All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.Special.Presentation.S02E07.Alien.Outposts.1080p.HULU.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR:
A history of UFO sightings

tied to mountainous regions.

NICK POPE:
Mount Kailash is at the center of all sorts

of UFO sightings.

NARRATOR:
Incredible tales

of supernatural creatures
dwelling at high altitudes.

These are hairy beasts,
Sasquatch-like beings,

connected with Mount Shasta.

NARRATOR:
And ancient carvings on rock faces

suggesting unearthly encounters.

WILLIAM HENRY:
Oh, look at that.

- The spaceman.
- Spaceman, exactly.

HENRY:
Look at the helmet.

NARRATOR:
Throughout history,

Earth's highest peaks have
been tied to alien activity.

Is it possible
that these mountains

have been secretly inhabited
by extraterrestrial beings?

POPE:
Could mountains be extraterrestrial bases

here on Earth
right under our noses?

If that's true,
maybe it's not just one base,

but a network of bases.

NARRATOR:
There is a doorway

in the universe.

Beyond it is
the promise of truth.

It demands
we question everything

we have ever been taught.

The evidence is all around us.

The future is
right before our eyes.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

Situated on the western bank
of the Po river,

this city of nearly
two million people

is an important
international business hub.

It is also the heart of
the Italian automotive industry,

with the headquarters of Fiat,

Lancia and Alfa Romeo
all located here.

But overlooking
this modern metropolis

is Italy's most mysterious
and infamous ancient site:

Monte Musinè.

Rising to an elevation
of nearly 4,000 feet,

Monte Musinè has stood at
a unique crossroads of history,

geology and the unexplained.

This is a mountain
where, over the years,

almost to the beginning
of recorded human history,

strange things have been seen.

Lights were seen.

Sometimes these lights
have been associated

with the forces of good,

others with the forces
of darkness.

But make no mistake about it,
over the years,

there has been all sorts
of weirdness on this mountain.

NARRATOR:
Mount Musinè stands at the easternmost edge

of Italy's Susa Valley,

which stretches 31 miles west
to the border of France.

During the Bronze Age,
more than 3,000 years ago,

this valley represented
a major crossroads,

where the local Celtic people,
called the Taurini,

came into contact

with the most prominent
civilizations of the time.

The Bronze Age Celts
of Northwestern Italy

were very lucky,

because their
particular location

was a kind of geographical hub

that had access
to Northern Europe

through the Alps and access to
the Mediterranean going south.

And, indeed, across
the Mediterranean to Egypt.

And people think
that the ancient

pretty much stayed
where they were born,

but many of them
traveled vast distances

and encountered
many other civilizations

and absorbed some
of their ideas very willingly.

NARRATOR:
The Celts in Northern Italy

came into contact
with the Etruscans,

the Egyptians and the Greeks.

Each of these cultures
had separate

but very similar
polytheistic traditions,

in which they worshipped
a pantheon of gods

that came down to Earth
from the heavens.

And they all revered
Mount Musinè

as a place of power.

According to ancient
astronaut theorists,

Mount Musinè may, in fact,
be a special location on Earth

because of where
it is positioned.

Mount Musinè has
an amazing ancient history

of magic and mystery.

The significance of its position

is that it's located
on a ley line,

which is a gathering place
of Earth energies.

NARRATOR:
The concept of ley lines originated in the 1920s

with English landscape
photographer Alfred Watkins.

While researching his book
The Old Straight Track,

Watkins made
the curious discovery

that many of the prehistoric
standing stones

and significant ancient sites
of England and France

line up in perfectly
straight lines,

and many of these sites
that these lines pass through

have names that contain the
letters "ley"--

like Leyland,
Keighley and Otley.

HUGH NEWMAN:
Ley lines are an alignment

of ancient sites,

four or more of them
over any distance.

And these stretch around
the world in some cases,

and these are often associated
with the same sites

on the straight-line alignments,

so there's a whole network
around the planet

of lots of different types,

some linked
with the magnetic field,

others linked
with underground water

and natural energies
that move through the land.

NARRATOR:
One of the most significant ley lines

that has been identified
is the Saint Michael Line.

Starting from
Skellig Michael in Ireland,

the seven major sites
that lie along this line

each have a church dedicated
to the archangel Michael

all the way down to the Stella
Maris Monastery in Israel.

And incredibly,
there is no record of the people

who lived
in these separate locations

having coordinated this.

One of the sites the Saint
Michael Line passes through

is Mount Musinè.

You've got this straight line
of all these sites,

and not just any old sites,
power sites.

The ancients believed
that certain parts of the world

were blessed with power, energy,

that Musinè
is slap-bang on that line.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that ancient people

were aware of energy
emanating from the Earth,

and were drawn to the area
of Mount Musinè

and the Susa Valley
more than 2,000 years ago?

And could these Earth energies
also be responsible

for the many strange events

that have been documented
in this area?

Local legends passed down
from ancient times

tell about this mountain being
home to werewolves and wizards.

It was rumored that a dragon
guarded an enchanted cave,

protecting a giant emerald.

And in the fourth century AD,

the Roman Emperor Constantine
claimed to have had a vision

of a cross floating in the sky
over Mount Musinè

the night before
a decisive battle,

one that would lead to him
seizing control of Rome

from his rival Maxentius,

and converting the empire
to Christianity.

POPE:
This was a pivotal moment.

The adoption of Christianity
as the official religion

really changed the world,

and that's now a large part
of the world we live in.

So did Mount Musinè
have a part in all of this,

and if so, what the heck
was this encounter?

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS:
Now, it was not just Constantine's vision,

because it is described
that the army of Constantine

also saw something
up in the sky.

So, the question is, is this

one of the earliest
UFO encounters

that we have on record?

And in my opinion, yes, it is.

NARRATOR:
Could the many extraordinary encounters

recorded at Mount Musinè
throughout the ages

be the product
of extraterrestrial visitation?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and suggest that further
evidence can be found

by examining an incredible
flurry of UFO sightings

reported in much more
recent times.

An Alitalia flight
is 17 miles outside of Turin

when its pilot sees something
unusual in the night sky

over the nearby Mount Musinè,
something no one can identify.

In 1973, an Alitalia pilot

sees a strange glow
over the mountain,

and this is, apparently, later
confirmed by the control tower.

NARRATOR:
According to witnesses,

the glow appeared to be coming
from a mysterious round object.

Two Italian Air Force planes
that were in the vicinity

corroborated the sighting.

The UFO report is significant

not only because
it was witnessed

by multiple pilots
and passengers

but because within
just a two-week period,

no less than six separate
UFO incidents were reported

in the vicinity of Mount Musinè.

POPE:
If this was in isolation,

then perhaps
you could disregard it,

but when I look at Italy--

and particularly
this specific part of Italy--

it does seem
as if something is going on,

and it seems
as if the Italian government

and maybe others know
that there's something going on.

