
Mysteries of the Tayos Caves
The Lost Civilizations Where the Andes Meet the Amazon
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Luke Bob Robinson
About this listen
A detailed examination of the controversial expeditions to the Tayos Cave complex in Ecuador and the treasures glimpsed in its depths
- Reconstructs the expeditions from the 1960s and ’70s, including the Mormon Church’s search for lost tablets, Stanley Hall’s quest with Neil Armstrong, and sightings of a metal library, books of gold, copper plates, and a quartz sarcophagus
- Explores connections to Atlantis, Ancient Astronauts, and the Hollow Earth theory and the possibility of tunnel networks that extend from the Rocky Mountains to Patagonia
The Cuevas de los Tayos is a cavern complex in the Amazon rain forest of Ecuador. Named for the tayos, the oil birds that reside within them, these caves have countless enigmas connected with them, from the discovery of inexplicable architectural details, to claims of curses and treasures, to dangerous encounters with the indigenous people, the Shuar, for whom the caves are sacred.
Sharing his more than 30 years of research into the Tayos Caves as well as his own explorations, Alex Chionetti examines the legends and mysteries associated with this site and the explorers who have ventured within. He details the discovery of the Tayos Cave complex by Hungarian explorer Janos Juan Moricz in the 1960s, including Moricz’s claims of finding a metal library with books of gold. Exploring the oral tradition of the Shuar, he explains how this region was the possible origin of Incan culture and the legend of El Dorado. The author shares his own dangerous explorations within the Tayos Caves, and, drawing on unpublished interviews with speleologist Julio Goyén Aguado, he reconstructs the expeditions of the 1960s and ’70s, revealing the Mormon Church’s search for lost tablets, a British army incursion, and sightings of paintings, gold statues and skeletons, copper plates, and a quartz sarcophagus--treasures akin to the Crespi treasure. The author also shares details from Stanley Hall’s suspicious expedition in 1976, which included astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Investigating the lost civilizations behind the Tayos treasures, Chionetti explores the possible connections to Atlantis, aliens, Ancient Astronauts, and the Hollow Earth theory; the caves’ links with hermetic societies; and claims of tunnel networks that extend thousands of miles through both American continents, from the Rocky Mountains to Patagonia. Sharing a real-life adventure story wilder than an Indiana Jones plot, the author shows that Earth’s ancient past has many secrets waiting to be uncovered.
©2019 Alex Chionetti. All Rights Reserved. (P)2019 Inner Traditions Audio. All Rights Reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Denisovan Origins
- Hybrid Humans, Göbekli Tepe, and the Genesis of the Giants of Ancient America
- By: Andrew Collins, Gregory L. Little
- Narrated by: Micah Hanks
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tracing the migrations of the Denisovans and their interbreeding with Neanderthals and early human populations in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas, Andrew Collins and Greg Little explore how the new mental capabilities of the Denisovan-Neanderthal and Denisovan-human hybrids greatly accelerated the flowering of human civilization over 40,000 years ago. They show how the Denisovans displayed sophisticated advances, including precision-machined stone tools and jewelry, tailored clothing, celestially-aligned architecture, and horse domestication.
-
-
There are better sources to get real information
- By cfeagans on 09-06-19
By: Andrew Collins, and others
-
The Cygnus Key
- The Denisovan Legacy, Göbekli Tepe, and the Birth of Egypt
- By: Andrew Collins
- Narrated by: Micah Hanks
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Built at the end of the last ice age around 9600 BCE, Göbekli Tepe in southeast Turkey was designed to align with the constellation of the celestial swan, Cygnus - a fact confirmed by the discovery at the site of a tiny bone plaque carved with the three key stars of Cygnus. Remarkably, the three main pyramids at Giza in Egypt, including the Great Pyramid, align with the same three stars. But where did this ancient veneration of Cygnus come from?
-
-
Slow down, narrator!
- By Amazon Customer on 08-20-19
By: Andrew Collins
-
Magicians of the Gods
- The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth’s Lost Civilization
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Graham Hancock's multi-million bestseller Fingerprints of the Gods remains an astonishing, deeply controversial, wide-ranging investigation of the mysteries of our past and the evidence for Earth's lost civilization. Twenty years on, Hancock returns with the sequel to his seminal work filled with completely new scientific and archaeological evidence, which has only recently come to light.
