Original subtitles

NARRATOR: A summit in Sri Lanka said to be a portal

for the gods.

A volcano in Washington

surrounded by disc-shaped objects.

And a mountain in New Mexico

where otherworldly beings are believed to reside.

Over the years,

Ancient Alienshas investigated numerous peaks

across the globe that are rumored

to hold a secret extraterrestrial presence.

Now we're going to explore

the most extraordinary locations.

These are the Top Ten Mysterious Mountains

that just might provide undeniable proof

of our extraterrestrial past.

♪

Mountains are some of the most mysterious locations on Earth.

Since the dawn of time,

they have been the center of myths and legends

that describe otherworldly visitations.

But what if I told you

that mysterious lights, strange craft

and extraterrestrial contact are reported even today

around many of these majestic peaks?

Like the first location on our list, which was central

to one of the most famous UFO sightings of all time.

At number ten on our countdown

of the Top Ten Mysterious Mountains: Mount Adams.

NARRATOR: Towering above Southern Washington

is Mount Adams.

This snow-capped peak stands over 12,000 feet tall

and has an 18-mile-wide diameter,

making it the largest volcano in the state.

Today Mount Adams is well known

for its abundant hiking trails and crystal clear lakes.

But for ancient astronaut theorists,

Mount Adams is famous for being the location

of the first UFO sighting

to ever make national headlines.

On June 24, 1947,

pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine mysterious objects

flying toward the mountain.

NICK REDFERN: He suddenly caught sight

of a squadron of strange-looking objects.

He could not figure out what they were.

They were flying at incredible speeds

and performing maneuvers

that essentially would kill any regular pilot

in a normal aircraft.

DAVID CHILDRESS: He described them as skipping like a saucer.

And this is really where the term "a flying saucer"

arrives in English language,

is from Kenneth Arnold's description.

NARRATOR: According to Arnold's report,

the strange craft sped past him at 1,200 miles per hour

and then flew directly into Mount Adams and vanished.

WILLIAM HENRY: He follows them

as they disappear into Mount Adams,

which is the site of many modern UFO sightings.

If these craft did enter into Mount Adams,

it would not seem unusual to UFO experts.

It's now common for UFO sightings

to take place at mountains

and for people to see what they describe

as UFOs entering into mountains.

CHILDRESS: You've got to wonder if this mountain

isn't some kind of extraterrestrial base.

The idea that extraterrestrials are using mountains

as hidden bases might sound like science fiction.

But according to one government whistleblower,

such a secret compound may be located

deep inside a mountain in New Mexico.

At number nine on our countdown: Mount Archuleta.

NARRATOR: Rising to an elevation of 8,136 feet,

Mount Archuleta,

in the northern part of the state,

stands at an intriguing crossroads

of folklore and the paranormal.

On the slopes of this imposing peak lies the town

of Dulce, New Mexico,

a place where both UFO sightings

and strange animal mutilations are frequently reported.

RICHAD DOLAN: Dulce, New Mexico is a very interesting place.

It was the scene in the 1970s of massive numbers

of cattle mutilations.

And you talk to the residents there,

which I did at one point,

and large numbers of people have experienced

what anyone would call UFO sightings.

NARRATOR: But what's even more intriguing

to ancient astronaut theorists are rumors

that Mount Archuleta is the location

of a secret subterranean military compound

known as the Dulce Air Force Base.

One man who allegedly had firsthand knowledge

of this was geologist Phil Schneider,

who claimed to have worked on the construction

of this underground base for the U.S. government.

Phil Schneider was a very interesting geologist

used by the U.S. government

to do excavations of large areas

under military contract,

where they were essentially going

to be building large caverns

and connecting underground passageways.

Part of what I'm going

to tell you is going to be very shocking.

NARRATOR: On May 8, 1995,

Schneider gave a presentation in Post Falls, Idaho

and claimed he was attacked

by extraterrestrials deep underground.

[gunshots]

I was involved in 1979 in a horrendous firefight

with alien-human type, whatever you want to call them.

And, uh, I was one of the survivors.

Basically, what had occurred was

that we surprised a whole

under-mountain base of existing aliens.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that an extraterrestrial base can be found hidden

within Mount Archuleta?

Perhaps further clues can be found

within the oral traditions of the Jicarilla Apache tribe,

who have lived in the shadow of this peak

for more than six centuries.

CHILDRESS: Archuleta Peak is an important part

of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation.

