Ecuador – Atahualpa’s gold

Around the world, adventurers seek incredible treasures, and Philippe Esnos was one such hunter, pursuing the tomb filled with gold belonging to Atahualpa, the last Incan emperor. For over 20 years, he searched the Andean Cordillera in Ecuador, enduring harsh conditions in jungles and mountains above 4,000 meters.

Atahualpa was a real figure arrested by Francisco Pizarro in 1533. He offered a substantial ransom for his release, but after receiving the gold and silver, the Spaniards killed him. Incan general Ruminahui, upon seeing the emperor's death, hid the king’s remains and the rest of the ransom—several tons of gold objects.

Philippe Esnos spent years studying archives in Spain and South America. In a Quito monastery, he discovered a 16th-century notebook detailing the treasure’s location, documented by a Dominican monk who learned it during an Indian's confession. Esnos followed this lead but died before finding Atahualpa’s treasure. The quest continues.