We invite you to a new, different, fun way of getting to know the Vera campus, which is already available on the Gandia campus and will soon be available on the Alcoy campus.
With only two years underway, the UPV Geocaching School is growing steadily. After its launch in 2022 on the Vera campus (in Valencia), in March of this year, it was the turn of the Gandia campus. Soon, the Alcoy campus will also join them, where this initiative is expected to start operating in 2025.
The project, promoted by two staff members, Rafael Ruiz and Ricardo Pérez, with the support of the UPV Communication Department, offers a different and fun way of getting to know the UPV Campus through routes with geolocation activities and with the help of the GPS of the mobile phone to discover the hidden “treasures” (geocaches). To find them, you only need a mobile phone and access the Geocaching School website (https://geocaching.upv.es/portada/cas/index.html) of the corresponding campus: Vera (Valencia) o Gandia.
Geocaching is a geolocation-based activity in which players propose an experience. And they do so by hiding a container called a ‘cache’ or ‘geocache’ in technical jargon. Basically, it consists of hiding an object (cache), usually in a beautiful place of historical, cultural or other importance and publishing its coordinates so that other players can find it and sign in their log book to certify the find and share their experience on the website.
How to get your passport
The activity begins after locating a mailbox in the Ágora and collecting the passport that must be stamped at each stage (simulating official caches) hidden around the Vera campus. On the Gandia campus, you will receive your passport in the library. During this tour, the players learn something new and increase their geocaching knowledge while getting to know the campus.
Currently, there are 11 official caches spread across the Vera campus, and the intention is to incorporate more of a greater quality and size. The same will be done on the Gandía campus, where there are currently 3 official caches. In this case, the CRAI Library is the starting and ending point of the geocaching route.
Free activity for all ages
The routes designed at both the Vera (Valencia) and Gandia campuses last approximately one to two hours. However, everything depends on the player’s ability. They are designed for people who have never carried out this type of search, with increasing difficulty through different stages, as explained by the project’s creators.
To date, more than a hundred people have enjoyed this experience and have already obtained their passports from the UPV Geocaching School. In the case of Gandia, where it has recently been launched, almost all of the visits are from foreign visitors from nearby towns. And with a view to 2025, the Alcoy campus is also expected to start operating.
It is also a free activity that is accessible to anyone who wants to visit the university campus and is open to all members of the family. It is a family-friendly activity, there is no age limit to participate, and fun is guaranteed because there are different types of geocaches that offer different experiences,’ explains Rafa Ruiz.
First campus fully open to Geocaching
The aim of the UPV Geocaching School is to make the game known in an entertaining way so that people are encouraged to create an official account and practice it, looking for some of the caches already hidden within the campus.
In fact, every year, the large community of Geocaching in Valencia awards a prize by popular vote to the best-valued caches by the people who search for them, giving them the badge “Cache de l’any”. The UPV has three caches, awarded in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
To this end, the UPV Geocaching School website provides information through talks and workshops to the entire university community and society in general with a clear objective: to guarantee quality Geocaching practice and for individuals or families visiting the UPV to get to know it in a fun and different way.
This activity is also part of a more ambitious project that the Universitat Politècnica de València is developing to make geocaching known within and outside the university and thus become a national benchmark.