NationalGeographic.com is reporting the new that the lost city of Paititi may have been found in Peru. The fabled city was described as being made of stone and decorated with statues of gold, and while experts are cautiously optimistic, they haven't confirmed that the ruins that have recently been discovered are Paititi.
According to local legend, the city was founded by Incan hero Inkarri, who also built the city of Cusco, a famous tourist gateway to the region yet today. Inkarri later escaped into the dense Peruvian jungles as Spanish Conquerors raided the region. The ruins have been described as a stone fortress more than 430,000 square feet in size. The walls are said to be detailed with intricate carvings,
Not everyone is ready to declare the site to be the lost city however. These newly discovered ruins are not in the location that the city was believed to have been built, and they may actually pre-date Incan society. Paititi was the inspiration for legends about lost cities of gold, and is there for often the first name that jumps to mind when archeologists discover a new site. It is unclear as of yet, if this could be that fabled place, or if it's simply another ruin left over from the vast Incan Empire that has been reclaimed by the jungle after centuries of disuse.
These kinds of stories always remind me of an Indiana Jones movie. The article hints that there are dozens of sites like this one that have yet to be rediscovered, and with the jungles being as thick as they are, some of those places may never be found. But you can't help but think about how cool it would be to head off and try to find one on your own.
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