-
-
"Brilliant" is an understatement.
- By Brian on 11-13-15
By: Graham Hancock
-
Ancient Aliens
- The Official Companion Book
- By: The Producers of Ancient Aliens
- Narrated by: Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true? And if so, what if there were clues left behind? Each week hundreds of thousands of viewers tune in to the wildly popular Ancient Aliens® television series to seek insight into those very questions - and to become part of a thrilling, probing exploration of the mysteries at the heart of world civilizations.
-
-
worth your time
- By dan j cutting on 12-26-16
-
Visionary
- The Mysterious Origins of Human Consciousness (The Definitive Edition of Supernatural)
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 21 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Less than 50,000 years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change, described by scientists as "the greatest riddle in human history," all the skills and qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as though bestowed on us by hidden powers. In Visionary, Graham Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious "before-and-after moment" and to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to modern human mind.
-
-
Pseudoscience, Pure and Simple
- By Scott on 05-10-23
By: Graham Hancock
-
History Is Wrong
- By: Erich von Däniken
- Narrated by: John Allen Nelson
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Erich von Däniken again shows his flair for revealing truths that his contemporaries have missed. After closely analyzing hundreds of ancient and apparently unrelated texts, he is now ready to proclaim that human history is nothing like the world religions claim---and he has the proof! In History Is Wrong, von Däniken takes a closer look at the fascinating Voynich manuscript, which has defied all attempts at decription since its discovery, and makes some intriguing revelations about the equally incredible book of Enoch.
-
-
Voynich Manuscript to nowhere
- By Mario on 01-05-12
-
Denisovan Origins
- Hybrid Humans, Göbekli Tepe, and the Genesis of the Giants of Ancient America
- By: Andrew Collins, Gregory L. Little
- Narrated by: Micah Hanks
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tracing the migrations of the Denisovans and their interbreeding with Neanderthals and early human populations in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas, Andrew Collins and Greg Little explore how the new mental capabilities of the Denisovan-Neanderthal and Denisovan-human hybrids greatly accelerated the flowering of human civilization over 40,000 years ago. They show how the Denisovans displayed sophisticated advances, including precision-machined stone tools and jewelry, tailored clothing, celestially-aligned architecture, and horse domestication.
-
-
There are better sources to get real information
- By cfeagans on 09-06-19
By: Andrew Collins, and others
-
The Cygnus Key
- The Denisovan Legacy, Göbekli Tepe, and the Birth of Egypt
- By: Andrew Collins
- Narrated by: Micah Hanks
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Built at the end of the last ice age around 9600 BCE, Göbekli Tepe in southeast Turkey was designed to align with the constellation of the celestial swan, Cygnus - a fact confirmed by the discovery at the site of a tiny bone plaque carved with the three key stars of Cygnus. Remarkably, the three main pyramids at Giza in Egypt, including the Great Pyramid, align with the same three stars. But where did this ancient veneration of Cygnus come from?
-
-
Slow down, narrator!
- By Amazon Customer on 08-20-19
By: Andrew Collins
-
Magicians of the Gods
- The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth’s Lost Civilization
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Graham Hancock's multi-million bestseller Fingerprints of the Gods remains an astonishing, deeply controversial, wide-ranging investigation of the mysteries of our past and the evidence for Earth's lost civilization. Twenty years on, Hancock returns with the sequel to his seminal work filled with completely new scientific and archaeological evidence, which has only recently come to light.
-
-
"Brilliant" is an understatement.
- By Brian on 11-13-15
By: Graham Hancock
-
Ancient Aliens
- The Official Companion Book
- By: The Producers of Ancient Aliens
- Narrated by: Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true? And if so, what if there were clues left behind? Each week hundreds of thousands of viewers tune in to the wildly popular Ancient Aliens® television series to seek insight into those very questions - and to become part of a thrilling, probing exploration of the mysteries at the heart of world civilizations.
-
-
worth your time
- By dan j cutting on 12-26-16
-
Visionary
- The Mysterious Origins of Human Consciousness (The Definitive Edition of Supernatural)
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 21 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Less than 50,000 years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change, described by scientists as "the greatest riddle in human history," all the skills and qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as though bestowed on us by hidden powers. In Visionary, Graham Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious "before-and-after moment" and to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to modern human mind.
