A scintillating, erudite, and adventurous expedition into the heart of the El Dorado myth.

In 2018, Tristan Ranx paddled a dugout canoe down the Cuyuni River, a favorite of gold hunters in Guyana, all the way down to the guarded gates of the massive Aurora open-pit mine. 400 years earlier, the poet Sir Walter Raleigh was executed in London after attempting to conquer El Dorado. From this fascinating explorer's expeditions in the Renaissance to Raymond Maufrais' tragic disappearance in the 20th century, Tristan Ranx guides us through a stifling jungle on the trail of Manoa, the legendary city of gold. Other stops along the way include Venice, London, Spain, and Romania, in search of lost maps and secret archives of a Europe of yore, obsessed with finding El Dorado.