One of the world's most remarkable and exciting feats of masterful engineering is also one of its most hidden. It is the very ancient underground tunnel system that runs under the Andes Mountains of Peru. According to legend, the tunnels of this Andean network have existed since the time of the Viracochas, the '"Gods" mentioned by the Inca historians who built many of the megalithic stone temples in the Andes many thousands of years ago. The Inca Elders currently maintain that some of these cyclopean temples are at least 50,000 years old, so the tunnels that run underneath them may be equally as ancient. But what makes the Andean tunnel system currently so intriguing to modern man is that it is reputedly full of treasures and records from the very distant past. In terms of what we might learn from opening them, these tunnels could be as important to humanity's understanding of itself as the prophesied discovery of the Hall of Records in the Great Pyramid in Egypt. Huge expectations have been placed upon the legendary Hall and its opening, but equally big expectations can be conferred upon the Peruvian tunnel system. Similar to the Hall of Records, the Peruvian tunnels could even answer humankind's perennial questions regarding the existence of the fabled continents of Atlantis and Lemuria. According to South American legends, the Viracocha builders were the Atlanteans and Lemurians. Colonists from the two motherlands built the Andean tunnels, and later in history they had the power objects and records deposited within them by their descendants, the Incas. It is averred that during the Spanish invasion under Pizzaro the Incas hid the priceless artifacts of their ancestors within the tunnels to keep them out of the greedy hands of their avaricious conquerors. At the same time, they also stored in the tunnel system many solid gold artifacts and sacred relics they had adorned their temples with. The best known of these temple treasures were secreted into the tunnels by the queen of Atahualpa, the last Inca. History informs us that the Inca queen had loaded up 11,000 lamas with golden treasures in hopes of exchanging her cargo for Atahualpa's release, but when she learned that the Spanish planned to murder her husband whether they received the gold or not, she ordered that the train be immediately unloaded and its cargo permanently hidden within the tunnel system.
According to many Inca legends, the Andean tunnel network unites all the major Inca temple compounds in the Andes, and it was once used as an underground highway system for Inca priests traveling throughout the Inca Empire. Some of these subterranean '"roads" led to the hidden Inca cities of Vilcabamba and Pattiti, the '"City of Gold." The guides at the temple compound of Sacsayhuaman overlooking Cuzco currently regale tourists with stories about one of the Andean tunnels that Inca priests once used to travel between the hilltop fortress and the Coricancha temple, which is about one mile away in the center of the city. The entrance to this tunnel was still open as late as the mid 1800's, and people were often discovering golden treasure within it. But like all the other entrances it was eventually sealed up because adventurers and treasure seekers were constantly getting lost in the elaborate tunnel system it connected to.
Although the Peruvian government has stymied any excavations of the tunnel system for many years, they themselves sent an expedition to explore the network in 1923. After entering a tunnel entrance in the Cuzco area, the expedition slowly moved westward along a tunnel in the direction of Lima and the Pacific coast. They quickly lost contact with those they had left behind, and the break in communication continued for twelve long days. Finally, one of the party reemerged from the Cuzco entrance, starving, but with a plethora of tales related to an underground tunnel network that '"would make an Indiana Jones movie seem tame by comparison."
In more recent times, Lima was found to be honeycombed with tunnels after an earthquake in 1972 revealed entrances into them. Many of the tunnels were found to lead directly into the Andes. Unfortunately they could not be explored very far because centuries of erosion had collapsed them in many places.
The network of the Andean tunnel system was apparently well known as late as the 1800's. H.P. Blavatsky reported seeing a diagram of the system adorning a wall within the Coricancha during a visit to Peru. Not only were numerous entrances represented on this map, but the system itself was shown to be part of a larger pan-American system that traveled north into Central and North America. According to legend, the Apaches were very familiar with the northern end of this system and their chief Geronimo used to disappear into it while escaping with his warriors from the US Cavalry.
As surprising as it sounds, many entrances into the Andean tunnel system are said to exist on islands in the middle of Lake Titicaca. One such entrance is located on the sacred shamanic island of Amantani. This entrance was open until the 1940's, when authorities had it closed to keep people from getting lost in its tunnel. But now the people of Amantani are asking for their tunnel entrance to be reopened. They have specifically asked the tour guide and hotel owner Jorge Louis Delgado of Puno to assist them in opening the tunnel entrance, and Jorge has gotten permission to do so from Alan Garcia, Peru's newly elected president. But financial assistance is needed. After assessing the work involved in opening the entrance and excavating the tunnel system to make it safe for exploration, Jorge has concluded at least $10,000.00 is needed to perform the job sufficiently and adequately. So we are now appealing to those who would like to be part of history-in-the-making. Those of you who have lamented that '"nothing new ever happens" and '"where are the signs of a new era?," should be ready and willing to become involved in this potentially earthshaking enterprise. The Inca calendar says that now is the time for the new era. The new era began in 1992 when the Pachakuti, the World Transformation," was set into motion. Part of the new era is the resurfacing of ancient Andean history and lost sacred artifacts. Thus, the way has been made clear for us, and we need to take advantage of it.
Our goal is to raise the funds by March 2007, so we can open the tunnel entrance in Amantani in conjunction with our Spring Equinox ritual, if this is what the Elders through their council and prayers receive guidance to do. Please join us in ushering in the prophesied era when the Eagle flies with the Condor and the tribes of America are reunited in peace.
If you would like to be a part of history and donate to this most important event, please visit http://www.earthworksforhumnaity.org or contact Adam Yellowbird at 928-646-3000.
