Legends about a massive cave in the Andes containing items that may rewrite human history
have enticed explorers and enthralled occult seekers for almost a half-century.
The Tayos Cave is home of the tayos birds, and rumor has it, a treasure trove of riches,
treasures, and spirits.
The one guarded by the Shuar and through which Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot
on the Moon, stepped on the entrance to the “underworld.”
This is the cave that contains the secret metal library, which records the history of
both humankind and an extraterrestrial civilization.
Now, the daughter of a legendary explorer and scientists have discovered something new
in these caverns.
What exactly is the mystery underneath these caves?
Did they finally discover alien bodies?
Join us today as we investigate this mystery cave and all of the secrets it has been hiding
until now!
To reach to the Tayos Cave, you have to travel for eight hours east from Ecuador's capital
city of Quito on tortuous, potholed roads that zigzag through cloud forest over the
Amazon Basin.
Then you pull over just outside the little village of Mendez and follow a road to the
muddy Santiago River's bank, where you'll witness residents carrying 150-pound bushels
of bananas on their shoulders.
From here you get into a long wooden boat and cruise by cascading waterfalls to the
beginning of a dirt trail.
Hike about five hours in the humidity, over Puntilla de Coangos mountain, then up to Bocana
de Coangos top.
The trek comes to an end in a meadow with three thatch houses, which house a dozen Shuar,
the ancient tribe that protects the cave.
The Shuar are the region's indigenous inhabitants, famous warriors famed for shamanism and shrinking
their enemies' skulls.
Tayos calls from deep within territory governed and maintained by the tribe, and visitors
must exercise extreme caution when negotiating local politics and traditions.
Theo Toulkaridis, a geology professor and researcher at Ecuador's University of the
Armed Forces and a renowned authority on Tayos, discovered this the hard way in 2014.
He climbed out of the cave after a few days of exploring to find 20 furious Shuar waiting
for him.
Toulkaridis had recruited local guides, but some other Shuar were disappointed that they
had not been hired as well.
"My guide hugged me tight and whispered, 'Don't resist,'" recounts Toulkaridis.
A Shuar woman then lashed him with a belt.
Everything we know about Tayos starts with Janos "Juan" Moricz, an Argentine Hungarian
who, after looking and exploring in Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina, discovered a source
in Ecuador (which he kept anonymous until his death), who had shown him the location
of the cave and disclosed the entrance to the underground world that he had been searching
for so long.
On July 21, 1969, he made his findings public in a thorough summary of the expedition that
he provided to the Ecuadorian government as a notarial deed.
Moricz claims that in Morona Santiago's underworld, "... I have [discovered] valuable objects
of great cultural and historical value to humanity.
The objects consist especially of metal sheets that probably contain the summary of the history
of an extra-terrestrial civilization, of which we don’t have the least indication to date
…” The geographic description includes pathways
and man-made structures, as well as archaeological remnants from another civilization's life
in the caverns.
According to his claims and study, the entry into Ecuador is one of many to this world
and intra-terrestrial civilization, and it provides solid evidence that aliens previously
came and lived on Earth.
But it was the tablets with illustrations and ancient writing that drew the greatest
worldwide interest.
It is said that the history contained in these metals' dates back 250,000 years in human
history.
This piqued the interest of Erich von Däniken, a Swiss writer whose fascination with the
enigmatic Tayos tunnels led him to write "The Gold of the Gods," a book based on Moricz'
findings in which the author claims to have been a participant in an expedition, entered
the library, and seen golden statues.
He described the caverns as though he had been there using archive images of the Argentine
and his anecdotes.
This best-seller sold over 5 million copies until Von Däniken admitted that he made up
most of what was said that he had not descended to the caverns, and that he had never known
the enormous library existed.
However, his narrative had already piqued the interest of Stanley Hall, a Scottish engineer
whose life purpose had been to locate the library.
To do this, he suggested to Moricz in 1976 that they collaborate on an international
expedition, which the Argentine agreed to on the condition that he head the mission
and that they would not retrieve anything from the cave.
Moricz was left out of a project that was eventually carried out in collaboration with
the governments of Ecuador, England, and US astronaut, Neil Armstrong.
After 35 days of exploration, official results showed that the tunnel system was a natural
phenomenon with no human influence in its formation.
