The Lost City of the Monkey God

1. Mosquitia: A Realm of Unexplored Mysteries and Peril

Somewhere in this impassable wilderness, it is said, lies a “lost city” built of white stone.

A forbidding landscape. La Mosquitia, a vast and lawless region in Honduras, remains one of the last unexplored places on Earth. Its rainforests, swamps, and mountains have historically frustrated efforts to penetrate and explore it, earning it the early moniker of "Gates of Hell." Even today, significant portions remain scientifically uninvestigated.

Beyond nature's deterrents. The dangers of Mosquitia extend beyond its natural obstacles. Honduras has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and the region serves as a major transit point for cocaine destined for the United States. Drug cartels exert considerable control, and the U.S. State Department advises against travel to the area due to credible threats against U.S. citizens.

A tantalizing legend. Despite its dangers, Mosquitia is home to the persistent legend of Ciudad Blanca, the "White City," also known as the "Lost City of the Monkey God." This legendary city, built of white stone, has captivated explorers and archaeologists for centuries, promising an archaeological discovery of enormous significance.

2. The Allure and Deception of the White City Legend

So wonderful are the reports about this particular province, that even allowing largely for exaggeration, it will exceed Mexico in riches, and equal it in the largeness of its towns and villages, the density of its population, and the policy of its inhabitants.

Cortés's Fifth Letter. The legend of Ciudad Blanca can be traced back to Hernán Cortés's "Fifth Letter" to Emperor Charles V in 1526. Cortés described a land called the Old Land of Red Earth, said to be even greater than Mexico in wealth and population, planting the seeds for the myth of a lost city in the mountains of Mosquitia.

Indigenous and European tales. Over the centuries, stories from indigenous peoples, Spanish missionaries, and American explorers coalesced into a single legend of a sacred and forbidden city. The Pech Indians spoke of a "White House" where shamans retreated, while others told of a cursed city where anyone who entered would die.

Stephens and Catherwood's discoveries. The work of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in the 1830s, who explored and documented ancient Mayan cities, fueled the romance of lost cities in the American imagination. Their discoveries established the notion that the jungles of Central America held many more secrets waiting to be revealed.

3. Early Explorations: From Strong's Scientific Inquiry to Heye's Ill-Fated Quests

The city would still be there that way. Like the ‘Ciudad Blanco’—the ‘forbidden fruit’ will probably long remain a lure to the curious.

William Duncan Strong's scientific approach. In the 1930s, William Duncan Strong, an archaeologist from the Smithsonian, conducted a scientific exploration of Mosquitia. He established that the region had been inhabited by an ancient, unknown people who were not Maya, but built great earthen mounds, raising questions about their origins and relationship to their Mayan neighbors.

George Gustav Heye's expeditions. George Gustav Heye, a wealthy collector of Native American artifacts, financed several expeditions into Mosquitia in search of the lost city. He hired Frederick Mitchell-Hedges, a British adventurer, who claimed to have found the Maya city of Lubaantun in Belize, but was later revealed as a fraud.

R. Stuart Murray's elusive search. Heye then partnered with a Canadian journalist named R. Stuart Murray, who led two expeditions into Mosquitia. Murray believed he came tantalizingly close to finding the Lost City of the Monkey God, but was always thwarted by the jungle, rivers, and mountains.

4. Morde's Fraudulent Expedition: Gold Over Glory

I’m going back to the City of the Monkey God, to try to solve one of the few remaining mysteries of the Western World.

Theodore Morde's deception. Theodore Morde, a journalist, led the third Honduran expedition into Mosquitia, financed by Heye. Morde claimed to have discovered the Lost City of the Monkey God, but his journals revealed that he and his partner, Laurence C. Brown, had a secret agenda: to search for gold.

A quest for gold. Morde and Brown packed sophisticated gold-mining equipment and planned their route based on possible gold deposits along the Río Blanco. They spent weeks mining gold at a creek called Ulak-Was, but a flash flood destroyed their operation.

Fabricating the discovery. After their gold-mining operation failed, Morde and Brown fabricated the story of finding the Lost City of the Monkey God. They acquired artifacts near the coast and presented them as evidence of their discovery, deceiving Heye and the American public.

5. Elkins' Obsession: From Space-Age Technology to Jungle Treks

I call it the ‘lost city virus,’” he told me later. “I became an addict. I was obsessed with the idea of trying to prove whether the lost city really existed.

Elkins's first expedition. Steve Elkins, a cinematographer, first heard of the White City from an adventurer named Steve Morgan. Elkins organized an expedition into Mosquitia, led by Morgan, but they found no lost cities, only a scattering of broken stone sculptures, pottery, and tools.