-
-
Pseudoscience, Pure and Simple
- By Scott on 05-10-23
By: Graham Hancock
-
History Is Wrong
- By: Erich von Däniken
- Narrated by: John Allen Nelson
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Erich von Däniken again shows his flair for revealing truths that his contemporaries have missed. After closely analyzing hundreds of ancient and apparently unrelated texts, he is now ready to proclaim that human history is nothing like the world religions claim---and he has the proof! In History Is Wrong, von Däniken takes a closer look at the fascinating Voynich manuscript, which has defied all attempts at decription since its discovery, and makes some intriguing revelations about the equally incredible book of Enoch.
-
-
Voynich Manuscript to nowhere
- By Mario on 01-05-12
-
Origins of the Gods
- Qesem Cave, Skinwalkers, and Contact with Transdimensional Intelligences
- By: Andrew Collins, Gregory L. Little, Erich von Däniken - foreword
- Narrated by: Micah Hanks
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The authors show how the spiritual and shamanic beliefs of more than 100 Native American tribes align with their theory, and they reveal how some of these shamanic transdimensional portals are still active, sharing vivid examples from Skinwalker Ranch in Utah and Bempton in northern England.
-
-
More to explore
- By Sandrine on 10-31-22
By: Andrew Collins, and others
-
The Immortality Key
- The Secret History of the Religion with No Name
- By: Brian C. Muraresku, Graham Hancock - foreword
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock, Brian C. Muraresku
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A groundbreaking dive into the role psychedelics have played in the origins of Western civilization, and the real-life quest for the Holy Grail that could shake the Church to its foundations.
-
-
A Fun ‘Trip’—But Not a Sober One
- By Joshua on 11-28-20
By: Brian C. Muraresku, and others
-
The 12th Planet
- The Earth Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Zecharia Sitchin
- Narrated by: Bill Jenkins
- Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
According to Sumerian scholar Zecharia Sitchin, a superior race of beings once inhabited our world. In The 12th Planet—the product of 30 years of intensive research—Sitchin persuasively argues that humanity sprang from extraterrestrial forebears. In this remarkable account, you'll hear the story of how these ancient visitors traveled to Earth from the stars and planted the genetic seed that would ultimately blossom into a remarkable species—the human being.
-
-
Very, VERY abridged!
- By Jill on 06-17-11
By: Zecharia Sitchin
-
The Ancient Giants Who Ruled America
- The Missing Skeletons and the Great Smithsonian Cover-Up
- By: Richard J. Dewhurst
- Narrated by: Nick McDougal
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A study of the substantial evidence for a former race of giants in North America and its 150-year suppression by the Smithsonian Institution.
-
-
Newspaper Articles
- By Chad C on 07-08-20
-
Supernatural
- Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Less than fifty thousand years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change, described by scientists as "the greatest riddle in human history," all the skills and qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as though bestowed on us by hidden powers.
-
-
Bravo!
- By Patricia on 01-22-15
By: Graham Hancock
-
America Before
- The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stunning new archaeological discoveries in North America together with new genetic evidence have launched a revolution in our understanding of the remote past of our species and of the origins of civilization. Graham Hancock, the internationally best-selling author has been overwhelmingly vindicated by recent discoveries. America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization is a mind-dilating exploration of the mystery of ancient civilizations, amazing archaeological discoveries, and profound implications for how we lead our lives today.
-
-
Fun to Think About
- By Amazon Customer on 04-26-19
By: Graham Hancock
-
Chariots of the Gods
- By: Erich von Däniken
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Erich von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods is a work of monumental importance---the first book to introduce the shocking theory that ancient Earth was visited by aliens. This world-famous best seller has withstood the test of time, inspiring countless books and films, including the author's own popular sequel, The Eye of the Sphinx.
-
-
Answers? No. But if you wish to think it's great!
