Many people think that El Dorado is a place – and they’d be right because it is the mythical city of gold that 16th century Spanish explorers believed existed somewhere in South America.

But El Dorado actually means ‘The Gilded Man’ and this is how the myth arose.

When a new chieftain of the Muisca tribe (in what is now Columbia) was elected, he went through a ritual which included being covered in gold dust. He then floated on a raft laden with gold and jewels out to the centre of Lake Guatavita, where he dived into the water, washing away the gold dust.

The riches on the raft were also tipped into the lake as an offering to the gods.