Case file · Folklore / legend
La Ciudad Blanca and the 'curse', Mosquitia
Legends of a 'White City' of gold hidden in Honduras's Mosquitia jungle drew explorers for a century; in 2012 lidar mapping found extensive ruins, and a 2015 expedition reached a site with a cache of stone sculptures.
2015 CE · 15.25, -85.15 · status: explained
The account
The settlement belonged to an unnamed culture that flourished roughly AD 1000–1500. Several expedition members later caught leishmaniasis, which journalist Douglas Preston described in 'The Lost City of the Monkey God' as a 'curse'. The exact location is kept undisclosed; the coordinates here are approximate.
The sceptical view
The ruins are real but are a regional culture's town, not one legendary city; the 'curse' is a parasite spread by sand flies.