And the Apaches themselves have had legends

for hundreds of years of UFO activity

and star people coming down.

NARRATOR: Could it be that the oral traditions

of the Jicarilla Apache are describing ancient contact

with otherworldly visitors?

And if so,

does an extraterrestrial presence still reside

in the area to this day?

JON DOVER: Part of the Navajo Nation resides

right near that Archuleta Mesa, and...

we, as a department, officially investigated

these craft going into volcanic vents,

cinder hills, basalt rock,

and disappearing in there.

We don't have an explanation for it.

In Northern Arizona stands one of most sacred mountains

to the native Hopi people.

According to their mythology,

this peak was the site where a group

of mysterious humanoid beings descended from the sky.

At number eight: The Black Mesa.

NARRATOR: High above the desert in Northern Arizona

stands the Black Mesa.

The mountain encompasses more

than two and a half million acres,

and has been home to the Hopi tribe for more than 1,000 years.

HENRY: The Black Mesa

is an elevated, bowl-shaped structure

that is about 4,000 square miles.

So, it's really quite large.

And the Black Mesa is considered the most sacred place

to the Hopi.

NARRATOR: According to the Hopi,

the Black Mesa is a landing site

for sky beings they call "the Kachinas."

DOVER: The Kachinas, in Hopi tradition,

are related to the, uh, star people.

All Native American tribes have these traditional oral histories

that people came from the stars to visit them.

It's universal, all across the United States,

that these gods, as we call them today,

came to Earth and visited

to provide knowledge.

TSOUKALOS: The Hopi themselves speak

that the Kachinas descended from the sky

in physical form and imparted knowledge.

This happened at the Black Mesa.

So, you have to ask yourself the question,

could it be that physical extraterrestrials

descended from the sky?

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that otherworldly visitors landed on Black Mesa

in the distant past?

Curiously,

nearly identical stories are found

in the mythologies of other Native American people

from the region.

DOVER: Black Mesa is not only holy to the Hopi people,

it's holy to the Navajos.

Both tribes have said

that star people have come to them in the past.

It just can't be discounted as myth.

NARRATOR: The story of strange, humanoid beings

descending from the stars at Black Mesa

is not only a central part of Hopi

and Navajo oral traditions,

but these encounters were so significant,

they were carved in stone.

DOVER: I believe that these visitations have been documented

in pictographs and petroglyphs.

They're not art, actually, for art's sake.

The petroglyphs have been done this way

for basically thousands of years.

The Navajos and Hopis are constantly talking

about UFOs hovering over Northern Arizona.

So you have to ask yourself,

is the Black Mesa a place

where the star people are ascending

and descending to Earth?

It seems to be the case.

In Southern France, there is a peak that is so unusual,

it is known as

the "upside down mountain."

But what ancient astronaut theorists

like me find most interesting is

that its unique geology is said to attract UFOs.

At number seven on our countdown

of the Top Ten Mysterious Mountains: Mount Bugarach.

NARRATOR: In the foothills of the Pyrenees looms one

of the most unusual geological formations

on the planet--

Mount Bugarach.

Rising to an elevation of just over 4,000 feet,

its jagged facade continues to fascinate geologists.

CHILDRESS: Bugarach has some very unusual geology.

The strata at the top of the mountain

is actually millions of years older

than the strata at the bottom of the mountain.

It's as if the mountain was somehow picked up

and flipped over on its head.

ROBERT SCHOCH: It's sometimes referred to

as an "upside down mountain."

What does that mean?

Literally, at the top of the mountain,

you have older rocks than the base of the mountain.

So, this is a very interesting thing,

and it's brought on, for some people, mystical connotations.

NARRATOR: One unusual phenomenon that continues

to attract visitors to Mount Bugarach

is the regular appearance of mysterious lights

and strange orbs.

HENRY: Bugarach is the sight of many modern UFO sightings.

People maintain they see mysterious lights,

orbs of light that are also

intelligently directed and have the sense

that they're coming from somewhere else.

NARRATOR: In addition to its peculiar geology,

the mountain is honeycombed

with a network of underground tunnels.

CHILDRESS: All throughout the mountain is a vast labyrinth

of limestone caves.

These limestone caves have led a number of people to believe

that this is actually some kind of alien base.

That extraterrestrials are living inside the mountain,

and in fact, they've been living there for thousands of years.

