House of the Tiger King : A Jungle Obsession
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In 1572, the Spanish Conquistadors stormed the Inca stronghold of Vilcabamba in Peru, searching for great golden treasure, only to find the city deserted, burned, and already stripped of its wealth. A legend says that the Incas had retreated deep into the jungle, where they built another magnificent city in an inaccessible quarter of the cloud-forest. And for more than four centuries explorers and adventurers, archaeologists and warrior-priests, have searched for the gold and riches of the Incas, and this lost city of Paititi, known by the local Machiguenga tribe as 'The House of the Tiger King'. After the lost city obsession had gnawed away at Tahir Shah for almost a decade, he could stand it no more. He put together an expedition and set out into Peru's Madre de Dios jungle, the densest cloud forest on Earth. He teams up with a Pancho, a Machiguenga warrior who asserts that in his youth he came upon a massive series of stone ruins deep in the jungle. Pancho's ambition was to leave the jungle and visit a 'live' bustling city so the two men make a pact: if Pancho takes Shah to Paititi, then he will take Pancho to the Peruvian capital. Here is the tale of Shah's remarkable adventure to find the greatest lost city of the Americas, and the treasure of the Incas. Along the way he considers others who have spent decades in pursuit of lost cities, and asks why anyone would find it necessary to mount such a quest at all.
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I enjoy Tahir Shah's book, and this one is no exception. In a return to Peru (he previously wrote the Trail of Feathers about his last journey here), Shah becomes obsessed with Paititi - the Incan stronghold in the Cloud Forest. It was here that the Inca supposedly fled after abandoning Vilcabamba to the Spanish Conquistadors in 1572, taking with them their hoard of gold. Paititi, of course remains undiscovered despite the attention of many previous explorers. There are many versions of the Lost City myth, or el Dorado tale - and searches in Brazil and Bolivia, as well as Peru have been the cause of many fatalities and disappearances, such as the high profile Percy Fawcett.
And now in this book Shah makes two expeditions, accompanied by a Swiss father and son film crew who want to make a movie of Shah discovering Paititi, a Belgian film student who is obsessed with and films the Swiss, a wealthy Russian businessman who is bank-rolling the Swiss (and by extension some of the expedition) and a Vietnam Vet who lives locally and is addicted to hallucinogens (Richard from the Trail of Feathers). Of course they are also accompanied by local men in the guise of guides and porters. Then there is of course - Pancho - a Machiguenga warrior who claims that as a young man found magnificent ruins in the jungle, and who despite the treats of his tribe, agrees to take Shah to the ruins.
Shah's book is fast paced and interesting. He catalogues the trials and difficulties they face, their progress and the state of the relationships along the way. There is some light background history - enough to make sense of the story, but this is not a book to look to for an in -depth history. There is some modern history alluded to, but not in much depth - with the oil companies attempting to control access to the area - and suspicions of preparation for mining / drilling in the rainforest.
4 stars. Worth seeking out for a fast paced, quick read about an expedition you would rather not be on!