NARRATOR:
What can explain the strange incidents

that have been continuously
reported at Mount Musinè

for hundreds of years?

Is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists suggest,

that extraterrestrials are drawn

to this particular place
on Earth?

DAVID CHILDRESS:
This light phenomenon

and unusual activity on
Mount Musinè has been going on

for thousands of years,
and continues to this day.

POPE:
The challenge, really, is to find

the connection, to draw together

the disparate threads
of this story and say,

"What is it about this area
that's so special?"

NARRATOR:
Perhaps further clues can be found

by investigating the strange
rock carvings found in the area.

Carvings that appear
to be depictions of astronauts.

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut
theorist William Henry

has traveled to this
UNESCO World Heritage site

165 miles from Mount Musinè
to investigate what he believes

could be forensic evidence
that the early civilizations

of this region came into
contact with extraterrestrials.

HENRY:
Hi, I'm William.

NARRATOR:
Joining him is Luca Giarelli,

the head of the Val Camonica
Historical

and Anthropological Society.

Luca has spent years studying

this mysterious region
of Northern Italy,

and wants to show William
the rock carvings

for which this Alpine valley
is famous.

This place is massive.

I'm ready, let's go.

HENRY:
I'm here at Val Camonica

because it is a treasure trove
of images

from the ancient world
that have been well-documented

and studied by scholars.

They don't agree
on the meaning of the images,

but some of them
are very open-minded

to the ancient astronaut theory.

Footprints.

Wow.

Look like deer.

Look at this. Incredible.

Wow.

HENRY:
Oh, look at that.

The spaceman, exactly.
Look at that helmet.

Right. It's like he's glowing.

HENRY:
The Camunian rose.

HENRY:
Wow.

- 19 Camunian roses?
- Yeah.

NARRATOR:
Archaeologists call this mysterious object

the Camunian rose because
of its flower-like shape.

While its exact meaning
is lost to history,

some believe it to be
a religious symbol

or a representation
of the movement of the stars.

But ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

it might also depict
something else,

the vessel that brought
these helmeted figures

to Val Camonica.

Look at that.
That looks like a spaceship.

It's like,
you look up in the sky,

and you would see
this kind of twirling,

spinning ship in the sky.

It seems to me,
just looking at it,

they're trying to talk about
beings coming from other worlds,

maybe to this place.

Tell me about
that five-pointed star.

HENRY:
Mm-hmm.

HENRY: Sometimes,
the-the stars mean energy,

like, energy from the stars
would come to this place,

or star beings
would come to this place.

Mm-hmm.

Okay. So this is like
a newspaper, then.

It says, "This was in the sky
above us at some point,

and this spaceman came down,"

and maybe met
the Camunian people.

NARRATOR:
According to the ancient stories of the Susa Valley,

the city of Turin
was founded by a character

from Greek mythology
called Phaethon

who came to Earth
from the stars.

Legend states that Turin
was founded by the god Phaethon,

who is a son
of the sun god Helios,

and in the myth of Phaethon,
we learn the story

of how he descended to Earth
in a fiery chariot,

perhaps crashing
into Mount Musinè.

This also led
to something fortuitous,

because he brought gifts
to this place.

He had great skills,
was a metallurgist,

and taught this
to the local people.

CHILDRESS:
When we look at myths

such as the myth of Phaethon,

here is, really,
the story of a UFO

landing on a mountain
and interacting with the locals.

HENRY:
When we look behind this myth of Phaethon,

perhaps this is what we're
also seeing at Val Camonica.

I think given the-the connection
with the spacemen

that are etched into the rock,

that we have to be open
to the possibility

that what the ancient artist
is trying to portray

is something that
he actually saw in the sky,

something coming out
of the heavens.

NARRATOR:
Is there a connection

between the stone carvings
found at Val Camonica

and the story of Phaethon's
descent from the sky?

And do other clues exist here

that point
to ancient alien contact?

Were there any other cultures

that were connected
with the valley?

- What sort of engravings?
- Uh...

Mm-hmm. Oh, the horned god.

Yeah. Right.

HENRY:
That means the Celts were here.

So, is the only location
where we see the spaceman?

- Even deeper into the woods?
- Yeah.

I'd love to go.

NARRATOR:
Luca guides William up a steep portion of the valley

for a rare look at another
carving hidden from public view.

All right, thanks.

Wow.

Luca, we're-- We're like
on the edge of a cliff here.

Wait a minute, there.

There's one of them,
isn't it, right there?

- Yeah.
- How cool.

HENRY: Wow.

HENRY: Yeah, these are just
like the other guys.

- The detail is amazing.
- Yeah.

HENRY: There's clearly
some kind of an exchange

that's happening here.

It's like they're
making a photograph

of what happened at this place.

They're trying to say,
"At this spot,

this is what we saw here."

HENRY: Of all places
to find a rock like this.

This is a very secretive,
almost initiatory place

where select people would
be brought here to be told

this story about
these extraterrestrials.

Yeah.

NARRATOR:
Were the ancient people of what is now Northwest Italy

visited by beings
from other worlds?

And could these depictions
of spacemen and strange craft

descending from the heavens
have a link

not only to the origin story
of Turin,

but also to the UFO sightings

that have been reported
over Mount Musinè

in more recent times?

Val Camonica is in
this incredible vortex,

if you will,
that includes Mount Musinè.

We're looking at
an entire territory here

where these extraordinary
experiences are being recorded.

NARRATOR:
According to ancient astronaut theorists,

the carvings at Val Camonica

tell just one part
of a larger story.

And they suggest
that nearby ruins

may reveal not only
that extraterrestrials

visited this region, but why.

NARRATOR:
While ascending Mount Pirchiriano,

25 miles west of Turin,

and directly across
from Mount Musinè,

a Catholic bishop is startled

by an incredible sight that
suddenly appears in the sky.

He sees strange lights
in the sky,

and these things
are described as planks

and globes made of fire.

Firstly appearing to be

on the mountain itself,
then rising up.

Flying around across the sky.

But they weren't just sightings.

They were sightings
that had a profound consequence.

These strange sightings
prompted the bishop to say,

"This will be the site
on which we will build

the new abbey,"
that came to be known

as Sacra di San Michele.

So, once again we have
what seems to be

extraterrestrials giving
a light show for people,

uh, wanting to attract
their attention

and perhaps inspiring them
to do certain things.

NARRATOR:
The Sacra di San Michele, or Saint Michael's Abbey,

still stands atop
Mount Pirchiriano today.

It is to this sacred abbey

that ancient astronaut theorist
William Henry is headed

with author
and historian Gnomo Orzo,

who plans to reveal
a historic secret.

- Wow.
- Oh, my gosh. Look at this.

- Yes. Susa Valley.
- Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

- Look.
- That's incredible.

- HENRY: Musinè.
- ORZO: Yeah.

It's like Musinè and Sacra
are-are twin peaks.

