Cerro El Cono is a solitary, pyramidal hill in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest whose origins remain mysterious and that holds spiritual significance for Indigenous people.

Cerro El Cono is isolated from a nearby mountain range and has an unusual shape. (Image credit: Newscom/Alamy)
Cerro El Cono is a 1,310-foot-tall (400 meters), pyramid-like formation in the Amazon rainforest. It rises steeply from the relatively flat jungle landscape of eastern Peru, making it visible from as far west as the Andes — 250 miles (400 kilometers) away — on a clear day.
The formation, whose name translates to “cone hill,” is located in a mountainous region on the border between Peru and Brazil known as the Sierra del Divisor. The mountains are visible in the background of most pH๏τographs of Cerro El Cono, but the formation is isolated from the other peaks and has an unusual pyramidal shape, making it stand out from the rest of the mountain range.
The origins of the strange peak have remained mysterious due to its remote location. While some sources suggest that the cone could be an extinct volcano, others say it might simply be an unusual rock formation.
Indigenous people have another explanation for the bizarre mountain: According to the Peruvian newspaper La República, Cerro El Cono is a spiritual enтιтy for local tribes and groups, some of which revere the peak as an “Andean Apu” — a sacred mountain god or spirit. In the mythologies of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, Apus emerged from Earth to guide and protect the people living close by.
A fourth explanation — one for which there is no evidence — is that Cerro El Cono sits on the ruins of a pyramid built by ancient Indigenous tribes, according to La República.
Cerro El Cono stands adjacent to the Ucayali River, which is a major tributary of the Amazon River. The surrounding jungle is a biodiversity H๏τspot and home to several vulnerable species, including giant armadillos (Priodontes maximus), jaguars (Panthera onca) and various types of monkeys, according to The Guardian. The peak itself is forested and forms part of a large area that has been considered a biodiversity conservation priority since the 1990s.