- By Neal on 09-10-12
-
The Lost Civilization Enigma
- A New Inquiry into the Existence of Ancient Cities, Cultures, and Peoples Who Pre-Date Recorded History
- By: Philip Coppens
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are history books giving us the whole story? Or is civilization far more complex and for older than we have been taught? Our school textbooks barely mention the 6,000-year-old Sumerian civilization, yet the latest archaeological findings at sites such as Jericho, and most recently, Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, have been dated to 10,000 BC. Civilization goes back at least another 10,000 years, if we are willing to believe what our ancestors themselves claimed.
-
-
Large parts of history are still unknown
- By Joseph on 11-18-12
By: Philip Coppens
-
Underworld
- The Mysterious Origins of Civilization
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 31 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Graham Hancock, best-selling author of Fingerprints of the Gods, comes a mesmerizing book that takes us on a captivating underwater voyage to find the ruins of a lost civilization that's been hidden for thousands of years beneath the world's oceans. While Graham Hancock is no stranger to stirring up heated controversy among scientific experts, his books and television documentaries have intrigued millions of people around the world and influenced many to rethink their views about the origins of human civilization.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Michael Beeson on 05-13-19
By: Graham Hancock
-
Escaping from Eden
- Does Genesis Teach that the Human Race was Created by God or Engineered by ETs?
- By: Paul Wallis
- Narrated by: Paul Wallis
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Escaping from Eden will take you on a journey around the world and into the mythologies of ancient Sumeria, Mesoamerica, India, Africa, and Greece, to reveal a profound secret, hidden in plain sight in the text of the Bible.
-
-
Narrated by Author
- By Cynthia R Elder on 02-17-23
By: Paul Wallis
-
The Anunnaki Connection
- Sumerian Gods, Alien DNA, and the Fate of Humanity
- By: Heather Lynn PhD
- Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Anunnaki Connection, Heather Lynn connects a diverse range of new and existing theories about the Anunnaki, offering a definitive guide to Mesopotamian gods while exploring what role they might have played in engineering mankind. The Anunnaki Connection traces the evolution of gods throughout the Ancient Near East, analyzing the religion, myth, art, and symbolism of the Sumerians, investigating: Who are the Anunnaki?
-
-
meh
- By Marco on 05-27-20
By: Heather Lynn PhD
-
Confessions of an Egyptologist
- Lost Libraries, Vanished Labyrinths & the Astonishing Truth Under the Saqqara Pyramids
- By: Erich von Daniken
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this book, Erich von Däniken shares the story of his friend Adel H., an Egyptologist who, as a 16-year-old boy, was trapped for days under the Step Pyramid of Saqqara. Based on his conversations with Adel H., he retells the boy's search for a way out of the underground world, how the boy roamed passageways and chambers and saw what he calls "impossible" things of which the professional world is completely unaware.
-
-
Profoundly Transformative Potential Here
- By Louise Kohler on 02-16-25
Critic reviews
"Mysteries of the Tayos Caves by Alex Chionetti is an utterly fascinating book that delves into the amazing history, legends, stories and traditions of the vast Tayos Cave system in the Amazon and the spectacular treasures and earth-shattering secrets said to be hidden there. The book also chronicles the author’s own harrowing exploration of the cave system. From beginning to end, a gripping read!" (Douglas Preston, number one best-selling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God)
“Alex Chionetti is a real old-fashioned explorer who brings to life the incredible tales of the Tayos cave system in the Amazon through his adventures and expeditions but also as a protagonist and witness to a disappearing world rich with legends, traditions, and an amazing history. Mysteries of the Tayos Caves is a real archaeological detective adventure set in the most remote reaches of the Amazonian jungle.” (Richard C. Wiese, president of the Explorers Club and host of Born to Explore, PBS)
“As a person who has spent decades looking for a legend, I can appreciate Alex’s tenacity about the mystery of the Tayos. Alex leaves no stone unturned and explores every crevice of the Tayos story.” (Steve Elkins, American cinematographer and explorer)
What listeners say about Mysteries of the Tayos Caves
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Suzanne
- 03-02-21
Disappointment
I had a lot of difficulty getting past the narrator's mispronunciation of many common words. Having read Von Daniken in a different life as well as similar books, I found myself wondering how much of this book was "Ancient Aliens" type material. I really wanted to like this book but I am so tired of true fake news and false conspiracy theories and other types of misinformation that I just couldn't get through it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!