Valverde’s Derrotero | Guide to the Inca Treasure?
Is the copy of the Cedula Real found and translated by Richard Spruce authentic and accurate?
The transcript of the document was added by Álfred Russel Wallace in ‘Notes of a botanist on the Amazon and the Andes… during the years 1849-1864. Only the first part of the first volume has been written by Spruce. The rest has been written by Wallace based on Spruce’s notes.
Guide or Route which Valverde left in Spain, where Death overtook him, having gone from the Mountains of Llanganati, which he entered many times, and carried off a great quantity of Gold; and the King commanded the Corregidors of Tacunga and Ambato to search for the Treasure: which Order and Guide are preserved in one of the Offices of Tacunga.
“Placed in the town of Pillaro, ask for the farm of Moya, and sleep (the first night) a good distance above it; and ask there for the mountain of Guapa, from whose top, if the day be fine, look to the east, so that thy back be towards the town of Ambato, and from thence thou shalt perceive the three Cerros Llanganati, in the form of a triangle, on whose declivity there is a lake, made by hand, into which the ancients threw the gold they have prepared for the ransom of the Inca when they heard of his death. From the same Cerro Guapa thou mayest see also the forest, and in it a clump of Sangurimas standing out of the said forest, and another clump which they call Flechas (arrows), and these clumps are the principal mark for the which thou shalt aim, leaving them a little on the left hand. Go forward from Guapa in the direction and with the signals indicated, and a good way ahead, having passed some cattle-farms, thou shalt come on a wide morass, over which thou must cross, and coming out on the other side thou shalt see on the left hand a short way off a jucal, thou wilt see two small lakes called “Los Anteojos” (the spectacles), from having between them a point of land like to a noise.
“From this place thou mayest again descry the Cerro Llanganati, the same as thou sawest them from the top of Guapa, and I warn thee to leave the said lakes on the left, and that in front of the point or ‘nose’ there is a plain, which is the sleepling-place. There thou must leave thy horses, for they can go no farther. Following now on foot in the same direction, thou shalt come on a great black lake, the which leave on thy left hand, and beyond it seek to descend along the hill-side in such a way that thou mayest reach a ravine, down which comes a waterfall: and here thou shalt find a bridge of three poles, or if it do not still exist thou shalt put another in the most convenient place and pass over it. And having gone on a little way in the forest, seek out the hut which served to sleep in or the remains of it. Having passed the night there, go on thy way the following day through the forest in the same direction, till thou reach another deep dry ravine, across which thou must throw a bridge and pass over it slowly and cautiously, for the ravine is very deep; that is, if thou succeed not in finding the pass which exists. Go forward and look for the sign of another sleeping-place, which I assure thee, thou canst not fail to see in the fragments of pottery and other marks, because the Indians are continually passing along there. Go on thy way, and thou shalt see a mountain which is all of margasitas (pyrites), the which leave on thy left hand, and I warn thee that thou must go around it in this fashion 
. On this side thou wilt find a pajonal (pasture) in a small plain, which having crossed thou wilt come on a canon between two hills, which is the Way of the Inca. From thence as thou goest along thou shalt see the entrance of the socabon (tunnel), which is in the form of a church porch. Having come through the canon and gone a good distance beyond, thou wilt perceive a cascade which descends from an offshoot of the Cerro Llanganati and runs into a quaking-bog on the right hand; and without passing the stream in the said bog there is much gold, so that putting in thy hand what thou shalt gather at the bottom is grains of bold. To ascend the mountain, leave the bog and go along to the right, and pass above the cascade, going round the offshoot of the mountain. And if by chance the mouth of the socabon be closed with certain herbs which they call ‘Salvaje’, remove them, and thou wilt find the entrance. And on the left-hand side of the mountain thou mayest see the ‘Guarya’ (for thus the ancients called the furnace where they founded metals), which is nailed with golden nails (*). And to reach the third mountain, if thou canst not pass behind it, for the water of the lake falls into it.