- ORZO: Yes.
- HENRY: Incredible.

And in this place where
the Sacra was built,

we have some other
interesting phenomenon...

NARRATOR:
According to ancient stories,

in this area
of the Saint Michael Line--

the energy line, or ley line,

that many believe runs
straight through Italy--

a highly advanced civilization
existed thousands of years ago.

A civilization that began

when the god Phaethon
came down from the sky

in his fiery chariot.

The local accounts of Phaethon

not only connect this figure
with the ancient Greeks,

but also the ancient Egyptians.

And some ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

that as a bringer of technology,

Phaeton could be
the same extraterrestrial being

that was known in Egypt as Ptah.

HENRY: Their names are very
similar, Ptah and Phaethon.

The legend says
that Phaethon founded Turin

in honor of the Apis bull.

Turin, or Turino,
is called the city of the bull.

Now, this is very interesting

because in ancient Egypt

where the reverence
for the Apis bull originated,

we're told that the Apis bull,

or Apis bull, was actually

the Egyptian god
of technology, Ptah, incarnate.

Ptah was the Egyptian god

of smithcraft and alchemy.

So, we have to ask the question,

is Musinè a place that was
known in the ancient world

where the secrets of alchemy

were ultimately
going to be stored

or could be accessed?

There seems to be
a very important connection

between the cosmic knowledge
of metallurgy,

which was brought
to Earth by the gods,

and some kind of energy
present at Mount Musinè.

NARRATOR:
If extraterrestrials' knowledge of metallurgy

and alchemy was used to create

a technologically advanced
ancient city

around Mount Musinè,

where did it go?

In the first century BC,

Rome conquered the area's
original inhabitants

and established
Augusta Taurinorum,

the colony that
eventually became Turin.

All traces
of the people and city

that came before it
seem to have vanished.

HENRY:
So the Roman Empire came here

and said, "We're gonna take
your knowledge and secrets,

we're gonna weaponize."

Yeah, of course.

So the energy is still here
in this valley.

- Let's go.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR:
Gnomo and William head next

to a hill near
the village of Mompantero.

If extraterrestrials handed
knowledge of advanced technology

to the ancient people
of this region,

Gnomo believes it happened here

and he has located
evidence to prove it.

Look at that.

Right, so this is knowledge
way beyond

what we normally
think of the Neolithic mind

- being able to grasp.
- Yeah.

BRUCE FENTON: Finding this
triple spiral at Musinè

is absolutely fascinating.

I suspect that among
its many meanings,

which most of which
have to do with movement

and energetic flow,
I suspect amongst these

we're also being told something
about earth energies.

They had a knowledge
of these magnetic forces

and these energies, you know,
something that they perhaps

should not have known
but clearly did.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the ancient people of the Susa Valley

received knowledge
of Earth's magnetic forces

from extraterrestrials
that were present

in the region of Mount Musinè?

But if a technologically
advanced city

really did once exist
in the Susa Valley,

how is it that all evidence
of it disappeared?

Some researchers say
remnants of this lost city

can still be found
in the shadow of Mount Musinè.

NARRATOR: Deeper in the Susa
Valley of Northern Italy,

Gnomo Orzo takes William Henry

to a Roman archaeological
site called Il Maometto.

But what he wants to show him

is something hidden
in the woods nearby

that predates even the earliest
identified Roman ruins.

Wow, Gnomo.
Look at this.

Look at this incredible,
incredible platform.

Yeah, huge wheels.

Uh, surrounded by a lot
of very ancient walls.

HENRY:
You know, I've seen something

like this before in Egypt,
at Abu Gorab,

wheels just like this
on this massive platform.

Quartz crystal embedded.

It's like a landing platform.

ORZO:
Yeah.

NARRATOR:
Approximately ten miles south of Cairo,

the ancient site of Abu Gorab

contains massive
circular alabaster platforms.

Local tradition holds

that this site
is one of the oldest

ceremonial centers on the planet

and that the alabaster platforms
created a harmonic resonance

through sound vibrations
to open the senses

to "communicate"
with divine energies.

When I came upon this platform
in the middle of this forest,

it took me back to Egypt

where you see massive
stone altars like this,

for example at Abu Gorab,

that have exactly the same
stone wheels in the center,

and I'm thinking, this proves
the Egyptian connection, too.

This is a-a common
symbolic element

that almost always connects
with extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR:
For William Henry, the wheels also present

another intriguing possibility.

He believes that
they may have been made

to commemorate
the foundational story

of the city of Turin--

in which it is said

that an otherworldly being
called Phaethon

descended from the sky
in a fiery chariot.

In the story, the craft
in which he descends to Earth

is described as having wheels--

but it is also said
that he brought with him

so-called "wheels of knowledge."

The myth tells us that there
was some kind of a craft

that came into this area,
and they describe

wheels that Phaethon left.
Wheels of knowledge?

Is that what we have here?

Wheels that match what we saw
with the spirals on the rock

of this extraordinary knowledge

encoding the secrets
of light itself.

- It's an incredible mystery.
- It's an incredible mystery.

Right away, I think
of the golden wheels

of the solar discs in the Aztec
and Inca cultures.

We know that
they were great circles

and on them would be engraved

all sorts of knowledge,
all sorts of information,

astronomy, and other
mythology being coded

into the surface of the disc.

Now, could it be that at Musinè

we have exactly
the same thing happening,

that we have this
great golden wheel

upon which is all
of this information?

NARRATOR:
Might the ancient wheels carved into the rock at Il Maometto

be just the tip
of an historical iceberg?

A sign of the lost ancient city

buried beneath the ground?

We enter into this valley

where what do we find?
These ancient myths

of a civilization

that might have had
some extraordinary knowledge

that they're trying to protect

and we come into here
and look at these walls,

more ancient than ancient Rome.

Yeah.

HENRY:
We've seen Val Camonica

with these incredible depictions
of spacemen on the rocks,

thousands of years old,
absolutely amazing.

Then we come through
the gates of Musinè

where Constantine
saw this flash of light,

the heavens open.

And across the valley,

we have Sacra San Michele

where the monk saw
the light as well,

an extraordinary complex there.

It's telling us
that there was contact

in the ancient world
at this place.

For some reason, people have
been coming into this valley,

they're attracted
by something here,

for a very long time

and talking about these amazing
mysteries and knowledge.

Yeah, like...

There's so much more here

to investigate
than I ever imagined.

NARRATOR:
Ancient visitors sharing the secrets of metallurgy?

Tales of a lost civilization

that once held
advanced knowledge?

And ruins still waiting to be
identified in the Susa Valley?

As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the area of Mount Musinè
provides overwhelming evidence

that extraterrestrials
were once present here.

But if these otherworldly
visitors helped to establish

a technologically advanced
civilization

in the Susa Valley,

what happened to it?

Ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

further clues might be found

by examining strange encounters

that have occurred on Mount
Musinè in more recent times.