Historical research and space-age technology. Elkins delved into historical accounts and stories of people who had searched for the White City. He also enlisted Ron Blom at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to analyze satellite images of Mosquitia, identifying an area called Target One (T1) that seemed to contain man-made structures.

Hurricane Mitch's setback. Elkins's plans to explore T1 were disrupted by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which devastated Honduras and made it impossible to mount an expedition. The country fell prey to narcotraffickers, and Mosquitia became a dangerous, outlaw region.

6. Lidar's Revelation: Unveiling Ancient Cities Beneath the Canopy

Seemingly without effort, the system produced a detailed view of nearly eighty square miles—only 13 percent of which had previously been mapped—revealing topography, ancient structures, causeways, and agricultural terraces.

Lidar technology. Elkins read about lidar, a technology that uses lasers to map terrain under dense forest canopies. He realized it might be the tool he needed to locate Ciudad Blanca. Lidar had been used to map the Maya city of Caracol in Belize, revealing thousands of previously unknown archaeological features.

Securing permits and funding. Elkins obtained permits from the Honduran government with the help of Bruce Heinicke's wife, Mabel, who approached the new president, Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo Sosa, in church. He secured funding from filmmaker Bill Benenson, who became a co-director of the documentary film about the search.

The lidar survey. Elkins partnered with the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) to conduct a lidar survey of Mosquitia. They identified three target areas: T1, T2, and T3. The survey revealed that T1 and T3 contained large, previously unknown archaeological sites.

7. The Perils of Ground Exploration: Snakes, Disease, and the Weight of History

It’s uncharted territory: You’re out there on your own, out in the middle of nowhere.

Assembling the team. Elkins put together a team of scientists, photographers, filmmakers, and ex-SAS officers to explore T1. The team was briefed on the dangers of the jungle, including venomous snakes, disease-bearing insects, and the risk of getting lost.

The first flight into T1. The team flew into T1 by helicopter, establishing a base camp in a small clearing. They faced challenges such as the lack of aviation gas, the need for a cover story, and the constant threat of danger.

The discovery of the cache. During their first exploration of the site, the team stumbled upon a remarkable cache of stone sculptures, confirming the existence of a major archaeological site in T1.

8. Unearthing the Past: Discoveries at the Cache Site and the Lingering Curse

These come from the “Lost City of the Monkey God”—the Indian who brought them out was bitten by a Fer de Lance in September and died. With him died the secret of the city’s location—More when I return. R. S. Murray.

The cache's contents. The cache contained a collection of stone vessels, metates, and stone heads of fine workmanship, including a carving of Quetzalcoatl. The artifacts suggested a major site, and a photograph taken of a cache of objects at the ruins showed a tremendous collection of sculptures that he had to leave behind.

The curse of the Monkey God. The team faced numerous challenges during their exploration, including the threat of venomous snakes, disease-bearing insects, and the difficulty of navigating the dense jungle. The legend of the White City and its curse seemed to linger over the expedition.

The decision to excavate. The team debated whether to excavate the cache, weighing the potential for looting against the importance of preserving the site's context. They ultimately decided to leave everything in situ, untouched for now, to await careful and proper excavation.

9. The Catastrophe: Disease, Abandonment, and the Echoes of a Lost Civilization

They brought fear, and they came to wither the flowers.

The impact of European disease. The arrival of Europeans in the New World brought with it a wave of diseases to which the indigenous populations had no immunity. Smallpox, measles, and other diseases decimated the native populations, leading to social and cultural collapse.

The abandonment of T1. The epidemics of disease likely swept through T1, leading to the death of a large portion of the population. The survivors, traumatized and weakened, abandoned the city, leaving behind the cache of sacred objects as a final offering to the gods.

The legend of the White City. The myths of the White City, its abandonment and cursed nature, likely originated in this grim history. The legends are a reflection of the real-life devastation caused by disease and the subsequent collapse of a once-thriving civilization.

10. The Enduring Legacy: Preservation, Identity, and the Call for Collaboration

This finding will contribute to all of humanity, not just Honduras.

Preservation efforts. The discovery of T1 has brought attention to the need to protect the region's cultural and ecological heritage. Conservation International has investigated the valley as a potential preservation project, and the Honduran government has pledged to protect the area.

A new Honduran identity. The discovery of T1 has the potential to shape a new Honduran identity, connecting the present-day population to a rich pre-Columbian past. The exploration of the site has also fostered collaboration between Honduran and international scientists.

The call for collaboration. The exploration of T1 is an ongoing process that requires the collaboration of archaeologists, scientists, and the Honduran government. By working together, they can unlock the secrets of this lost civilization and ensure its preservation for future generations.

Last updated: March 15, 2025