The Explorers Podcast · Wednesday, September 9, 2026
The legend of El Dorado, first heard by the Spanish around 1530, evolved from a tale of a priest-king covered in gold dust to a mythical city overflowing with gold and gems. Native peoples often misdirected Spanish conquistadors searching for this fabled place.
“The tale of El Dorado was first heard about by the Spanish around 1530 or so. The basic story goes like this. In the jungles of South America, there was a city on a great lake. There lived a great priest/king. He went around naked, covered only in resin. Every day the city's people would coat the man in gold dust, which would adhere to him due to the resin. The priest would then bathe in the lake, and thus the water source said to be full of gold. And because of this, the priest king was called the Golden One.”
“In time, the tale sort of morphed from a golden person to a golden city. The city was always on a lake, and the city was not just overflowing with gold, but gems as well, including emeralds and rubies.”
“The idea was to get the gold seekers moving away from their lands.”