With the threat of war casting
an ominous shadow across Europe,

an incredible series
of events unfolds--

all under the supervision

of one of history's most
powerful and feared leaders:

Benito Mussolini.

In 1933, it's claimed
that a UFO crashed

in the Lombardy region of Italy.

This was apparently an object
around 50 feet in diameter,

like two saucers
joined together.

It was described as being
grayish in color and metallic.

And apparently, it was
then taken by the military

and studied
on the personal orders

of the then dictator
Benito Mussolini.

NARRATOR:
According to some accounts, the UFO crashed near the city

of Magenta, just 80 miles
northeast of Mount Musinè.

The craft was found to
be unoccupied,

and unlocking its secrets
became a top priority.

This flying saucer was something
that the Mussolini government

took a lot of interest in,

and so there was
an establishment of

a group of experts to
study this phenomenon,

to study exactly what it
involved, who made it.

And this committee
was called RS 33.

NARRATOR:
To lead the committee, it is said

that Mussolini enlisted
the noted engineer and famed

inventor of the radio,
Guglielmo Marconi.

Mussolini said,
"Find out what it is,

and because it seems to
be so advanced, build one."

And Marconi apparently said,
"Well, we can't.

"We can't figure it out.

There is a technology here over
and above anything we possess."

And that only left
the conclusion that this,

for want of a better term, was
an extraterrestrial spacecraft.

NARRATOR:
Was a crashed extraterrestrial craft really recovered

by the Italian government
in 1933?

And if so,
is it merely coincidence

that it happened so close
to Mount Musinè?

Let's just suppose that
the common thread here

is actually Earth energies,

which the UFOs know about
and use, perhaps,

to draw the energy
that they need.

So might we be dealing with
not just visitation

but a more permanent facility?

MARTELL: So when we look at
Mount Musinè and this energy,

we wonder if there isn't
something happening

below ground as well.

Could this be a location
of some type of secret base?

NARRATOR:
A secret alien base?

Could this be the reason
why so many strange events

have been reported
in this area for centuries?

And might it also explain
what happened to the lost city?

Does it still exist
inside the mountain?

As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the most compelling evidence
of all may be found

by examining
an incident that happened

not above Mount Musinè,
but on its slopes.

NARRATOR:
Two hikers are on Mount Musinè when they witness a strong

and blinding light that seems to
envelop the mountain's summit.

Curious, one of the men
approaches the light

and vanishes into thin air.

When he turns up again,
he is dazed, confused.

He's apparently in shock.

Uh, he has a scalded leg.

And when he comes around,
he relays this account

of how he was taken
on board this craft.

NARRATOR:
Immediately following this terrifying ordeal,

both hikers come down with
a severe case of conjunctivitis,

an inflammation or
infection of the membrane

that lines the eyelid and
covers the whites of the eyes.

So it would seem that they were
in contact with some kind

of radiation that ultimately

affected their health,
in a sense.

And this is a story that occurs

over and over again in UFO lore.

When we look at this incident

and some of the previous ones,
what are the themes?

Fire in the sky,
energy, scalding, burning.

It's all about power.

Are these sightings
being caused because

there are perhaps
underground facilities, bases?

And if that's true,
maybe it's not just one base

but a network of bases
in that area.

NARRATOR:
If extraterrestrials have remained on Earth

for thousands of years,
operating from secret bases

beneath the slopes
of Mount Musinè,

might there be similar sites
hidden on other mountains?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and suggest evidence
can be found by examining

sacred peaks around the world

that the local people revere

as being the dwelling places
of the gods.

Here, in a remote area
of the Himalayan mountain range,

researchers
scale a cliff crumbling

from erosion
in order to explore one

of the world's greatest
archaeological mysteries.

The sky caves of
the ancient kingdom of Mustang.

There are over 10,000 of these
man-made caves tunneled all

around the Mustang region.
Many have yet to be explored.

Entry is not only dangerous
but nearly impossible,

even with modern
climbing equipment.

ROBERT SCHOCH:
The caves of Mustang are absolutely amazing

because they're in a very
fragile, friable rock.

That is, it breaks off
very easily.

It's very hard to scale,
to try to get up to them.

These caves appear to be
human-carved,

to be cut out by humans.

No one really knows
who carved these caves initially

because they seem to go back to
such a very, very early period.

NARRATOR:
Hidden inside, researchers find art, artifacts,

and religious texts dating back
to at least the 1400s

and some much, much older.

Among the most stunning
of the discoveries

is a mural composed
of 55 panels depicting

scenes from the life of
the spiritual leader Buddha.

They have found images
of Buddhas,

of various life scenes
of the Buddha.

So perhaps it was used
for a ritual purpose,

perhaps used
as a meditation purpose.

We do not know why
particularly Buddhist deities

have been painted,
uh, in some of these, uh, caves.

NARRATOR:
But how and why did this unknown ancient

civilization scale nearly 155
feet of sheer vertical rock wall

to create these caverns
in the mountainside?

And why did they leave behind

depictions of the life
of Buddha?

Mankind has been drawn
to mountains for centuries.

Across ancient civilizations,

the world's highest peaks
were often viewed as sacred

and home to all-powerful gods.

But why do so many different
cultures throughout history

share this belief that mountains
have a divine connection?

SABINA MAGLIOCCO:
Mountains have fascinated people

all over the world for thousands
and thousands of years.

They seem to be a way
to ascend to the heavens

or to get as close
to the heavens

as we can here on this planet.

In many mythologies, they were

imagined as the dwelling place
of the gods.

YOUNG: The idea
that the mountains would be

the homes of the gods

shows up in Norse tradition,
in India, in Japan, all over.

The ruler,
the god, the great power,

would want to have
the view from above.

This is transcendence.
This is getting the big picture.

So we imagine that there is
a kind of control tower

or control center
up in the mountains

that helps the gods
rule wisely from above.

They are the closest points
to the sky

and the world that exists
up there.

Which makes them
the perfect place

of communication between
this world and the next.

The gods are said to use them
when they come down.

They are places of
otherworldly activity.

NARRATOR: Were mountains
around the world really home

to divine or perhaps
extraterrestrial beings?

Beings who used
these extreme elevations

to observe and
communicate with mankind.

Many ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

and as evidence
they point to the mountain

that is most famously associated

with powerful gods
of the ancient world.

Mount Olympus, Greece.

Rising over 9,500 feet,
this sacred mountain

is the second tallest
in the Balkan Peninsula.

According to ancient myth,
it was also the chosen home

of immortal deities
known as the Olympians.

RADER:
Mount Olympus hides a particularly mysterious

abode where the gods live
in perfect immortal repose

for all of their existence.

Even nowadays, clouds gather
around the top of it.

That's where it is assumed
that the abode of the gods was,

up in the clouds
that you aren't able to see.

