Island Publications 'revolutionised' the way tourists and residents toured the islands in 2010 with their Malta Treasure Hunts.

Today, the Mosta-based travel industry publisher has just produced the second edition of Malta Treasure Hunts.

Devised and written by Terence Mirabelli, this second edition of Malta Treasure Hunts is a 64-page booklet that contains a series of themed hunts that will take tourists and residents alike on a self-guided voyage of discovery around the Maltese islands.

For instance, Temples trail is a 65-kilomtere 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 let one discover the Three Villages - Lija, Balzan and Attard – Victoria, Valletta, Mdina, Birgu as well as the popular resort of Bugibba and Qawra (dubbed 'Bugiwra').

For ‘techies’ Sliema – smart therapy is a pedestrian hunt that requires a smartphone. Clues come as QR codes and geographic coordinates

The ‘Zejxlokk’ hunt requires public transport and takes one on a discovery tour of historic Zejtun 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, otherwise one 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", says Terence Mirabelli - managing director of Island Publications and originator of the hunts.

"The booklet is not intended solely for tourists, but also for residents of the islands. And hunts can be enjoyed singly, with friends, as a family or as a team-building exercise at whatever time of year.

“Moreover, Malta Treasure Hunts is the perfect tool for language students as they can be used as an exercise in English comprehension” Mirabelli adds.

"Producing Malta Treasure Hunts has been so much fun and educational, that I'm already planning a third edition".

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 - as a pdf file - from www.maltatreasurehunts.com from August.