Thezipa used to cover his body in gold dust, and from his raft, he offered treasures to theGuatavita goddess in the middle of the sacred lake. This Muisca tradition became the origin of the legend of El Dorado.Muisca raft in theGold Museum, Bogotá, ColombiaVotive objects found at the bottom of Lake Guatavita.British Museum[4]
The lake is circular and has a surface area of 19.8 hectares (49 acres). The earlier theories of the crater's origin being a meteorite impact, volcanic cinder, or limestone sinkhole are now discredited. The most likely explanation is that it resulted from the dissolution of underground salt deposits from ananticline,[3] resulting in a kind ofsinkhole.
There arehot springs nearby in the municipality ofSesquilé, which means "hot water" in the now-extinct language ofChibcha, once spoken by the local indigenous people, theMuisca.
Spanish colonizers andConquistadors knew about the existence of a sacred lake in theEastern Ranges of the Andes possibly as early as 1531. The lake was associated with indigenous rituals involving gold. However, the first conquistador to arrive at the actual location wasGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, possibly in June 1537, while on an expedition to the highlands of theEastern Ranges of theAndes in search of gold. This brought the Spanish into first contact with theMuisca inhabiting theAltiplano Cundiboyacense, including around Lake Guatavita.
The lake is a focus of ecotourism, and its association with thelegend of El Dorado is also a major attraction.
The name of the lake is derived fromChibcha, the language of the Muisca:gwa: mountain orgwata,gwate: high elevation, orgwatibita: high mountain peak; hence, a pool at a high mountain peak.[6] Another meaning is "End of the farmfields".[7]
Lake Guatavita was reputedly one of thesacred lakes of the Muisca, and a ritual conducted there is widely thought to be the basis for the legend ofEl Dorado, "the golden one". The legend says the lake is where the Muisca celebrated a ritual in which thezipa (named "El Dorado" by theconquistadors) was covered ingold dust, and then, venturing out into the water on a ceremonial raft made of rushes, dove into the waters, washing off the gold. Afterward, trinkets, jewelry, and other precious offerings were thrown into the waters by worshipers. A few artifacts of gold and silver found at bottom hold proof to this claim; however, to date, attempts to drain the lake or salvage the gold (seeLake Guatavita gold) have yielded no more than these.
Source:Wills, Fernando; et al. (2001).Nuestro patrimonio – 100 tesoros de Colombia [Our heritage – 100 treasures of Colombia] (in Spanish).El Tiempo. pp. 1–311.ISBN958-8089-16-6.
Media related toLaguna de Guatavita at Wikimedia Commons.svg)
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