NARRATOR:
Mount Olympus was viewed as sacred by the ancient Greeks,

and the city of Dion,
located at the foot of

the mountain, became a major
center of pilgrimage

and religious worship
in the fifth century BC.

Dion was at the base
of Mount Olympus,

and it was believed to be
a power spot.

(horse neighs)

Fourth century BC,

Alexander the Great came
to Dion before launching off

on his vast conquest of Asia.

There is something
about this place,

something very important
related to the mountain.

The Greeks were fascinated by
Mount Olympus, and they believed

that real people, real gods
were living up there.

When they saw lightning flashes,
storm clouds,

and when there were
natural disasters,

they believed
the gods were angry.

HENRY:
The Olympians were huge sky beings who descended on Earth

and had a headquarters
at Mount Olympus.

They interacted with humans,
and the ancients believed

that they were real beings.

CHILDRESS: For many years,
historians believed

that the Greek stories
were complete myth.

But then in 1870,
the German archaeologist

Heinrich Schliemann
discovered Troy.

Similarly, we have the story
of the Oracle at Delphi

and the god Apollo
speaking through the Oracle.

Archaeologists have
now found the exact spot

where the Oracle at Delphi sat.

So now we know that some of
the Greek stories are genuine.

So is it possible that
the stories of the Olympians

are also true?

HENRY:
It's possible

that they were actually
extraterrestrial beings

who came here
to influence humankind.

NARRATOR: Could the myths
of ancient Greece be true?

Was Mount Olympus home to gods
living here on planet Earth?

And if so,
might those powerful deities

have been extraterrestrials,

as some ancient astronaut
theorists believe?

According to the accounts
of the Greek poet Hesiod

from the eighth century BC,

the Olympians were
the children of the Titans,

another generation of gods
thought to occupy

nearby Mount Othrys.

Fed up with the oppressive
rule of the Titans,

the Olympians waged a brutal

rebellion against them, using
Mount Olympus as their base.

The command was done
from the mountains,

and the battle took place on the
plains between the mountains.

And the battle went on and on.

(overlapping shouting)

The Olympians prevailed,
finally capturing the Titans.

TSOUKALOS:
Whenever we have references to Mount Olympus,

it is described to be
this magnificent palace.

And the temple walls
were always gleaming

of gold, or gleaming
with silver,

and a lot of little lights
that they described as jewels,

some blinking lights
and all those things.

Well, if you look at that
from a modern perspective,

what if Mount Olympus
and Mount Othrys were basically

the command posts
where the Olympians

and the Titans drew up
their battle plans?

And when I say command posts,
I'm talking about

a functioning military outpost
in the mountains...

...for an all-out war
between extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR: Is it really
possible that Mount Olympus

and Mount Othrys served
as tactical military bases

for extraterrestrial factions?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes and suggest

that alien outposts
may also be hidden among

some of the world's most
remote and spiritual locations.

As evidence, they point
to sacred peaks found

6,000 miles away in the highest
region on Earth: Tibet.

NARRATOR:
On the northern side of the Himalayas lies the highest

geographical region on Earth:
Tibet.

Known as
"the roof of the world,"

it has an average elevation
of nearly 15,000 feet.

There is 40% less oxygen to
breathe here than at sea level,

and the weather can be
dangerous and unpredictable.

Yet more than three million
people call Tibet home.

Millions more brave
the harsh conditions to travel

here each year and visit
Tibet's sacred peaks,

including Mount Everest,
which reaches nearly

five and a half miles
into the heavens.

Tibet we call "land of snow."

YOUNG:
Here is this mountain kingdom, very hard to get to,

with an exotic culture all
its own, amazing architecture.

And the dizzying heights
of its location.

SHIMKHADA:
There are a lot of mysteries involved

with the origin of, uh, Tibet
and also a lot of history.

Tibet is usually referred to
as a land of gods.

It is a kind of exotic land
where many people,

Westerners, wanted to go there.

YOUNG:
The secrets of the Tibetan culture have eluded us

and held our fascination
since early times.

NARRATOR:
Humans have inhabited Tibet for at least 20,000 years.

Little is known about
the earliest inhabitants of this

forbidding environment,
but ancient Tibetan texts

identify the region's first
rulers as the Zhangzhung people,

who emerged around 500 BC.

Much about this early
civilization is still a mystery.

But their spiritual tradition,

called Bon, remains
a powerful force in Tibet.

The Native Indigenous
Tibetan religion,

which is known as Bon
or Bonpo...

...that in many ways
is similar to Taoism.

It connects nature
and spirituality.

Certain spots
are very powerful spots.

There's a lot of magic involved,
like with demons and exorcisms.

NARRATOR:
In the eighth century,

Tibetan king Trisong Detsen
introduced a new religion

and philosophy to the area--
Buddhism.

Followers of Buddhism
share a belief in reincarnation

and don't acknowledge
a supreme god or deity.

They instead focus
on achieving enlightenment--

a state of inner peace
and wisdom.

The combination of Bon,

Buddhism and other
local traditions

resulted in what is known
today as Tibetan Buddhism.

At the same time
Buddhism was introduced,

Tibet also gave rise
to the world's most mysterious

spiritual leader,
the Dalai Lama.

YOUNG:
The great Tibetan thinkers strongly believe,

along with the rest
of the population,

that this is, in fact,
the 74th incarnation

of the Chenrezig.

And it is a continuation
of the Buddha himself.

So the current Dalai Lama
is a continuation

of this great energy.

SHIMKHADA:
These lamas and all these great personalities

lived in Tibet,

so perhaps there is
something to be learned

from these
great masters in Tibet.

CHILDRESS:
Having traveled in Tibet a number of times,

it really expands your mind,
and in many ways

Tibet is that magical,
mystical place

where anything can happen.

NARRATOR:
Tibet not only stands

at a crossroads of Eastern
religious traditions

but is believed by many

to be a place
where heavenly beings

actually reside on Earth.

TSOUKALOS:
It is said that this was the abode of the gods.

The Himalayan region is filled

with stories of so-called
celestial beings...

...that descended from the sky
in flying vehicles

that they're referred to
as dragons and flying furnaces.

According to some of
the earliest Sanskrit texts,

the first Buddha
that ever walked the Earth

was nine feet tall,
had light blue skin,

and his arms reached
all the way down to his knees.

And there are multiple statues

all throughout
that region of the world

that depict exactly
a Buddha like that.

TSOUKALOS:
Visitation did happen, and this was something

that has remained
in the consciousness

of the local people
over millennia.

The reason why
this area of the world

has become a religious center

is because of the arrival
of the extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the culture of Tibet

was influenced
by ancient alien visitors?

And if so,
could they still be present

in this
mountainous region today?

According to both
Hindu and Buddhist traditions,

the gods reside in a hidden
kingdom in the Himalayas

known as Shambhala.

CHILDRESS:
Shambhala is ruled by kings who live for hundreds of years.

They are all-knowing.

