El Dorado (, ;
Spanish for "the golden one"), originally
El Hombre Dorado (the golden man),
El Indio Dorado (the golden
Indian), or
El Rey Dorado (the golden king), is the term used by Europeans to describe a
mythical tribal chief of the
Muisca native people of
Colombia, who, as an initiation rite, covered himself with
gold dust and submerged in
Lake Guatavita. The legends surrounding El Dorado changed over time, as it went from being a city, to a kingdom, and then finally an empire.