For years, there have been rumors of extensive tunnel networks, built in ancient or even prehistoric times, under the Andes Mountains and other locations as well. One entrance is said to be under the Incan (or pre-Incan) ruin of Sacsahuaman, located on a ridge not far from Cuzco, Peru. Some accounts say the tunnels extend all the way down into Cuzco, some miles away, and emerge within an Incan palace now converted into a Catholic church. There have been stories of people venturing into the tunnels, never to be seen again; one account even claimed that an entire squad of soldiers were lost in this manner. Equally far out claims are made for extensive, even intercontinental tunnels, or even a hollow Earth. To say that this is improbable is perhaps an understatement.
Some years ago I journeyed to Bolivia and Peru, visiting the church/palace and the ruins at Sacsahuaman, which consist of two main structures, each partly natural and partly, or mostly artificial. The size and mass of the stones is mind-boggling, and the geometry of the structure is so bizarre as to be nearly indescribable. I was on a guded tour, and time was limited, so, while I clambered all over one structure, I had no chance for a close up view of the other side of the second structure, where, according to my guide, the tunnel entrance was located. He said that, years earlier, he had explored a small part of the tunnels, a popular activity for the teenagers of the area, until a young couple ventured in and vanished, and the government put a locked gate over the entrance.
Some time later, and further north, I visited Macchu Picchu, where I saw a natural cave entrance in the complex; my guide verified that it was, indeed, a cave, but gave no more information and seemed remarkably incurious.
So why are these systems not being publicly explored? They may well contain emeralds and gold or the greatest treasure of all, knowledge. Teams of archaeologists, aided perhaps by spelunkers, could safely explore them. They might even become, in time, another lucrative tourist attraction. Perhaps they have been explored, but, if so, it has been kept secret. What are the authorities hiding? William B Stoecker