And they particularly
are guiding the planet.

Very much as we often think

that extraterrestrials
are doing.

They have wonderful technology.

There's electricity.
There's airships.

So what is going on
in Shambhala?

Is it some mystical city
of the masters

where extraterrestrials
and humans

are living and working together?

I mean, that's
what many people believe.

NARRATOR:
Is the lost kingdom of Shambhala really a secret city

of advanced
extraterrestrial beings,

as some ancient astronaut
theorists suggest?

And if so, might evidence
of its alien origin

be found somewhere in Tibet?

Perhaps clues can be found
in one legendary expedition

into the very heart
of the unknown.

NARRATOR:
Russian painter, philosopher,

and archaeologist
Nicholas Roerich embarks

on an unprecedented expedition
into the uncharted territory

of the Tibetan Plateau

on a quest to find
the lost kingdom of Shambhala.

On August 5, 1927,

Roerich notes a strange
object in the skies

while traveling
through the mountains

along the northeastern
border of Tibet.

Roerich writes that they were
looking up at the sky,

watching an eagle fly around,

and then suddenly they saw...

...a sort of oval-shaped object

moving from north to south

at very fast speeds
pass over them.

NEWMAN:
At one of his later lectures in 1935,

Nicholas Roerich
described his sighting

as a spacecraft

or an aerial vehicle

that must have come
from Shambhala itself.

NARRATOR:
Did Nicholas Roerich witness an alien craft in Tibet

nearly a century ago,

decades before the era
of modern UFO sightings began?

And if so, is it possible
that the traditions

that have endured here
for centuries reflect

not only a profound
spirituality

but are tied
to an otherworldly presence?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining
an early Buddhist civilization

that suddenly
and mysteriously disappeared.

Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, 2020.

Towering at over 12,000 feet,

these ancient ruins are
all that is left

of the mysterious
Buddhist kingdom of Guge.

Established
in the tenth century,

this civilization
flourished for 700 years.

But then,
according to local legend,

its inhabitants vanished.

The ruins of this early city are

truly amazing.

They're in the southwest
corner of Tibet,

and there are thousands

of what were temples
and palaces, mostly gone now.

This was a kingdom
of great influence in its time.

This magnificent capitol had
artwork over all the walls,

images of the Buddha,
sacred carvings

and images of all kind.

It had power, it had glory,
and now it is nothing.

HENRY:
Guge was in continuous operation

until it mysteriously
virtually disappeared.

Nobody knows exactly
what happened there

or why people
stopped living there

or why they-- where they went.

NARRATOR:
Guge was brought under the rule

of the central Tibetan
government in 1680

but remained largely
isolated and independent

for more than 200 years.

Then, in the early 20th century,
the Tibetan government

decided to finally start
taxing the residents of Guge.

But when soldiers
arrived to collect,

they were shocked to find
that the entire population--

an estimated 100,000 people--

had disappeared.

Where they went remains
a complete mystery,

and many Tibetans believe
the reason why

is because the people of Guge
traveled deep underground.

CHILDRESS:
The fortress of Guge had all kinds of tunnels

and hidden staircases
that went underground

and went inside this mountain.

So even though
it was ruins already

when archaeologists went there,

they were astounded
that this city of Guge

apparently led inside the earth.

What people seemed
to believe was

that if you were
to follow these tunnels

far enough into the earth,

you would eventually come to
that hidden city of Shambhala.

An active city
full of light and power.

NARRATOR:
Did the people of this ancient civilization flee underground

on an epic pilgrimage to
the mythic kingdom of Shambhala?

And if so,
where did their path lead?

Some researchers believe

the tunnels of Guge lead
to a holy mountain to the east

that can be clearly seen
from these ruins--

Mount Kailash.

Every year,
thousands of pilgrims make

the treacherous journey
to the base of this sacred peak.

STEAVU:
Every year, there are pilgrimages

around Mount Kailash
in order to gain the blessing

and maybe even
some of the powers

associated
with the residing gods

and, and Buddhas and deities

of Mount Kailash.

It lasts up to four weeks
if it's done correctly

with full prostrations
at every step,

and it's also a very
unforgiving landscape,

so many people end up giving up

and some of them
also end up dying.

NARRATOR:
According to ancient Buddhist texts known

as the Kalachakra tantra,

the kingdom of Shambhala
can be found

behind Mount Kailash,
or as some interpret it, within.

And many who have stared up
at this sacred peak

have observed
mysterious objects in the sky.

Mount Kailash is at the center

of all sorts of mysteries.

UFO sightings,

the hint that there might be
something hidden there,

but it's unknowable.

HENRY:
There are many myths and legends and strange things

that have gone on
at Mount Kailash.

People go there on pilgrimages,

but they're told
not to stay there long

because there's something
radioactive inside the mountain.

And we're told
that people live there

both in physical form
and in nonphysical form.

It has to be
one of the strangest places

on the planet.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the mysterious phenomena

occurring at Mount Kailash

and its association
with Shambhala

is connected
to extraterrestrial activity?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest answers can be found

by studying the sacred
Buddhist monuments

known as stupas,

found all throughout Nepal,
India and Tibet,

including at the ruins of Guge.

HENRY:
For centuries people have been sighting UFOs

or unexplained craft coming in
and out of Mount Kailash.

It's very interesting
when you compare

the shape of the stupas
that we find in Tibet,

these dome shapes
and how they highly resemble

some kind of extraterrestrial
craft sitting on the ground.

So perhaps people saw
these craft

entering into Kailash
and decided,

"We're gonna build stupas"
in remembrance of what they saw.

TSOUKALOS:
A stupa by definition is a vehicle

with which to reach
the realm of the gods.

That is the definition
of a stupa.

Well, just change the wording

of vehicle with which
to reach space.

These stupas can be seen,
for example, in the Ajanta Cave,

with smoke and fire
at the bottom.

What more do you want?

It's no longer a symbol.
It is the truth.

NARRATOR:
Might the Buddhist stupas of Tibet be monuments

to alien craft
witnessed flying in

and around Mount Kailash?

A site believed by many to be
the kingdom of Shambhala?

And if so, how has it remained
hidden for millennia?

Could it be that somewhere
on the slopes of Mount Kailash

is the entrance to
a hidden extraterrestrial realm?

While countless expeditions
have tried and failed to find

the legendary kingdom
of Shambhala,

there are some who claim
to have found a way

to communicate with
its otherworldly inhabitants.

NARRATOR:
London, 1888.

Famed Russian mystic
and philosopher

Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

publishes her seminal book
The Secret Doctrine.

In it, she offers
detailed descriptions

of the legendary lost continents
of Atlantis and Lemuria.

She claims not only that these
ancient civilizations existed

but that they possessed
highly advanced technology,

including flying machines,
thousands of years ago.

Madame Blavatsky maintained

that human lineage
is vastly older

than we understand.

