Paititi

Paititi refers to the legendary lost city said to lie east of the Andes, hidden somewhere within the remote rain forests of southeast Peru, northern Bolivia, and southwest Brazil. In Peru the Paititi legend revolves around the story of the culture-hero Inkarrí, who, after he founded Q'ero and Cuzco, retreated toward the jungles of Pantiacolla, to live out the rest of his days at his refuge city of Paititi. Other variants of the legend see Paititi as an Incan refuge in the border area between Bolivia and Brazil.

In 2001 the Italian archaeologist Mario Polia discovered the report of the missionary Andrea Lopez in the archives of the Jesuits in Rome. In the document, which originates from the time around 1600, Lopez describes a large city rich in gold, silver and jewels, located in the middle of the tropical jungle near a waterfall and called Paititi by the natives. Lopez informed the Pope about its discovery. Conspiracy theories maintain that the exact location of Paititi has been kept secret by the Vatican.

The most serious and extensive investigation into the non-Peruvian origin of the name "Paititi" and its original locale, has been made by Vera Tyuleneva, archivist at the Qorikancha in Cusco, who has made expeditions to northern Bolivia, and provided extensive and detailed written reports of her findings.

Within Peru the most serious and extensive investigations into lost sites within the mountains and jungles associated with Paititi have been carried out by the Peruvian medical doctor/explorer, Carlos Neuenschwander Landa; Argentinian Salesian priest/explorer, Juan Carlos Polentini Wester; and, into the present day (2008), by psychologist/explorer, Gregory Deyermenjian (USA), and by frontiersman/cartographer/explorer Paulino Mamani (Peru).

On December 29, 2007, a local community near Kimbiri, Peru, found large stone structures resembling high walls, covering an area of 40,000 square meters; they named it Manco Pata fortress [cite web|url=http://www.livinginperu.com/news-5464-travel-tourism-peru-archaeological-fortress-discovered-town-kimbiri-cusco|title=Peru: Archaeological Fortress Discovered in the town of Kimbiri, Cusco|accessdate=2008-01-18] [cite web|url=http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/Noticia.aspx?id=lbWPnQXjNJI=|title=New archeological vestiges found in Manco Pata fortress|accessdate=2008-01-29] . However researchers from the Peruvian government's Cusco-based National Institute of Culture (INC) disputed suggestions by the local mayor that it could be part of the lost city of Paititi [cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080222-lost-city.html|title=Peru's "Lost City" Is a Natural Formation, Experts Rule|accessdate=2008-02-25] . Their report identified the stone structures as naturally formed sandstone.

Expeditions to seek Paititi

* 1925 Percy Harrison Fawcett (Madre de Dios, Peru)
* 1954 to 1955 (Bolivia)
* 1972 Bob Nichols
* 1984 to 2000 altogether 12 expeditions by Gregory Deyermenjian in the remote mountain and jungle areas of the Departments of Cusco and Madre de Dios, including the following: extensive explorations and documentation of Incan remains in Mameria (1984, '85, '86, and 1989); first ascent of Apu Catinti (1986); documentation of Incan "barracks" at Plateau of Toporake (1989); exploration and documentation of Petroglyphs of Pusharo (1991); traverse of Incan "Road of Stone" past the Plateau of Toporake (1993); discovery and documentation of Incan and pre-Incan remains in Callanga (1994); first ascent of, and discovery of Incan complex at base of, Callanga's peak "Llactapata" (1995); first reaching on foot, exploring, and documentation of the true nature of Manu's the "Pyramids of Paratoari" (1996); following farthest north the Incan "Road of Stone" onto the Plateau of Pantiacolla, discovery of "Lago de Ángel" and its Incan platforms north of Río Yavero (1999); full investigation of claims that "Paititi" was to be found on Río Choritiari (2000).
* 1997 Lars Hafksjold (Madre de Dios, Peru)
* In August, 1998, the exploratory Chilean young man Camilo Valdivieso realizes his first investigations in Pusharo's petroglifos and his relation with the lost city.
* 2000.- Researches towards the river Alto Madre de Dios, developed by Valdivieso and an international group.
* In June 2001, the Kota Mama II expedition led by John Blashford-Snell located significant ancient ruins in the jungle east of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, and which are believed to have been those discovered earlier by Hans Ertl. [cite web|url=http://www.kotamama.com|title=The Kota Mama Expedition|accessdate=2008-01-17]
* 2002 Camilo Valdivieso achieve towards the nearness of the Sinkibenia river , finding important archaeological evidences on the presence Inca in zones not explored previously.
* 2002 Jacek Pałkiewicz expedition
* The June 2004 "Quest for Paititi" exploration team of Deyermenjian and Mamani discovered several important Incan ruins along branches of the Incan Road of Stone at the peak known as Último Punto in the northern part of the Pantiacolla region of Peru. [cite web|url=http://www.paititi.com|title=Quest for Paititi|accessdate=2008-01-17]
* 2005 the most recent expedition of Thierry Jamin and Herbert Cartagena
* The 2006 Paititi Expedition: Beyond the Pantiacolla Plateau and the Farthest Reach of the Incas, carried out in June 2006 by Gregory Deyermenjian and Paulino Mamani to the Río Taperachi north of the Yavero, found the farthest Incan settlements yet identified beyond the highland remains they had found in 2004 at "Último Punto."

Notes

References

* Carlos Neuenschwander Landa (author of the books "PANTIACOLLO," "PAITITI: En la Bruma de la Historia" {1983}, and "PAITITI: Hipótesis Final" {2000})
* Juan Carlos Polentini Wester (author of the books "Por la Rutas del Paititi" {1979} and "El Paí Titi ¡Padre Otorongo!" {1999};
* Gregory Deyermenjian (USA) (author of the aricles "Mameria: An Incan Site Complex in the High-Altitude Jungles of Southeast Peru" {2003} and "The Petroglyphs of Pusharo: Peru's Amazonian Riddle" {2000} in Athena Review; "Glimmers of Paititi" {1999} in Mercator's World; "On the Trail of Legends: Searching for Ancient Ruins East of the Andes" {1999} in GPS World; and "The 1989 Toporake/Paititi Expedition: On the Trail of the Ultimate Refuge of the Incas" {1990} and "In Search of Paititi: Following the Road of Stone into an Unknown Peru" {2006} in The Explorers Journal)
* "East to the Amazon", John Blashford-Snell and Richard Snailham. 2003.
* "Paititi: Ein Spähtrupp in die Vergangenheit der Inkas, Anden-Amazonas-Expedition 1954/55", Hans Ertl, Nymphenburger Verlag München, 1956.