The idea of treasure hunting has long captivated our collective imagination, whether it's Long John Silver unearthing buried chests, Robert Langdon piecing together Da Vinci's code or Tintin, the earth's favourite travelling teenager, recovering another priceless antique before hitting puberty. Why should such adventurous quests be limited to the pages of fiction?
Searching for just one of those fabled treasures – from the sapphire-laden shipwreck to a gold-encrusted city – may not result in the discovery of the fortune. But going through the intriguing, lesser-visited landscapes where they reputedly reside makes for its own rich reward.
So, what exactly are you awaiting? Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory.
Flor de la Mar, Straits of Malacca
Undiscovered since: 1511
Estimated worth: lb2 billion
Revered because the holy grail of plunderable shipwrecks, the Portuguese Flor en Mar was returning from the successful siege on the rich Malaysian port of Melaka when it was caught in a storm and sank somewhere from the coast of Sumatra – taking its estimated lb2 billion spoils down with it. Several serious expeditions have taken place to locate what's touted because the world's most valuable sunken treasure, however the wreckage has not been found.
Anyone with about entering a watery windfall should go to the paradisiacal isle of Pulau Weh at Sumatra's northern tip, that provides exceptional diving in little-explored turquoise waters patrolled by sharks and rays. While chances of stumbling upon the wreckage are marginal, travellers are guaranteed a peek at the famous galleon in the sleepy city of Melaka, where a life-size replica stands in the middle of fantastic food stalls and kitsch antique shops.
Nazi gold train, southern Poland
Undiscovered since: 1945
Estimated worth: 300 tonnes of gold, jewels and artwork
In the Polish city of Walbrzych, a nearby legend tells of a concealed WWII-era train laden with stolen loot. It had been asserted as the Red Army advanced on Wroclaw within the latter stages of the war, Nazi generals loaded the nation's most precious spoils onto a train and sent it southwards towards Walbrzych to be hidden within an underground facility being built within the Owl Mountains. The storyline caused a media frenzy in 2022, when two men claimed to possess found the fabled wartime treasure. However, their search ultimately proved unsuccessful.
Today the Owl Mountains are criss-crossed with walking trails threading with the dense countryside. Intriguing tours of the man-made tunnels (built by German prisoners of war) are available, together with entry to Ksiaz Castle in Walbrzych itself – potentially envisioned as Hitler's secret headquarters. Should your subterranean search prove fruitless, a replica from the locomotive happens to be being built, which should at least fool friends into thinking you've uncovered its exalted cargo.
The Fenn treasure, Rocky Mountains
Undiscovered since: 2010
Estimated worth: more than lb1 million
Inspired by the stories of lionhearted treasure hunters he'd read as a boy, art dealer Forrest Fenn reputedly hid a bronze chest containing over lb1 million price of plunder somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. To lead people to the gold, Forrest penned a short poem in a self-published memoir that provided cryptic clues to its location. Since its release this year, thousands of people have gone after Fenn's treasure, but nobody provides evidence to suggest it's been found.
Aside from establishing a sense of whimsy, Fenn concocted his scheme to get people out into the American outdoors, specifically the unblemished wilderness from the Rockies. The long-running hunt has courted some controversy, however, as police concluded two men died within the attempt. In addition to taking all of the usual precautions before heading in to the mountains, would-be treasure hunters should note that Fenn maintains the treasure is located in an accessible, non-perilous location within the hills – after all, he was 80 as he hid it.
Bad King John's crown jewels, Lincolnshire
Undiscovered since: 1216
Estimated worth: unknown; rumours of up to lb50 million
In Lincolnshire, England, locals still recite an age-old tale about Bad King John, who reigned tyrannically over England throughout the start of the 13th century, losing his crown jewels while crossing The Wash, a marshy wetland that forms one of the UK's largest estuaries. It's asserted while fleeing from his enemies, the King's convoy was caught within the rising tide and scattered its costly contents – supposedly including among the King's crowns – across the English countryside.
The story has prompted hundreds of enthusiasts to scour the vast region with metal detectors in tow, though nothing of historical significance has surfaced. Whether or not the marshy region is home to this illustrious bounty, the region is certainly rich in wildlife, with herds of seals sharing the mudflats with migrating birds like grey plovers and oystercatchers. The nearby market town of King's Lynn (where the king began his journey) is another gem, with medieval ruins and atmospheric pubs.
The treasure of the Copper Scroll, the Dead Sea
Undiscovered since: 100AD
Estimated worth: more than lb1 million
Discovered in 1952 in a cave near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, the Copper Scroll is among the Dead Sea Scrolls – a series of ancient Jewish manuscripts – with some significant distinctions: its age (the scroll is newer compared to other documents), the fabric (it's produced from copper, not parchment) and, most intriguingly, its content. Unlike another scrolls, which are literary works, the Copper Scroll lists 63 locations where various items of gold and silver are buried or hidden.
The scroll is currently on display at the Jordan Museum in Amman, where its contents are legible. However, those thinking of going to the Dead Sea with trowel at hand should note the obscurity from the scroll's instructions, for instance: 'Sixty five bars of gold lie on the third terrace within the cave of the old washer's house'. The ambiguity of the archaic descriptions has so far prevented anyone from retrieving a single coin of the historic treasure.
Paititi town of gold, Amazon Rainforest
Undiscovered since: 1600
Estimated worth: lb7 billion
El Dorado, the fabled Inca town of gold, has been captivating the imagination of historians and travellers for hundreds of years. As the legend is regularly related to lavish rituals that took place in Laguna de Guatavita in Colombia, many explorers believe the city itself is the Inca forest fortress of Paititi. The city was initially documented in a letter penned by an Italian missionary in Peru within the 1600s, who reports being told about an advanced society surviving in a large city rich in gold, silver and jewels located in the middle of the tropical jungle; contemporary colonial sources also reference the city.
Travellers seeking to don the Indiana Jones fedora and hit the trails should make a beeline for Cuzco, the mystical former capital from the Inca Empire. Came from here you can organise treks into the Parque Nacional Manu, a well-protected region of pristine rainforest that needs helpful information and versatile departure date to enter. If you don't come across the mythical metropolis, southern Peru is cluttered with – very real – ancient cities which are equally fascinating, from Machu Picchu to Choquequirao.
The golden owl, France
Undiscovered since: 1993
Estimated worth: lb130,000
Prompting the longest-running contest within the armchair treasure hunt genre (whereby people hide valuable components of public places and publish riddles to guide fellow enthusiasts into it), the golden owl has evaded discovery for over two decades. After allegedly burying a diamond-encrusted owl statuette somewhere in France, Paul Hauser published On The Trail From the Golden Owl, a 22-page book containing 11 cryptic riddles that, once correctly solved and rearranged, provide the coordinates of the elusive avian treasure.
Though the location of the owl has not been confirmed (Hauser died in '09, taking the location with him) good places to begin searching would be within the maze of medieval streets at the centre of Bourges – reputedly the starting place from the game – or the picturesque village of Roncesvalles close to the Spanish border, which many hunters believe to become referenced as the means to fix one of the book's 11 riddles.
