This is the short, but sad, tale of a knight who spent a long time looking for Eldorado. He looked everywhere for it, apparently, but never found it. He got older and older, but still was unable to find anything in the world that even resembled Eldorado. One day, towards the end of his life, he met a "pilgrim shadow" (15) and asked him where Eldorado could possibly be. The poem concludes with some directions. The shadow told him that, if he wanted to find Eldorado, he should "boldly ride" (22) over some mountains and "Down the Valley of the Shadow" (21).