Ecuador Luxury + Adventure Llanganates Park
5 DAYS | 4 NIGHTS From US$ RQ
The Treasure of the Llanganatis refers to a huge sum of worked gold and other treasures supposedly hidden deep within the Llanganatis mountain range of Ecuador by the Inca general Rumiñahui.
In 1532 Francisco Pizarro founded the town of San Miguel de Piura and began the conquest of the Inca empire. Later in the same year, he captured the Inca Atahualpa at Cajamarca. Atahualpa, seeing that the Spaniards cherished gold above all, promised to fill a room with gold in exchange for his freedom. Pizarro agreed to do this, although he likely had no intention to ever let Atahualpa leave. Before the room could be filled with gold, Pizarro's distrust of Atahualpa, and his influence over the many remaining Inca warriors, caused him to have the Inca garroted on August 26, 1533.
One version of the legend holds that the Inca general Rumiñahui was on his way to Cajamarca with an estimated 750 tons] of worked gold for the ransom when he learned that Atahualpa had been murdered. Most scholars however believe that this is a wild over-estimation. The only mention of a specific amount in any records is by Spanish soldier Pedro Cieza de Leon who quotes '300 cargas'. A carga is the amount that a single man could carry over long distances and is estimated at no more than 50lbs which would make the entire hoard less than seven metric tons.
The legend says that he returned to Quito (which at that time was the name of the territory nowadays called Ecuador), hauled the treasure up into the Llanganatis mountain range and threw it into a lake. Rumiñahui continued fighting against the Spanish, and though he was eventually captured and tortured, he never revealed the location of the treasure.
People have searched for the treasure over the last five hundred years and many have come to unfortunate ends resulting in the belief that it is cursed. The legend was popularised in the English-speaking world when the botanist Richard spruce discovered Valverde´s derrotero and a map drawn by an Ecuadorian by the name of Don Atanasio Guzman, and published this information in the Journal of Royal Geographical Society in 1860.
We will be considerable impressed by the large, gracious trees which grow on the steep slopes on both sides of the river. The first rest and lunch is to 12h00 pm. Our walk will be until arriving to the first lagoon that it is to 4000 msnm. Where we are going to spend a night at the camp.
DAY 2:
Breakfast is at 06h00 am and then continue along the Brunner route for a walk of 2 hours. Here you can see for the first time the Pics of Cerro Hermoso. We go down until to the Rio Verde following the shorts of Laguna Negra where you can fish, have lunch, visit the waterfall and rest for one hour. We follow our walk trough the rough moorlands and deep valleys until we arrive to the Cerro Hermoso on the shorts of Laguna Encantada. Here most of the park is covered by dense vegetation and the weather is mostly cold and rainy. Also you can see a beautiful waterfall and an spectacular view of this paradise that you can appreciate only here in this place. Fortunately we spent our second night.
DAY 3:
We have breakfast at 06h00 am and check the equipment to go up to the highest pic of Llanganates that it has 4571 msnm, crossing bigger stones of quartz, surrounded by an inexplicable and fascinating beautiful with fauna and flora never seen before and little know. We have breakfast at 06h00. There are mineral waters which are quite important to the mountain. Here you can feel a sensation of mysterious, enchants that only this place has. Throughout history, explores and adventurers had been attracted to this area in search of the elusive gold of Atahualpa, wich according to the legend is hidden in the Llanganates. We return to this area in the camp in the afternoon.
Some of the miniature orchids of this area: Lepanthes biloba, Pleurothallis pentamytera and a Stelis
DAY 4:
Then after the breakfast we get ready to return, Here you are able to obtain some spectacular and colorful photographs of this wonderful area. Pictures will be the most important treasure that you can carry on of Llanganates.
We get to the Hacienda Leito approximately 06:00 pm.
Include:
• 2 nights Accommodation and dinner menu at the Hacienda Leito
• Transportation since Leito
• Tents and equipment for camp
• Alimentation
• 3 guide (2 specialist and 1 native)
NECESARYS IMPLEMENTS:
Weatherproof, rubber boots, warm clothes, sun glasses, sun scream lotion.This expedition is going to be the most important experience that you will have in your life.
