Atahualpa's Gold (Llanganates)

The account

When the Spanish executed the Inca emperor Atahualpa mid-ransom, General Rumiñahui supposedly hid the unpaid gold in the fog-bound Llanganates. Hunters have chased the fabled 'Derrotero' route map for centuries.

Leads, where the trail points now

• The key document is the Valverde Derrotero, a 16th-century route guide into the Llanganates of Ecuador said to lead to the hidden ransom gold.
• Barth Blake's 1880s expedition claimed to reach it and produced sketches, then he vanished at sea before returning; his maps are the most-chased lead.
• The Cerro Hermoso area is the traditional target, but the terrain is brutal cloud forest and many searchers have died, so this is an expedition, not a hike.