NARRATOR: Over the centuries, the mysterious phenomena

at Mount Bugarach have led many to consider the mountain sacred.

KATHLEEN McGOWAN: Bugarach has been known as a holy mountain

since time immemorial in this part of France.

There is something truly magnetic about this mountain

that is bringing people to come and watch it.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that extraterrestrials are living

inside a mountain in France?

And if so, might there be other similar mountains

secretly housing otherworldly civilizations?

For ancient astronaut theorists, it's a distinct possibility.

HENRY: Throughout the world, we find myths and legends

of sacred mountains

that are not only landing places

where the gods or star beings descended,

but also places that became

known as the heavenly sanctuary on Earth.

And humans have been attracted, almost magnetically attracted,

to these places since the beginning of recorded history.

And it seems that there's a direct connection

between sacred mountains

and extraterrestrial beings coming to Earth.

One of the most mysterious mountains

on Earth can be found in Northern California.

It's said to have been inhabited by otherworldly beings

for thousands of years, and today,

it is one of the busiest UFO hot spots on the planet.

At number six on our countdown: Mount Shasta.

NARRATOR: Towering over the landscape at an elevation

of over 14,000 feet, stands Mount Shasta.

This dormant volcano has stood

at the heart of mysterious legends for thousands of years.

TIM R. SWARTZ: The local Native Americans have always felt

there was something special about Mount Shasta.

It was thought

that humankind actually originated

from within Mount Shasta.

JONATHAN YOUNG: 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: Not only do the native people say

that Mount Shasta was a place of otherworldly visitation

in the distant past,

but sightings of strange lights and UFOs continue

to be reported there to this very day.

REDFERN: Over the years, there have been a number

of very significant UFO sightings

around Mount Shasta,

and you have to wonder, why is that the case?

I don't think we can rule out the idea

of some sort of permanent presence

buried deep within Mount Shasta itself.

JACK "WALKING EAGLE" THOM: I was driving back

from Klamath Falls, eh, around 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.

The mountain closed, and I was like, "What is going on?"

I never let things like that bother me now.

But I've seen things like that all the time.

NAEF: Some of the legends around Mount Shasta

detail these beings that are believed to live underground

in tunnels and entry points situated around Mount Shasta

that are portals

that these beings are going to come through.

It's down this path here.

NARRATOR: In November 2020,

author and researcher William Henry,

along with local historian Dustin Naef...

HENRY: That is just spectacular.

NARRATOR: ...set out to explore one of the many tunnels

on the slopes of Mount Shasta.

Check it out, man.

NARRATOR: This cave is known as a spot

where mysterious beings are frequently seen emerging

from inside the mountain.

Look at that, Dustin. That's awesome.

Absolutely incredible.

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. - Mm-hmm.

And they come back and forth

through portals hidden in these caves.

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.

Anything capable of generating, you know,

energy like that could be conceptualized as a portal.

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.

Wow.

ANDREW COLLINS: At Mount Shasta,

UFOs seem to manifest out of the mountain.

They appear, they travel, and then they disappear.

And this would seem to have led

to the belief that there might be

some kind of secret alien base

actually deep within that mountain.

We're coming up on the halfway point

on our countdown

of the Top Ten Mysterious Mountains.

Our next location can be found

in my ancestral homeland of Greece.

It's a cloud-covered peak that for thousands of years

has been called the "home of the gods."

At number five: Mount Olympus.

NARRATOR: Towering above the surrounding landscape

stands Mount Olympus.

This imposing rock massif rises to an elevation

of 9,570 feet,

and is the highest summit in Greece.

Frequently shrouded in clouds,

its peak has mystified people since antiquity.

According to myth, it was the chosen home

of immortal deities known as the "Olympians."

RIC RADER: Mount Olympus hides a particularly mysterious abode

where the gods live

in perfect, immortal repose for all of their existence.

Because it is so high, it's ringed in clouds.

And so, that's where the gods live

that you are not allowed to see.

McGOWAN: The gods in the Greek mythology

are all very, very human in their attributes.

The Greek gods are... are jealous.

They're angry, they're passionate.

They hate each other, they love each other.

There's nothing entirely divine about them

other than they have specific powers.

NARRATOR: In the Greek myths,

the powers of the gods often come in the forms

of magical devices, weapons

and flying machines.

Many of these are associated with Mount Olympus.

HENRY: Mount Olympus is fascinating.

It was a technology center.