And that primordial
civilizations,

like Atlantis or Lemuria,

formed the foundation
of human history

and were much older
than Egyptian culture,

than Vedic culture, than
any culture known to humanity.

This to her was an occult
history that humankind, uh,

had forgotten about,
had failed to understand.

LACHMAN:
Atlantis, we know, goes back to Plato.

He's the first one
to really talk about it.

And both Atlantis and Lemuria--
at some point

they sort of turned dark.

They became fascinated

with a kind of form
of black magic

and a kind of hyper technology.

And this led to their demise.

NARRATOR:
Madame Blavatsky claimed she received this knowledge

from a mysterious entity
she described as a "mahatma,"

a Sanskrit word
that means "great soul."

He called himself Koot Hoomi
and resided in Tibet.

Koot Hoomi communicated
with her telepathically.

In other words,
she kind of channeled him.

SHIMKHADA:
The way she described him

is almost like
a eternal baba, eternal soul,

so, you know,
he is, like, immortal.

SALLA:
Also, he was able to manifest himself

in her apartment
in New York City

even though it was
thousands of miles away.

NEWMAN:
We have to question what was going on here.

Was she somehow in contact

with some kind of hidden world
in the Himalayas?

NARRATOR:
In 1875,

Madame Blavatsky founded
the Theosophical Society.

It was made up
of prominent thinkers

who sought to explore Eastern
religions and the occult

and create
a kind of universal brotherhood

based on the teachings of
Koot Hoomi and other mahatmas.

LACHMAN:
Theosophy means the wisdom of the gods.

The Theosophical Society
was incredibly, um,

successful and popular
and influential.

Not only in the occult world,

but she was also influential
in the cultural world.

Uh, people like
the painter Mondrian

and Wassily Kandinsky
were early theosophists.

L. Frank Baum,
who wrote the Oz books,

Abner Doubleday,
who invented baseball.

Thomas Edison invented
the light bulb.

These were all
very early members

of the Theosophical Society.

NARRATOR:
While many important figures joined the Theosophical Society,

Madame Blavatsky
had a particularly

profound influence
on a young Indian law student

who came to visit her
in London--

Mohandas Gandhi.

HOROWITZ:
Gandhi wrote about this as one of the pivotal

encounters of his life.

He maintained
that Madame Blavatsky

gave him the first sense
of universal brotherhood

that later came to form
the core of his philosophy,

not only of radical equality
but of radical nonviolence.

Now, this is quite astonishing,
when we think about

the potential here
that perhaps an entity,

this strange Tibetan entity

that's making psychical
contact with Blavatsky,

has now reached out to someone
who would go on to be

one of the most famous
persons in history

and would have made
this radical change in India

that would, you know,
really shock the world

and change the face
of the British Empire.

NARRATOR:
Was Gandhi's transformative leadership

and Indian independence,
in part,

a result of influence
from these mysterious,

enlightened masters in Tibet?

And if so, who were
these so-called mahatmas?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe the answer can be found

by examining an encounter
with a similar entity.

New York City, 1918.

British occultist and
writer Aleister Crowley

engages in a magic ritual
he calls the Amalantrah Working.

He claims the ritual opens
an interdimensional portal

allowing him to interact
with an otherworldly being.

Aleister Crowley is
probably the most famous,

or rather infamous,
magician of the 20th century.

And Crowley took it
upon himself to revive

the ancient black arts,
the dark arts, as it were.

He was contacting
lots of different beings

from other dimensions.

But there was also a vision
Crowley had of this individual,

this entity that he called Lam.

NARRATOR:
According to Crowley, this entity claimed to reside

high in the mountains of Tibet,

just like the mahatma

that Madame Blavatsky said
she encountered.

Lam claimed to be
a Tibetan master of wisdom,

somewhat in the footsteps
of some of the figures

that Madame Blavatsky
had been in touch with.

And he was a kind of mystical
or otherworldly adept,

in his own description,
according to Crowley.

PICKNETT:
Aleister Crowley drew a sketch of this creature,

and if you look at this sketch,

one thing that hits you very
forcibly, in fact, startlingly,

is the fact that this
looks like a Grey alien.

NARRATOR:
More than 70% of alleged alien abductees describe encountering

what have become known as
the Greys, or Grey aliens.

Is it possible
that there is a connection

between these beings
and the Tibetan masters

that both Aleister Crowley

and Madame Blavatsky
claimed to have contacted?

If so, does this suggest
that there is

a hidden
extraterrestrial outpost

within the mountains of Tibet

and possibly elsewhere?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining
a sacred paranormal hotspot

in North America:

Mount Shasta.

NARRATOR:
Rising to an elevation of 14,179 feet,

Mount Shasta
in Northern California

lies at an intriguing
crossroads of folklore,

geology and the paranormal.

This majestic peak,
which is also a dormant volcano,

features
breathtaking waterfalls,

pristine lakes,
and spectacular Alpine vistas

that attract more than
26,000 visitors each year.

But the Native Americans
who are indigenous to this area

warn that Mount Shasta
is as dangerous

as it is beautiful,
and for very unnatural reasons.

For centuries,
the mountain has been known

as a place where people report
strange events in the sky,

encounter terrifying creatures,

and sometimes have
even vanished without a trace.

POPE:
Mount Shasta is a location

where there are multiple
strange events taking place,

UFO sightings,

paranormal events,

strange disappearances...

...that go back
throughout history.

And, indeed, one can look to

certain Native American legends,
for example,

to say that
Mount Shasta has always

been associated
with strange goings-on.

There's things around
in this mountain here

that people
are really unaware of.

Some people don't
even want to believe it.

But I believe it
'cause I seen it.

I've witnessed it.

NARRATOR:
Local Native American tribes

such as the Shasta, Wintu,

Modoc and Karuk
have inhabited the area

dating back
as much as 12 centuries.

Each revere Mount Shasta

as a place that
possesses mystical powers.

THOM:
I was told by my grandmother and grandfather

that, you know, that we didn't
go above the tree line.

That that belongs
to "Grandfather" up there.

So I try to stay
as far away as I can.

NARRATOR: 60 miles
northeast of Mount Shasta,

at Lava Beds National Monument,

a curious record of

Native American traditions
can be found.

Hundreds of stone carvings,
known as petroglyphs,

that were created
as much as 6,000 years ago

by ancestors of the Modoc tribe.

The Lava Beds petroglyphs
include ancient calendars,

depictions of animals, humans,

and one of the petroglyphs
depicts a large-winged creature

emerging from
inside of Mount Shasta.

It is believed to
represent a sky being

who the Modoc people worship
as their creator known as Skell.

The local people believe
that in ancient times

the great Sky Chief Skell

came down from the sky
to live in Shasta

and has been there
ever since and protects it.

NARRATOR:
Could this petroglyph of Skell be, as some believe,

an actual depiction of
an extraterrestrial being

that the Modoc people
encountered centuries ago?

