The Great Condor continues its first flight towards the west and the setting sun . Our friends are wondering about the destination of the big bird. On the ground, Spanish soldiers are looting an Inca village and notice the Great Condor that they take for a monster . Frightened, one of them orders to warn Governor Pizarro of this apparition.
The Condor goes down and Tao notices that he follows strange lines drawn on the ground . When landing, he uses his feet as a landing gear . Once immobilized, the cockpit opens. Mendoza and the children decide to explore the surroundings. Sancho and Pedro, meanwhile, want to stay near the Great Condor to ... keep an eye on it. They realize that the lines seen before have been drawn using thousands of stones . Tao and Mendoza note that the Great Condor landed at sunset and that its power certainly comes from the sun, like Solaris.
Sancho and Pedro are suddenly shouting. They say that a snake appeared in the Great Condor's cockpit . Sancho confesses that they tried to steal the emblem of the sun . Esteban tries to lift it and the dashboard lights up. The snake, which is actually a lever, disappears and reappears when Tao replaces the medallion . They understand then that this lever is used to pilot the Great Condor and to direct it in the air, but they must wait for the sunrise . Mendoza then decides to spend the night near the Condor and to leave at daybreak.
For its part, a messenger comes to inform Pizarro of the strange appearance that occurred during the day : a huge flying golden condor. The governor laughs at the soldier until he mentions the presence of children on board. Pizarro's attitude changes suddenly, understanding that it was Esteban, Zia and Tao, and he orders to go to the Nazca plateau.
Dawn rises and a troop of soldiers wakes up our friends . Mendoza orders to go back in the Condor but the Spaniards stop them. Resigned to surrender, all approach Spanish soldiers but Mendoza has a plan. The reunion is rather tense . Pizarro orders Esteban to show him how the Great Condor flies. Mendoza encourages the boy and he climbs on the bird.
Meanwhile, Mendoza instructs the others to run with their eyes closed in the direction of the Condor when he takes off. The sun appears on the Nazca plateau and Esteban starts the Great Condor. The bird comes to life producing a bright light that surprises and dazzles Spanish soldiers. Mendoza, Zia, Tao, Sancho and Pedro all run together to the Great Condor and climb quickly on board. The bird takes off but Mendoza has no time to board. The sailor valiantly fights the soldiers who try to hold him back. However, he manages to jump and grab the hand of Pedro and embarks on board with the others.
On the ground, the governor is enraged to have once again let the children escape him and swears he will succeed in finding them by all means , and the Cities of Gold too. Now on board the Great Condor, Esteban and his friends fly over the Andean peaks ...