You had Hephaestus there, the Greek god

of smithcraft, alchemy and technology.

He was developing the thunderbolt of Zeus,

the chains of Prometheus,

the breastplate of Athena

and all these magical weapons.

It sounds very much like some kind of a military compound.

The Olympian gods warred amongst each other.

They warred against humans. They lusted after humans.

That opens up the possibility

that they were, in fact, flesh-and-blood beings.

The basic premise of the ancient astronaut theory is

that the Greek pantheon of gods existed

in real life, made of physical beings.

But they were not gods as we think of them today.

Our ancestors thought they were gods.

They misinterpreted that they were gods.

[thunder crashing]

Why?

Because they descended from the sky.

NARRATOR: Could the myths of ancient Greece be true?

Was Mount Olympus an advanced

technological outpost that was home

to otherworldly beings?

CHILDRESS: Mount Olympus is pretty curious.

The gods live there.

Their airships and superpowers

and superweapons are also in this mountain.

NARRATOR: For ancient astronaut theorists,

the descriptions of Mount Olympus

bring to mind military bases

that have been built inside mountains in modern times.

CHILDRESS: We have Cheyenne Mountain

outside of Colorado Springs.

This is a military base.

It, too, is a mountain.

It's hollowed out, there's a city inside it.

There's elevators and trains and

banks of computers, and people are living there.

So how about Mount Olympus as something very similar?

An extraterrestrial,

ancient mountain base

that they were using in Greece and other areas.

1,000 miles southeast of Mount Olympus is another peak

that was said to be home to a powerful being.

And according to the Bible, it's the location

of a profound encounter that changed human history.

At number four on our countdown: Mount Sinai.

NARRATOR: Here, overlooking the desert,

stands the rugged peak of Mount Sinai--

one of the most significant mountains in history.

According to the Bible's Book of Exodus,

God led Moses and the Israelites here

after they were released by Pharoah.

Their route to the mountain was marked

by a mysterious light in the sky.

In Exodus, Chapter 13, verses 21 and 22, it says,

"The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud...

"and by night in a pillar of fire.

The pillar did not depart from before the people."

Meaning that it was always there.

They were met by

what I would call a biblical UFO.

PATRICK COOKE: Moses receives a message from God

that he is going to land

on Mount Sinai.

So he gathers the nation of Israel around the mountain.

This huge, bright, glowing cloud lands on Mount Sinai.

And the Jewish people are told to stay

at the bottom of Mount Sinai.

But Moses is authorized,

and you might even say protected,

by the pillar of cloud and of fire

so that he can go up there and everybody else can't.

NARRATOR: According to the biblical texts,

Moses ascends the mountain and enters the glowing cloud.

There he communes with Almighty God.

- [thunder crashing] - After 40 days,

he returns, carrying the Ten Commandments.

According to ancient rabbinical texts,

these tablets had a very unusual appearance.

RABBI ARIEL BAR TZADOK: According to our ancient legend,

we know that when Moses brought down

the original Ten Commandments,

they were not like what we think.

It states

that the letters actually hovered upon the stones.

And that they were alive, energetic.

And that indicates to us some type

of an actual technological transmission

the likes of which we do not know.

NARRATOR: Could Mount Sinai have been the site

of a biblical extraterrestrial encounter?

Ancient astronaut theorists say "yes,"

and point to rabbinical texts

that shed more light on what Moses experienced

on the summit of Mount Sinai.

TZADOK: There's a very

ancient legend which speaks

that the cloud came down from heaven to take Moses up.

And a door opened in the cloud,

and Moses walked in the door,

and he physically ascended

to some place off this Earth.

In light of our modern understandings,

it sounds like the cloud was some type

of a transportational device.

When it comes to mysterious mountains,

one of the most extraordinary can be found

on the islands of Japan.

According to local legends,

there is a snow-capped peak inhabited by powerful creatures

that are half bird and half human.

And some people still report seeing them even today.

At number three on our countdown

of the Top Ten Mysterious Mountains: Mount Ishizuchi.

NARRATOR: Shikoku, Japan.

Here, towering over this ancient island,

is Mount Ishizuchi,

one of the nation's most revered mountains.

SCHOCH: Mount Ishizuchi in Japan is about 6,500 feet.

It's one of the sacred mountains of Japan.

It's sacred to the Shinto,

and also Buddhist religions.

The summit actually looks like a hammer.

