about the Christian God. Taking the crucifix in hand, the King and his courtiers ridiculed it. However, when the King spat upon the crucifix for further insult, a miracle occurred: the crucifix raised its head, which had been inclined, and cast a terrifying gaze around the court. The King and his courtiers fell to the ground, unconscious for three hours. When the King regained consciousness, he proclaimed, "Great is the God of the Christians!" and, with his court, began worshiping the crucifix.
He built a chapel in his palace courtyard, adorned with gold and precious gems, where he and his heir prayed daily. Days later, the King, eager to learn more about Christianity, resolved to journey with his son and six noblemen to meet Father Andrea Lopez. After hearing the Father preach, the King requested baptism for himself, his son, and his companions. They were baptized, and shortly afterward, the King fell ill and passed away, instructing his son to uphold the Christian faith and spread it throughout the kingdom.
Father Andrea Lopez reported this to the Superior General, and plans were made to send him and others on a mission to Payititi. He also described how he persuaded local Indians to abandon their worship of a bizarre stone idol and embrace Christianity. The stone idol, brought to Rome, was valued for its supposed miraculous healing properties.
After analyzing this ancient document, I conclude that it is authentic, though some details may have been exaggerated by the anonymous author to emphasize the conversion of a previously unconquered territory. It is known that Father Andrea Lopez (born in Villagarcia, Castile, in 1544) joined the Society of Jesus in 1565.
The document reveals that the Roman Church was aware of Paititi’s location in the 17th century. Father Lopez likely provided geographic details to his superiors when ordered to evangelize the kingdom. However, no evangelization order has ever been found, and Polia himself suggested in an article for Archeo magazine that the Society of Jesus may have withheld Paititi’s exact location to prevent a gold rush that could harm indigenous populations.
Some researchers believe the Paititi described in Father Lopez’s manuscript corresponds to the Amazonian region near the Bolivia-Brazil border, inhabited by the Mojos people. However, the manuscript’s mention of “ten days from Peru” and its descriptions of square, gold-plated architecture suggest Andean or post-Inca origins rather than Amazonian cultures like the Arawak-Mojos.
Where was Paititi located? It may have been looted by mercenaries long before news of the miracle reached Rome in the early 17th century. Modern explorers Carlos Neuenschwander Landa and Gregory Deyermenjian have focused their efforts on the Alto Madre de Dios region, matching the description of a location “ten days' walk east of Cusco.” This includes the Manu National Park, the Rio Nistron, and the Pantiacolla Plateau.
On a recent expedition to the so-called Pantiacolla pyramids, I witnessed the immense challenges of exploring this region, from hostile indigenous groups like the Kuga-Pacoris to the humid jungle climate and remote, rugged terrain.
Future expeditions are inevitable, but respect for native populations—some of whom remain uncontacted—is paramount. Those seeking gold or fame will fail. True discovery lies in disinterested curiosity, passion for history, and reverence for ancient cultures. Only such explorers may solve the enduring mystery of Paititi.
YURI LEVERATTO