They claimed this after purportedly removing four large crates, the contents of which were
maintained by the Shuar community, who had openly cooperated in entering the cave.
The community was stated to be saddened after this extraction because they felt exploited
and deceived, and they also felt that the team removed "something" from there.
Many people found the expedition reports confusing.
According to Ecuadorian researcher Manuel Palacios, producer of Amerika Prohibida, the
"concealment of reports, photographic and filmic evidence, and, above all, the denial
of the real magnitude of this underground system, which was limited to only 5 kilometers
in length" casts doubt on official accounts because it contradicts even Neil Armstrong's
press statement that "his experience in the Tayos eclipsed his experience on the Moon."
When the draft of the cave expedition was finished, Hall forwarded it to Moricz to review.
He discovered facts that he did not want published and opted not to return the manuscript, forcing
Hall to redo his work.
Stanley Hall remained involved with the investigation following the 1976 expedition.
This time, he'd concentrate on identifying the individual who had taken Juan Moricz to
the caverns.
In 1991, after an intense investigation, he found Petronio Jaramillo, who was the source
of the secret information.
Petronius gave his word that he would reveal to Hall the location of the entrance to the
library, which was not even located in the Cave of the Tayos; nevertheless, on the condition
that he would do it when the time is right.
Hall was able to learn about the alleged account of how they discovered the library: Jaramillo's
uncle was led to the entrance by Shuar village residents as a thank you and because of their
faith in him.
He then took Petronio when he was 17, and he returned one more time after that.
He informed Hall that he had seen a room with metal books and a smaller one with glass-like
volumes.
He also mentioned a massive skeleton draped in gold leaves in the center of the "hall."
He apparently did not take any photos as proof since he knew by precedents in explorations
of other researchers that people wouldn’t believe him.
To leave a trace of his presence in the massive library, Petronio Jaramillo apparently inscribed
his initials on seven metal tablets.
The plan for Hall and Jaramillo to enter and record the expedition (without extraction)
was final: they would spend 3 to 4 months investigating and writing a report that would
be submitted to UNESCO for validity.
However, when the bombing of Peru began in 1995, they were forced to postpone the project.
Due to Ecuador's political circumstances, Hall had to return to Scotland with his family
in 1997, although his objective was to stick to the original plan.
In May 1998, he received a phone call from Petronio Jaramillo's mother informing him
that he had been slain in an attempted robbery, and that the exact location of the entry to
the library had vanished.
In 2005, despite the odds being stacked against him and the passing of a significant amount
of time, Hall disclosed a potential site as the entrance they had been seeking for.
This corresponds to accounts provided with him by Petronio and his son, whom he met after
his father's death.
Until his death in 2008, Stanley Hall encouraged individuals interested in uncovering this
site to work together and contribute to humanity.
The story of their bizarre search has remained largely untold for 45 years.
But now, the daughter of the expedition's leader, Stan Hall, has shed new light on what
was undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary expeditions ever conducted by the Scottish
explorer.
Furthermore, Eileen Hall, a 31-year-old architectural assistant working in Edinburgh, has retraced
her father's steps across the Andes, hoping to finish the epic quest he began more than
four decades ago.
"It was absolutely incredible," she remarked of her recent trip to the jungle for a documentary.
" I can see why Neil Armstrong said the expedition was as great as the Moon.
It was really quite dangerous and scary being out there.
Some of the film crew I was with recently ended up in hospital with viruses.
They pushed themselves too much.
We did not sleep much.
It must have been much the same for participants of my father’s trip.”
The expedition's organizer is currently mapping the caverns in 3D and attempting to have them
designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
But what about the central riddle of the quest: is there actually evidence of extraterrestrial
life in the caves?
It's impossible to acquire a genuine sense of magnitude while inside Tayos.
This isn't a claustrophobic maze of tight tunnels for the most part; it's a succession
of gigantic chambers, some hundreds of feet tall.
Earlier in the expedition, Ms. Hall was in the cave when she heard a loud noise coming
from a high cranny of a cavern.
"I thought it sounded like footsteps," she recalls.
Was that an extraterrestrial footprint?
Time will tell, but the caves are clearly steeped in mystery.
'I believe the treasure cave exists,' Ms. Hall stated.
'And I intend to do all in my power to realize my father's dream of discovering it.'
What are your thoughts on these mysterious caves, and what secrets do they hold?
Tell us in the comments section.