And it's called "Tengu-dake,"

and "tengu," apparently, is referring

to these supernatural demons living there.

In Japan, there is a belief

that the mountains there hold a kind of strange being

called a "tengu,"

who is a half-man, a half-bird type being

with a bright visage, and he has wings.

Many Japanese hikers are afraid of these tengu.

YOUNG: These are fierce, bird-like creatures.

They are frightening to look at.

They've got sharp teeth,

feathers, of course, and shimmering wings.

They've got claws and beaks,

and yet, they are persons.

They are somewhere between a bird

and a person, but in a very frightening form.

ALEXANDER BAY: Later portrayals, the beak becomes a long nose.

So modern tengu masks are bright red with a long nose,

demon-like eyes, and then,

a Shugendo hat on the forehead.

STEAVU: The karasu tengu, which translates as "crow tengu,"

are born out of these giant eggs.

And these creatures are typically

very mischievous and even malevolent towards humans.

They like to play tricks on them.

They like to make them lose their way in the mountain.

They often kidnap people, as well.

BAY: One story about tengu concerns Mount Ishizuchi.

A six-year-old boy went missing

at the top of the mountain-- Tengu Peak.

And there was an exhaustive search for him.

Nothing turned up.

So, the search team was forced just to return home.

And when they arrived home,

of course, the six-year-old boy was there.

Now, they asked him what had happened.

He said that he had left the trail,

and that an all-black humanlike figure

from behind said, "If you are lost, I will help you.

Close your eyes."

And the next thing he knew, he was back home safe and sound.

NARRATOR: Japanese belief in the tengu dates back

at least 1,300 years.

And while they are strongly associated with Mount Ishizuchi,

the tengu are thought to inhabit other mountains

throughout Japan, as well.

But what's most interesting to ancient astronaut theorists

is that nearly identical stories

of winged birdmen, like the tengu,

can be found in historical accounts across the globe.

CHILDRESS: All over the world,

we have stories of what we call "bird-men,"

like the tengu.

And these are men

that are often depicted

with wings on their backs, they're able to fly.

And you have to wonder

if really these aren't some kind of extraterrestrials,

and that the wings are purely symbolic.

But they're called "bird-men" and have wings

because they can fly.

They can fly in their spaceships.

TSOUKALOS: It makes perfect sense

to me that if extraterrestrials were to visit Earth,

they would set up their camps

somewhere out of sight,

like high mountains in Japan,

to remain undetected by local populations

so that they could make only contact with those people

in that population that they have chosen.

One of the strangest mountains

on Earth can be found in Sri Lanka.

Rising above the jungle

is a summit that is almost a perfect circle.

And according to ancient Sanskrit texts,

this peak is a portal for the gods.

At number two on our countdown: Danigala Mountain.

NARRATOR: Central Sri Lanka.

Overlooking the small town of Aralaganwila

stands the lush Danigala mountain range.

Its undulating peaks reach heights

of just under 1,000 feet,

but despite its low elevation,

one mysterious summit has captured the imaginations

of locals and visitors alike.

It's a strange outcropping that is almost entirely round.

COLLINS: This is a very remarkable

geological formation,

circular in shape, with a completely flat

platform on the top of it.

NARRATOR: For locals, the mountain is famous

not only for its unique shape,

but for the number of reports

of unidentified aerial phenomena at the site.

MOHAN: Everybody calls it

"Alien Mountain," because this is a UFO hot spot.

At least two dozen UFO sightings have been reported

in 2023 alone.

NARRATOR: The recent sightings are just the latest

in a string of mysterious events at the mountain

that date back thousands of years.

COLLINS: The mountain

is associated with various different legends

in Vedic tradition.

It's actually said

to be the landing place of the god Ravana.

It was said that he could actually fly this device

and land on the top of it.

NEWMAN: Danigala Mountain is also connected

with the Buddha, in fact.

There's a cave in the side of this mountain

which has a statue of the Buddha,

and it's said that he originally used this area

as a kind of way to explore the different astral planes.

NARRATOR: The Buddha is believed to have lived

during the sixth or fifth century BC.

And according to ancient Buddhist stories,

he demonstrated the ability to teleport instantly

from one location to another.

And as far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned,

early accounts of the Buddha sound very much

like descriptions of an extraterrestrial.

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.

So, that to me, is eternally fascinating

because it would support the idea

that Buddha was an extraterrestrial.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that the Buddha was an otherworldly being

who landed near Danigala Mountain

as told in local legends?