Curiously, to date,

there have been more than
50 reports of UFO sightings

around Mount Shasta,

with an increasing number
in just the last decade.

Almost everyone who lives there

has-has seen something unusual.

One of the most
remarkable UFO sightings

I've heard of
took place in 2008.

Witnesses in
the town of McCloud

saw a UFO that looked
like a giant glowing jellyfish

move over the town and
then fly off into the distance.

THOM:
I was driving back from, uh, Klamath Falls

around 7:00, 6:30-7:00 in
the evening in the summertime.

All of a sudden,
I looked up on the mountain

and I seen the whole mountain,

toward Yreka-side, open up.

And then this big ship came

and sat there
and hovered for a minute

and then went right in.

And the next thing you know,
the mountain closed,

and I was like,
what is going on?

NARRATOR:
Incredibly, accounts of giant beings

and Bigfoot sightings

have also been reported
in this area

for hundreds of years.

And in October 1930,
several newspapers

detailed the discovery

of a mysteriously large
humanoid skeleton

in the town of Redding,

60 miles south of Mount Shasta.

There are traditions of giants
linked with Mount Shasta,

which absolutely fascinated me.

And one of these, uh,
goes back quite a long way,

and it's part of the Modoc tribe

who are kind of
part of this area.

And they say
the sky spirit's daughter

was abducted by a bear,

and she actually gave birth
to a race of giants.

Some people suggest
that these are actually

hairy beast,
Sasquatch-like beings

connected with Mount Shasta.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that this area

is home to strange beings,

beings with a connection
to the stars?

And if so, are these,
in fact, extraterrestrials,

as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest?

Could evidence
of an alien outpost

be found in
the caves and tunnels

winding deep
underneath Mount Shasta?

NARRATOR:
In November 2020,

William Henry, along with
author Dustin Naef...

NAEF:
It's down this path here.

...set out to explore

what is known as Pluto's Cave,

several miles north
of Mount Shasta.

HENRY:
That is just spectacular.

NARRATOR:
It is here where numerous eyewitnesses

claim to have encountered
mysterious beings

as well as seen evidence
of possible

interdimensional portals.

Pluto's Cave is one of
several natural wonders

known as lava tubes
that crisscross the region.

SCHOCH:
Mount Shasta is a volcanic mountain.

So, volcanic lava tubes
are formed

when you have fast-flowing lava,

and it cools on
the surface of the flow,

so it actually builds a crust,

but the lava continues
to flow in the middle

and it forms, literally, a tube.

And these tubes in
some cases are very small.

They might only be
a few feet across.

In other cases they've been
documented to be 50 feet across.

And some of them
have been documented to be

not just miles long

but tens of miles long.

HENRY:
Check it out, man.

Awesome.

Awesome.

NAEF:
Almost all of the mythology and legends around the place,

it all takes place underground
in the caves and tunnels

which surround the area.

If you were to be able
to look underground,

I mean, you would just see
tunnels radiating out

in every direction.

There are actually
Native-authored stories

that you could travel
clear into Oregon

completely underground.

HENRY:
Yeah.

Look at that, Dustin.
That's awesome.

Beautiful skylight.

NAEF:
This almost makes, like, an eye-like symbol.

There's a really big
subculture here in Mount Shasta

that has always believed that

these caves and tunnels
contain a civilization

full of people
just like you and I.

And they come back
and forth through portals

hidden in these caves.

I've had people actually
contact me and tell me

they've seen people
in this very cave

walk right into a wall
and vanish.

Wh-What were these people like?

What did they look like?

They look just like us.

That's how
they're able to travel

back and forth
and mingle with humans.

Wow.

NARRATOR:
One of the most famous reports

of a being emerging
from within Mount Shasta

was made in 1930
by Guy Warren Ballard.

Ballard, a mining engineer
who worked in the area,

claimed he was surveying
the slopes of the mountain

when he encountered
a mysterious glowing figure.

Guy reported that when he was
hiking on Mount Shasta

in the early 1930s,
he encountered

some extraordinary
mysterious teacher,

which he later identified
as the ascended master.

YOUNG:
This is a radiant being dressed in white.

And they get into
a long conversation.

And this teacher, this guru,

this otherworldly character
teaches Ballard

the secrets of enlightenment.

NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists,

Ballard's description
of a radiant being

is reminiscent of accounts
from ancient times

of similarly luminous figures.

In Irish legend, we learn
of the Tuatha Dé Danann,

or the Tua Dé Dann.

These are luminous
humanoid beings

who are considered
to be beings of immense wisdom,

who are also called
the Shining Ones.

NARRATOR:
Much like the Shining Ones of the Celtic tradition,

the ancient Sumerian gods
known as the Anunnaki

are also described
as glowing figures.

Might these accounts,
including those made

about Mount Shasta, be true?

If so, can William Henry
find any evidence

to help verify them?

If you look on the USGS charts,

there's an immense
negative magnetic anomaly

that surrounds Mount Shasta.

HENRY:
That's the ley line they describe here, right?

NAEF:
Yeah, a lot of psychic

and paranormal phenomena
actually occurs in places

that have magnetic anomalies.

And used as a,
as a portal between

the inner Earth realm
and the stars?

Yeah, it...

Anything capable
of generating, you know,

energy like that could
be conceptualized as a portal.

NARRATOR:
Some theoretical physicists believe

that strong variations
of electromagnetic fields

may create areas that give rise

to exotic phenomena

like portals through
space and time.

There appears to be,

in nature, the possibility

of crossing thresholds
of energy,

of vorticity,
of electromagnetic phenomena

that can perhaps open up
portals in space-time

that we never would
have thought possible.

NARRATOR:
Could the strange electromagnetic anomalies

discovered on Mount Shasta

and other high-altitude sites
across the globe

serve as a sign
of a hidden portal

to other worlds?

Is it possible that these sites

function as
extraterrestrial outposts?

And if so, are sacred mountains
all over the world

hiding a vast
alien presence on Earth?

HENRY:
Throughout the world, we find myths and legends

of sacred mountains that
are not only landing places,

or places where the gods
or star beings descended,

but also places
that became their sanctuary.

So what happened to them?

They went and lived
in the inner realms.

CHILDRESS:
It's entirely possible that the extraterrestrials set up

space bases in mountains
all over the world.

That way, they could
watch humanity,

help guide us, and if necessary,

intervene again in human affairs
as they had done in the past.

That civilization
can still be around today

and is living separate from us

in these secret places.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that the majestic

snow-capped mountains
of North America,

Tibet,

Italy,

and numerous other sacred peaks
around the world

have served as
secret sanctuaries

for extraterrestrial beings?

And if so, is it possible
that these visitors

still occupy alien outposts

at Earth's highest elevations?

Perhaps we will one day discover

that the places
our ancestors referred to

as the realms of the gods

are, in fact, still inhabited

by our alien creators.

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