Mystery or puzzle caches are exactly that – a mystery. An enigma, if you will.

In Niedersachen, Enigma #1 (GC448A) ranks high among mystery caches in Germany. The cache is more than 10 years old, and despite all advances in technology, still remains a true difficulty 5, terrain 3 geocache. Even its final coordinates are a mystery.

The cache became so famous that a geocacher placed the “holy grail of geocaching” in the cache container to symbolize its status and influence on the geocaching community.

The cache page includes a link to a list of 10 difficult questions (in German). The answers are essential to understanding and deciphering three detailed maps. The treasure-seeking adventure is filled with hikes, some are steep at times. It is comprised of outdoor and indoor paths as well as detours as you interpret the maps and navigate with GPS.

Impressed with the mystery cache, Chris, a.k.a. famerlor_dragon nominated this recent find. He says, “Every German geocacher wants to go here at one time. It was truly a rewarding experience doing the cache myself.”

Chris continues to explain, “As you draw closer to the cache, hoping that your last coordinates are good, sweat dripping from your forehead and then finally you see the waymark from your last treasure map and you know you are right and the cache is within reach. Opening the big box (it has recently been replaced – I am sure new pictures will be there within a very few weeks) and holding the grail is a very rewarding experience. One of a kind.”

Over 1,500 geocachers who logged a smiley agree with Chris. The mystery cache has earned 763 Favorite Points, and geocachers are not holding back on their extensive logs describing their exhilarating experiences.

Another geocacher logged this find saying, “We spent a lot of time preparing. A lot. It took a few months before we felt confident enough to tackle this four-stage mystery cache. Today it was time. I read two days ago that the box is gone and that the owner had already placed a new box on the ground. The experience is exhilarating. We found ourselves getting mad and we found ourselves laughing. Most of all, we found the beauty in this game through this cache. Thanks Vinnie & nici for an extraordinary experience!”

Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.