“If you lose thyself in the forest, seek the river, follow it on the right bank; lower down take to the beach, and thou wilt reach the canon in such sort that, although thou seek to pass it, thou wilt not find where; climb therefore, the mountain on the right hand, and in this manner thou canst by no mean miss thy way”.
* [Query-sprinkled with gold.-ED.]
sending...
The thing is that there is no Derrotero or royal order in the archives of Sevilla.
Best regarsds
Thomas Ruff
Atahualpha has been found in sigchos.
they dig up this year 2012.
searc is over
Hello,
An Inca site has been found in the Sigchos area and it might have been used as a burial site. While I understand the need to generate some buzz, the major PR campaign that has been launched about this discovery is a bit misguiding. While a site has been discovered, it doesn’t mean that it was Atahualpa final resting place. Until a mummy or any other clear scientific evidence has been demonstrated, it doesn’t mean anything.
That said, we’ll probably publish a detailed article about this discovery, and we’ll be following the work of the archaeological organization that is in charge of this site.
Would there really be such a furore created if there was a small possibility??
The Ecuadorian minister in charge of such things has taken it seriously – surely they wouldn’t wish to open themselves to ridicule??
A frenchie organisation has backed Estupinan who is a serious Inca historian.
Why would the info be misguiding?
Will have to wait and see if LOrd Atahualphas really there.
Will you change your book name.
Thnaks man
Simply because this is not the first time it’s happening. The site is certainly of some archeological interest. It’s great to see the involvment of the local autorities.
That said, it doesn’t prove anything else for now.
As per the book, I am actually changing the name, but not for that reason.
Hey Thomas,
I do agree to some extend. We are almost sure there is no Derrotero or Cedula Real in the Archives as per TODAY.
There might have been a Cedula Real a couple decades ago. If the document I am taking about is authentic, its has obviously been stolen, but there might be a way to find it. Are you in Ecuador right now?
Besides the Derrotero or this famous Cedula Real, there are also other documents in the archives about the Llanganatis (and other areas) that are worth taking a look at.
To be absolutely sure of the Cedula Real’s existence, an extensive trawl of the Archivo de Indias in Seville must be carried out. To be ‘almost sure’ isn’t enough.
In his book Honigsbaum was in Sevilla.And there he found no guide or order.Even if most of the old paper are copied.
And a woman from the instituto cervantes frankfurt made calls for me to sevilla and got the same answer.
TR
Thomas
The Derrotero is not in the archives of the Indies, Sevilla.
It was kept in Quito and then stolen from there.
Honigsbaum never had any real intention to look for the treasure. His purpose was to write a book – nothing more.
I am the son-in-law of Eugene K. Brunner. My new book LUST FOR INCA GOLD ISBN-13: 978-1478146063 discloses all of the man’s discoveries in the Llanganatis concerning this treasure deposit and also discusses the Derrotero in great detail, perhaps answering some of the questions raised here.
Concerning the archeological find in Ecuador, anything coming out of countries archeolgical community must be taken with a grain of salt, until proven beyong any reasonable doubt. I dealt with President, Minister of Defense and the Institute of Patrimony and Culture in Quito for two years, the misinformation and deceit from within the Institute and the archeological community is also detailed in my book.
Fascinating, however Sigchos was the last refuge of incan general Zope- Zopahua, not Ruminahui. It is most likely that it was Ruminahui, not Zope-Zopagua, was the one who took control of Atahualpa’s body.
Ruminahui’s pucará was said to be near to Pillaro, although when he was captured he was thought to have been making his way to join up with Zope-Zopahua.
This discovery proves that significant Incan ruins have been lying undiscovered in Ecuador for centuries, and more probably wait to be uncovered!
Steven, Ayahuasca, you both are making very valid points here. That said and even if I totally agree with your views, I think it’s worth reading the books from Tamara Estupinan Viteri, especially “Tras las Huellas de Rumiñahui”.