In South America, there are many archaeological mysteries that have not been explained to this day. One of them is the archaeological site of El Fuerte de Samaipata, located in Bolivia. Since 1998, it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Spanish, El Fuerte means "fortress". This name was given to the monument in modern times.
The archaeological site of El Fuerte de Samaipata consists of two parts. The first one is a hill dotted with numerous carvings. Looming over the city, this carved stone is a unique testament to pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs. Scientists believe that in the XIV-XVI centuries this hill played the role of a ritual center of the old city.
The second part of the complex is a fairly large area located south of the El Fuerte hill. Previously, this territory was a residential area, political and administrative center.
The complex was not a military fortification and, according to historians, was a pre-Columbian religious site built by the Chane people, a large pre-Incan ethnic group comprising the Arawaks. Here are the ruins of the Inca city, built next to the complex during the expansion of the Incas to the southeast. The Incas and Chan were periodically raided by the Guaraní warriors, who from time to time invaded the region. Eventually, the Guaraní conquered the plains and valleys of Santa Cruz and destroyed Samaipata. Guarani also dominated the region during the Spanish colonization.
Climbing to the top of El Fuerte is not so easy. Those who are going to visit the Bolivian archaeological site by car should have considerable driving experience, as after a rainstorm, huge puddles form on the road covered with rubble. The situation is aggravated by extreme heat, stuffiness, dampness and numerous annoying mosquitoes, from which there is no way to hide. In addition, whole colonies of snakes live on the territory of the El Fuerte de Samaipata complex, in this regard, even local Indians try not to climb here again.
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The top of the El Fuerte hill is a regular pyramid. To those who look at it, it seems to be the creation of human hands, and not of nature. From the foot of the hill to its top, there are two perfectly straight troughs, which are 27 meters long and about half a meter wide. They look like an inclined launcher directed into the sky. The gutters are bordered along their entire length by zigzag lines, which also run between the gutters, creating a whole series of rhombuses. Until now, no one has been able to understand what these lines were for. At the very top of the mountain there is a round-shaped platform, and in the rock itself, along the outer radii of the site, figures in the form of triangles and rectangles are hollowed out.
A legend is associated with Mount El Fuerte, according to which it served as a platform for the return of the gods to heaven. Modern researchers have suggested that the Indians, trying to imitate the gods, built a copy of the aircraft and covered it with a gold alloy. This Inca alloy was produced using grooves and circular platforms located on the top of Mount El Fuerte. With the onset of the holy holidays, they launched their golden flying machine into the sky, greeting the gods. However, all this is only an assumption, and people will still have to puzzle over the search for a real solution to this mystery.