[attach id=265072 size="medium"]The front cover of Malta Treasure Hunts – redefining the way to tour Malta.[/attach]
Tourists and residents can now embark on a self-guided voyage of discovery around the Maltese islands thanks to the second edition of Island Publications’ Malta Treasure Hunts, a 64-page booklet devised and written by Terence Mirabelli.
This booklet contains a series of themed hunts that will take hunters all across the islands. For instance, Temples trail is a 65-kilometre-long treasure hunt that takes in ancient temples and the more noteworthy churches.
Gardens of Malta, as its name suggests, leads hunters on a tour of the most notable – and some little known – gardens on the island. Gozitan Odyssey is an exciting tour of Gozo. These hunts can be undertaken by car or bicycle.
Other shorter pedestrian hunts allow for the discovery of the Three Villages – Lija, Balzan and Attard – Victoria, Valletta, Mdina, Vittoriosa as well as the popular resort of Buġibba and Qawra (dubbed ‘Buġiwra’).
For ‘techies’ Sliema – Smart Therapy is a pedestrian hunt that requires a smartphone. Clues come as QR codes and geographic coordinates.
The Żejxlokk hunt requires public transport and takes one on a discovery tour of historic Żejtun and the quaint fishing village of Marsaxlokk.
All treasure hunts are colour-coded, denoting levels of difficulty. Green hunts are easy, yellow ones are slightly harder and red ones require (a bit of) thinking and deduction.
Each hunt has a set of questions that sometimes lead to a landmark or require an answer to find a hidden password.
Hunts are either circular or linear, meaning they either end where they start or not.
A map is recommended for car and cycle hunts, but is not necessary for the pedestrian treasure hunts.
No treasure hunt requires the payment of any entrance fees. Some hunts do go past sites, museums and landmarks that may require payment to visit, but entering these sites is at the discretion of the hunter.
“Malta Treasure Hunts is the fun way to discover and tour the islands and see what they have to offer,” said Mirabelli.
“The booklet is not intended solely for tourists, but also for residents. Hunts can be enjoyed singly, with friends, as a family or as a team-building exercise at whatever time of year.”
Malta Treasure Hunts is available from Agenda bookshops and from leading book retailers and stationers in tourist resorts at €9. It will also be available for download from August.
www.maltatreasurehunts.com