Juan Arias Díaz, also known as Juan Arias Diaz Topete, was a Spanish explorer and mineral prospector. He is credited with being the first European to visit the Incan city of Choquequirao, which he visited in 1710. However, it has been proposed that Spanish conquistadors arrived first during their war against Manco Inca. He allegedly found the city when he was resting his mules after a prospecting trek. He described it as "an ancient town of heathen times" known to the natives as "The Cradle of Gold". He led three expeditions to the town, finding a total of four sites, the three others of which have not been identified. His records of Choquequirao inspired American explorer Hiram Bingham III to search for the city.
References
- Todras-Whitehill, Ethan. "The Other Machu Picchu". New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- "The Choquequirao Trek". Peru Hop. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- "INKA TREK TO CHOQUEQUIRAO". Aracari Travel. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- Bingham, Hiram. "Lost City of the Incas pg. 112". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  | This Spanish biographical article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This article about an explorer is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |