Dear Member of Blavatsky Net,

In Isis Unveiled, Blavatsky writes of one of those facinating mysteries – long extended tunnels supposed to be under the Andes mountains containing much hidden gold. Is such a thing just airy imagination or is it fact?

She comments on this subject for several pages. Some of the story she recounts she claims was known before. Here is some of what she adds:

“Not far from this spot stand three separate peaks which form a curious triangle; they are included in the chain of the Andes. According to tradition the only practicable entrance to the corridor leading northward is in one of these peaks; but without the secret of its landmarks, a regiment of Titans might rend the rocks in vain in the attempt to find it. But even were some one to gain an entrance and find his way as far as the turning slab in the wall of the sepulchre, and attempt to blast it out,the superincumbent rocks are so disposed as to bury the tomb, its treasures, and — as the mysterious Peruvian expressed it to us — “a thousand warriors” in one common ruin. There is no other access to the Arica chamber but through the door in the mountain near Pay’quina. Along the entire length of the corridor, from Bolivia to Lima and Cusco, are smaller hiding places filled with treasures of gold and precious stone, the accumulations of many generations of Incas, the aggregate value of which is incalculable.

We have in our possession an accurate plan of the tunnel, the sepulchre, and the doors, given to us at the time by the old Peruvian. If we had ever thought of profiting by the secret, it would have required the cooperation of the Peruvian and Bolivian governments on an extensive scale. To say nothing of physical obstacles, no one individual or small party could undertake such an exploration without encountering the army of smugglers and brigands with which the coast is infested; and which, in fact, includes nearly the whole population. The mere task of purifying the mephitic air of the tunnel, which had not been entered for centuries, would also be a serious one. There, however, the treasure lies, and there the tradition says it will lie till the last vestige of Spanish rule disappears from the whole of North and South America.” (Isis Unveiled Volume I pages 595-598 published in 1877.)

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In recent times there has been more confirming evidence of the reality of these tunnels.

Some of you may be familiar with von Daniken’s “Gold of the Gods” published in 1972. Admittedly von Daniken is quite controversial and I am not intending to offer any support to his extra-terrestrial claims by quoting from him here.

Early in his book von Daniken says:

“To me this is the most incredible, fantastic story of the century. It could easily have come straight from the realms of science fiction if I had not seen and photographed the incredible truth in person … A gigantic system of tunnels, thousands of miles in length and built by unknown constructors at some unknown date, lies hidden deep below the South American continent. Hundreds of miles of underground passages have already been explored and measured in Ecuador and Peru. This is only the beginning, yet the world knows nothing about it.” (Page 1).

He tells us about the find by Juan Moricz who

“stumbled on the underground passages in June 1965, during his research work, in which he was ably assisted by Peruvian Indians, who acted as skilled intermediaries between him and their tricky fellow tribesmen. Being cautious by nature and skeptical as befitting a scholar, he kept silent for three years. Not until he had covered many miles of underground passages and found all kinds of remarkable objects” did he tell anyone. (Page 4)

Moricz said that passages like those through which we were going extended for hundreds of miles under the soil of Ecuador and Peru.”

You can see more at http://thehollowearthinsider.com/news/wmview.php?ArtID=21.

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More recent and more sound confirmation comes from David Childress. Childress is an adventurer who has also has written numerous well researched books that explore the nooks and crannies in the world around us and happen to often lend general support to Theosophy’s general claims for the ancient history of man.

Online there is a very useful article by Childress at
http://www.ufoarea.com/aas_childress_tunnels.html. I recommend reading it. Be sure to note that this quite long article continues onto a second web page.

Here are some snippets:

“What if I told you that I had been inside a fantastic tunnel system that runs beneath the continent of South America? Would you think me a liar? Or worse yet, insane? Though I admit it is a story that seems difficult to believe, I am telling the truth. Read on, dear reader, and decide if I am mad or lying.  Although it seems incredible, there is a great deal of evidence to show that a network of ancient tunnels exists throughout much of South America. Legends abound on this tunnel system, and I can state that I have even been inside some of the tunnels on this strangest of continents.

Legends of tunnels in South America surfaced almost immediately after the conquest when the Spaniards discovered that the Incas had hidden much of their treasure-sacred relics of pure gold either beneath the Inca capital of Cuzco or in a secret city known as Paititi. Either way, legend had it that a tunnel system was used.”

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Wilkins believed, as did apparently Madame Blavatsky (a well-known psychic and founder of The Theosophical Society), that a spur of the ancient tunnel system came out in the Atacama Desert near to Arica and the current border between Chile and Peru, which is further south still. Madame Blavatsky related the story, retold by Wilkins, of the ancient treasure and tunnel system.

There certainly appears to be some repetition and borrowing between some of these stories. Yet most historians and archaeologists believe that they are based on some fact. That tunnels and lost treasure exist, there seems to be no doubt. But the real questions are, where are they? And, who made them?

The treasure of the Incas is believed to still be hidden in the tunnels that run under Cuzco and the ruins of the megalithic fortress mentioned above called Sacsayhuaman.

The stories of a subterranean world fascinated me and I decided that South America was a good place to investigate whatever reality there might be in the many legends.

It didn’t take long to find the tunnel entrance.

I was amazed at this ancient feat of engineering. We were descending down into the earth in a wide, gradually slopping tunnel that was dug into a red, clay-type dirt. It was not the smooth, laser-cut rock walls that Erich von Daniken had claimed to have seen in Ecuador in his book Gold of the Gods, but it was just as incredible.

It wouldn’t have taken some space-age device to make this tunnel, just simple tools; yet, it was clearly a colossal undertaking. Why would anyone build such a tunnel? Was it an ancient mine that went deep into the earth, searching for an elusive vein of gold or merely red clay for the long gone ceramic kilns? Was it an elaborate escape tunnel used in the horrific wars that were said to have been fought in South America-and around the world – in the distant past? Or was it some bizarre subterranean road that linked up with other tunnels in the Andes and ultimately could be used to journey safely to such places as Machu Picchu, Cuzco or the Atacama Desert? Maybe a combination of all three.”

Marli, Carl and I continued walking through the tunnel for a kilometer or so.

Did it really go to Machu Picchu and the Andes? It seemed incredible, but we could not discount this story.”

Conclusion: HPB’s unusual claims find confirmation again.

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There are many more details in Childress’ article than I can mention here. To find more in his books check out:

• “Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of South America” by David Childress
• “Lost Cities of North and Central America” 

A collection of his books is at the new aisle at: Silk Road Traveler.com

Reed Carson

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