In 1976, a group of explorers descended into a cave in Ecuador.

They were searching for treasure, and the rumors of this place were fantastical.

They included thousands of miles of tunnels, piles of gold, otherworldly sculptures, and

a metal library filled with the secrets of lost civilizations.

In addition to the rumors, the source of all of these wonders was extraterrestrials.

More than 100 people signed up for the hunt, including government officials,

scientists, professional cavers, and none other than Neil Armstrong.

To have somebody like Neil Armstrong who stepped the first man on the moon,

to come to a tyres cave, well this is the sherry above of the cave.

This is unbelievable, but true.

So, spoiler, Neil Armstrong and the band of explorers, they never did find that

extraterrestrial treasure trove, but that cave in Ecuador did hold something just as rare.

And I'm not exaggerating here, it was like a T-Rex is attacking me.

I'm Dylan Thoris, and this is out of Subskira, a celebration of the world's strange,

incredible, and wondrous places.

Today, we visit the Cueva de los Tios, and we meet the strange creatures that call it home.

That's after this.

The Cueva de los Tios, or the cave of the Tios, it's been around for a long time,

around 25,000 years. So, well before the first conquistadors ever arrived in South America,

long before the woolly mammoths went extinct, and the cave is deep within the Andes.

To enter, you repel down a narrow shaft and ascend 200 feet into this cathedral-like chamber.

Inside, it's otherworldly.

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