Archaeology, Travel/Tourism

Local mayor announces discovery of pre-Columbian archeological fortress

A lost archaeological fortress buried beneath thick, jungle vegetation has apparently been rediscovered in southeast Peru. The Manco Pata fortress was uncovered in Kimbiri, a remote district in Cusco department and part of the Apurímac and Ene river valleys, VRAE, according to the mayor, Guillermo Torres.

Torres told Agencia Andina an expedition came across the fortress on Dec. 29, uncovering perfectly carved stones forming the base of immense walls that covered an area of 40,000-square meters.

He said the Manco Pata fortress would immediately be declared a cultural heritage site, an ecotourism reserve and promoted as part of a tourist circuit — contentions that a spokeswoman for the National Institute of Culture (INC) in Cusco declined to immediately confirm.

INC official Ana Palomino told Andean Air Mail that a team of experts were dispatched to the zone to investigate the discovery and that INC officials and Torres planned a joint-news conference next Tuesday to offer details of the find, including photographs and videos.

Torres speculated the fortress may be the site of Paititi, a mythical city that has inspired numerous expeditions in southeast Peru, north Bolivia and southwest Brazil during the last century.

One version of the Paititi legend says a cultural hero Inkarri retired to Paititi after founding the Inca capital of Cusco.

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