Perhaps clues can be found

in a mysterious petroglyph found less than 100 miles away

in Northern Sri Lanka called the "Sakwala Chakraya."

The Sakwala Chakraya carving in Sri Lanka

is carved onto this rock face,

and there's actually carved stone seats

on the opposite side for people to sit there and gaze into it.

Now, traditionally, it's like a cosmological map

that the ancient people there would talk about,

but could it be something else?

Because the symbols on it are very unusual.

The name "Sakwala Chakraya" means

"the wheel of the universe."

Locals believe that this is a stargate.

That Buddha used this three times

to go to other planets.

NARRATOR: Could the mysterious carving

found in Sri Lanka indicate

the presence of an ancient stargate, as legend suggests?

And if so, might there be a connection

with Danigala Mountain?

For ancient astronaut theorists,

the answer is a resounding "yes."

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.

There's only one entry left on our countdown,

and you don't want to miss it,

because this one is the busiest UFO hot spot in the world!

We've reached number one on our countdown

of the Top Ten Mysterious Mountains,

and the final location isn't a solitary summit,

but an entire mountain range.

For centuries, strange lights have been seen

flying along these rugged peaks,

which are also marked with mysterious geoglyphs.

Coming in at number one: the Andes.

NARRATOR: Stretching across

more than 4,300 miles of South America,

from Colombia in the north

to the southernmost tip of Argentina,

is the largest mountain range in the world--

the Andes.

Located among these peaks are some

of the most mysterious ancient sites on Earth,

such as Pumapunku in Bolivia

and Sacsayhuamán in Peru.

The Andes also make up much of Chile--

a country that boasts the highest number

of reported UFO sightings in the world.

CHILDRESS: Chile itself is

a long narrow country

along the-the western, you know, strip of the Andes.

The highest mountain in South America is in Chile.

There have been some significant UFO sightings

that the Chilean government has actually admitted to.

NARRATOR: One of the most extraordinary

UFO sightings ever captured on video occurred

just west of the Chilean capital of Santiago

on November 11, 2014.

Infrared footage

taken by the crew of a Chilean Navy helicopter

shows a strange object flying alongside them

at an altitude of 4,500 feet.

TRAVIS TAYLOR: The Chilean helicopter video

is really intriguing and fascinating

because you have this hot vehicle

that looks like the shape of a peanut.

It's traveling across the screen,

and then, for some reason,

it starts releasing some type of material behind it.

Now this is material you do not see

in the visible video imagery.

You only see it in the infrared, which means it's hot.

All of that added together says,

"Well, this isn't a normal plane that we know of."

What is it?

NICK POPE: The helicopter UFO case

is excellent in terms of hard evidence.

Here we have two experienced Navy aviators

seeing a UFO with the naked eye,

and then capturing it

on the forward-looking infrared camera.

Now, this is very important because skeptics sometimes say

that with these infrared cameras,

you get glitches and artifacts.

but when you have something seen with the naked eye, as well,

that gives you your corroboration.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that the object the Chilean Navy officers caught on camera was,

in fact, an alien aircraft?

Ancient astronaut theorists say "yes."

And they suggest

this sighting is particularly significant

because it occurred along a part of the Andes mountain range

where strange activity has been documented for centuries.

A route marked by mysterious geoglyphs

found north of Santiago in the Atacama Desert.

The Atacama Desert is an extremely strange area,

and largely devoid of life.

We have figures that have been carved into the desert.

They're huge, giant figures to be seen from the sky.

NARRATOR: This arid region boasts

more than 5,000 geoglyphs,

the most prominent of which is known simply

as the "Atacama Giant."

CHILDRESS: The Atacama Giant is looking up at the stars.

Seems to be a signal to the sky gods

and those who are flying above the desert.

So when you look at all of these glyphs,

and all of the UFO activity there, is it possible

that the Andes is this flight path for extraterrestrials?

An alien alley?

Why is it that mountains are so often associated

with stories of extraterrestrial contact?

Could they be the hub of hidden alien bases right here on Earth?

As far as I'm concerned,

each location on our list deserves a closer look,

because whether they're in Northern California,

the Egyptian desert,

or even running the entire length of South America,

these immense, majestic mountains

might provide the perfect hiding spots

for extraterrestrials who came to Earth

thousands of years ago,

and are still with us today.

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