Lost city 500 years containing parasites that eat human faces

Scientists almost pay the price of their faces when they explore the "Lost City of the Monkey" hidden deep in the jungle.

An international group of adventurers and archaeologists face a deadly disease when they arrive when the nearly 52,000 km ² dense forest lies between Honduras and Nicaragua to search for "The Lost City of the Monkey God " Also known as " White City " , CBS reported on January 8.(Photo: Grand Central Publishing).

According to legend, in the 16th century, residents left the city because they believed this place was cursed.In fact, their city was invaded by Europeans, accompanied by plague and slavery.After hundreds of years, adventurers hope to discover the ruins of the former city and the objects left by the city residents when fleeing.Because the city is deep in the forest, the search requires tremendous perseverance.This is also one of the last places not discovered by the scientific world on Earth.(Photo: National Geographic).

Writer Douglas Preston, explorer Steve Elkins and documentary producer Bill Benenson used high technology to locate the mysterious city.They operated laser imaging equipment mounted on the old Cessna Skymaster to scan hundreds of kilometers of forest for days, through the thick vegetation to map the ground below.The information is then turned into a 3D model on a computer that helps researchers find rectangular buildings.(Photo: Smithsonian Institute).

However, to determine the exact location of the city, the team was forced to walk through the forest with three years of planning. Not only should they handle dense trees and rugged terrain, they are also at risk of getting sick, injured or killed by wild animals. (Photo: CBS News).
A poisonous snake crawled into their camp at midnight. Andrew Wood, a veteran and a jungle combat expert, killed the animal. "He stabbed him to death, but the snake's body flew out at that moment with the venom shooting everywhere ," Elkins recalls.

The team found the city, but the trees were so thick that they could not observe the foundation of a huge pyramid there. They found inscriptions that helped them confirm that this is the city of the Monkey God. " Someone shouted there were strange rocks here. We turned around and the first thing I saw was the head of a leopard baring its fangs on the rock rising from the ground," Elkins recalls.(Photo: National Geographic).

After the team left the forest, they found that some members of the group had a deadly disease caused by Leishmaniasis , a parasite that spreads through a host of sand flies. "The parasite enters the mucous membrane of the nasal mucosa and mouth and eats them. Your nose and lips will fall out. Your whole face will become a painful deep hole , " Preston explained.(Photo: CBS).

Elkins and Benenson didn't get sick, but about half of the group had to treat the disease.Side effects caused by drugs that cause parasites include vomiting, cramps and neurological effects.(Photo: CBS).

The threat from the disease and the dangers associated with the forest prevent the research team from returning to the ruins in the near future.(Photo: National Geographic).