VK 16 Het verloren Kabouterdorp

The VK 16 Het verloren Kabouterdorp geocache (GC6EC86) is the bonus final of a fifteen-cache route laid out by Didgedude in Belgian Limburg in March 2016. It is the most favorited mystery cache in the world.

The loop runs about seven kilometres, on foot or by mountain bike, and leads from cottage to cottage through a lost village of gnomes. Each cache holds a field puzzle and a fragment of information for the bonus — except the sixth, which requires climbing. The tasks are cut out for children without being dull for adults, and the owner points out that the circuit can also be walked as a simple family stroll, ignoring the puzzles.

The fame of this epic conclusion rests on Didgedude's engineering and craftsmanship. VK 16 is not an ordinary container of standard size but an imposing wooden mechanism, entirely carved by hand.

The quality of the work has had a direct impact on local tourism in Belgian Limburg. The Oudsbergen forest has become a place of pilgrimage for thousands of geocachers from the Netherlands, Germany and France, turning a simple woodland walk into a benchmark for story-driven routes with an extremely high level of finish.