Llanganates

Declared in 1996, Llanganates is celebrated in Ecuadorian folklore as the legendary hiding place of the supposed treasure of the Inca general Rumiñahui, said to have been concealed somewhere in these mountains after the Inca Atahualpa was executed by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533, to keep the gold out of Francisco Pizarro's hands. Despite centuries of documented searches — including an expedition by the English explorer Barth Blake in the 19th century — the treasure has never been found, and the extremely broken ground and foul weather keep the legend alive.