A little boy named Andrés Ruzo often heard from his grandfather the legend of the river that literally "boiled" its enemies in its water. He dreamed of discovering this river.

Growing older, he became a geologist, took a local shaman as a guide, and discovered the river in 2011. The temperature of the water was around 86°C (186°F). The miracle of its existence is that the river is 700 km from the closest volcano.