Jungles are dense, dark, and full of dangerous animals, making them some of the hardest places to explore and even harder to live in. Yet some people manage to do it, and when they do we often discover some amazing artefacts. Jungles are often hiding some amazing ancient artefacts that are hard to find. Here are 10 amazing things found in the jungle.
Nazi refuge discovered in Argentine jungle
Between 1940, and 1945 the Nazi’s started to lose faith in their victory, and set up a back up plan in case of defeat. They secretly built a hidden bunker in the Cambodian jungle, for the officers to escape to if it all went wrong. Explorers first noticed mint Nazi coins around the area, and then found a bunker full of amazing artefacts and propaganda from the Third Reich. The hide out had walls that were 10 feet thick, and was in a location that would be almost impossible to find. The archaeologists believe it was left unused.
Lost City Found Beneath Cambodian Jungle
In 1858 a French explorer named Henri Mouhot, made an amazing discovery which he wrote down in his journal. He had managed to find a lost medieval city, hidden underneath a vast jungle. It was a huge city known as Angkor, and home to the biggest temple complex in the world. The city was so huge that it over 100 years to excavate, and when they finally finished it, they discovered another lost city. This new city would have lived in the 700s or the 800’s, long before Angkor. The city was very different to Angkor, and even had special sand embankments, which have never been seen before, and there purpose is a mystery.
WWII soldier hid in jungle 29 years
Hiroo Onoda was a Japanese Imperial army intelligence officer. He fought in World War Two but was completely unaware that the war had actually ended, and stayed in the jungle waiting for orders. Every time a search party would come near, he would skilfully avoid them believing them to be enemy scouts. Ironically the search parties might be what convinced him the war was still ongoing. While hiding he committed guerrilla warfare, and had shootouts with the police. Eventually they happened to find a leaflet which said “The war ended on August 15. Come down from the mountains!”. He decided that the leaflet was enemy propaganda and continued his activities.
World’s largest cave
In Vietnam they found the world’s largest cave, which has it’s own river, climate, and jungle. The huge cave reaches 200 meters in height, it makes you realize just how small humans are. The cave has a mysterious atmosphere created by the mist which eerily moves about the cave. The entrance is tiny so it’s quite a shock to step into something so huge. It isn’t just tall but long, it goes on for over 5 miles, and makes you feel as if it’ll never end. The roof has collapsed in some parts allowing sunlight to enter, which has caused a spectacular jungle to grow inside, the cave is truly magnificent.
Vietnamese father and son found living in a tree house for 40 years
Ho Van Thanh was devastated when his wife and baby son were blown up by a land mine. He took to becoming a hermit, along with his remaining son, and lived in tree house in the jungle, wearing nothing but underwear, made out of bark. The pair survived quite well on their own, using a home mad axe to cut down trees for firewood, and a bow and arrow to hunt for food. They were found when village locals were out searching for firewood. The father is 82, and the son is 41, which means he’s been living in the jungle for his entire life, and has only had contact with father.
Lost City of El Mirador
El Mirador is a lost Mayan city discovered in 1926. Archaeologists were surprised to find out how old it was, dating it back to the 6th century BCE. The city was huge with a population between 100,000 and 250,000. The Civiv centre of the site takes up 10 square miles, it includes thousands of structures, some of which reach from 10 to 72 meters high. Amazingly El Mirador had 35 Triadic pyramids. This includes three huge structures, the second smallest of which is called El Tigre, which is 180 ft high. The smallest is Los Monos which is 157 feet high. La Danta is the tallest, at 236ft high, and is one of the biggest pyramids in the world considering it’s total volume. The city is full of amazing artefacts and reliefs.
60 years after the war ends, two soldiers emerge from the jungle
In 2005 news reported about two elderly men who appeared out of a jungle on a Japanese Island called Mindanao. The two men claimed to be Japanese soldiers who had been surviving in the jungle for 60 years, after they were heavily defeated in battle. It seems they weren’t aware the war ended, and came out to find out what had happened. “If they are alive, we’d like to fulfil their wishes. If this turns out to be true it will be quite a surprise. They have done really well to stay alive this long.” Said the Japanese Prime Minister.
Cambodian jungle girl, and the mysterious jungle spirit
In 2007 a man in Ratanakiri Province left his lunch alone and then noticed there food missing when he came back. He searched the nearby area and spotted a strange woman. He then gathered some of his friends and tried to capture her. They also reported seeing a strange man holding a sword, who disappeared when they challenged him. After hearing about this her father Sal Lou claimed it was his daughter who was lost in the jungle at the age of eight, he identified her by her scar.
WWII Airmen Remains Found In Jungle
During the war US pilots would often go on incredibly dangerous routes to try and deliver supplies. The remains of two such pilots have been found in a north eastern jungle. The planes supposedly crashed in 1944 while flying over very high mountains. It was only a few years ago that we started searching for them though. They searched for the remains but couldn’t continue searching for fear of landslide. They only managed to find a small amount of remains but “To have something that they can put in a casket and know that this was Grandpa Joe and they can bring to a cemetery of their choice and have buried with military honours is closure for them,” Said Gary Stark. Representing the search team.
Legendary Lost City of the Monkey God
The lost city of the monkey God, or El Dorado, is said to have masses of lost treasure. First discovered by an explorer in the 15th century it has since been completely unknown, and most people believe it to be only a legend. However it has recently been discovered in Honduras by a teams consisting of Archaeologists, scientists, and SAS soldiers. The city is said to contain amazing artefacts, and treasure worth billions, and the Government there has authorized a full scale dig to excavate the city and discover the lost gold. The legend goes that the city is home to a monkey god who loved human women. He would take women and mate with them again their will, creating half human, half monkey children.