El Dorado - Was it a myth or is there still gold to be discovered?

The Legend of El Dorado.

Could there really be a stunning undiscovered city of gold?

The ‘New World’ (16th - 17th centuries) as most historians would often refer to it was punctuated by a number of fascinating stories about lost worlds and new discoveries. Of these, Europeans believed that there was a place hidden from civilisation, filled with incredible wealth known as El Dorado. This, of course enticed gold adventurers who embarked on countless expeditions in search of this city of gold.

Of the most popular theories, El Dorado was said to be found near to Lake Parime, a legendary lake found in South America. Early Explorers searched parts of Columbia, Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana but to no avail. The most famous explorer and Britain’s great adventurer, Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsored four voyages to Guyana in 1579, 1595, 1596, and 1617 where he believed the riches of El Dorado were to be found.

According to some explorers, El Dorado was spectacularly found somewhere in the Pakaraima Mountains, between the Amazon River and Orinoco River. However, neither the great lake nor El Dorado were ever found.

In the 1800’s, Alexander Humboldt strikingly claimed that Lake Parime was actually Lake Amucu which is found in the North Rupununi of Guyana. This lake was first described by a German surgeon called Nicholas Horstman

Though El Dorado, the City of Gold was never found, some still believe that the ancient empire lies hidden from the eye. This leaves us to wonder,was it just a legend, or is the gold still there to be discovered?

What we do know is the legend of the Golden City of El Dorado lives on and is not only known in Guyana but all across the world.