Search for the Lost City of Gold Flamholc. The History Channel summary: "In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors swept through Peru in search of great golden treasure. But when they stormed the Incan stronghold of Vilcabamba in 1572, they found the city deserted, burned, and stripped of its wealth. Legend says that the Incas had retreated deep into the jungle and built another magnificent city in an inaccessible quarter of the cloud forest. For more than four centuries, explorers, adventurers, and archaeologists have searched for the gold and riches of the Incas. Now, we follow Tahir Shah, who teams up with Pancho, a Machiguenga warrior who claims
Machu Picchu Spanish never found Machu Picchu and so did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites. The conquistadors had notes of a place called "Piccho", although no record of a Spanish visit exists. The types of sacred rocks defaced by the conquistadors in other locations are untouched at Machu Picchu. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle overgrew the site, and few outside the immediate area knew of its existence. The site may have been discovered and plundered in 1867 by a German businessman, Augusto Berns. Some evidence indicates that German engineer J. M. von Hassel arrived earlier.