Paititi: The Inca Gold City Said to Have Been Hidden from the Spanish Army

In 1533, Spanish forces entered Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. At the centre of the city stood Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun. Its stone walls were fitted so tightly that a blade could not enter the joints. Spanish chroniclers described sheets of gold on the walls, gold figures, silver objects and ritual wealth sent in from the provinces. Pedro de Cieza de León wrote that much of this wealth was taken away

In 1533, Spanish forces entered Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. At the centre of the city stood Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun. Its stone walls were fitted so tightly that a blade could not enter the joints. Spanish chroniclers described sheets of gold on the walls, gold figures, silver objects and ritual wealth sent in from the provinces. Pedro de Cieza de León wrote that much of this wealth was taken away

In 1533, Spanish forces entered Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. At the centre of the city stood Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun. Its stone walls were fitted so tightly that a blade could not enter the joints. Spanish chroniclers described sheets of gold on the walls, gold figures, silver objects and ritual wealth sent in from the provinces. Pedro de Cieza de León wrote that much of this wealth was taken away

In 1533, Spanish forces entered Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. At the centre of the city stood Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun. Its stone walls were fitted so tightly that a blade could not enter the joints. Spanish chroniclers described sheets of gold on the walls, gold figures, silver objects and ritual wealth sent in from the provinces. Pedro de Cieza de León wrote that much of this wealth was taken away