best episodes of Expedition Unknown poster

The adventures of Josh Gates as he investigates unsolved iconic stories across the globe.

15 Seasons
149 Episodes
Returning Series
Documentary Reality
Cast & Characters
episode image The Secret Solved
9.1/10 (91 votes)

#1 The Secret Solved

S8:E13

Josh Gates cuts another expedition short to return to his hometown of Boston and pursue the strongest lead in decades for a 40 year old treasure hunt dubbed: The Secret. Following the amazing solve of a Boston puzzle maker could lead him to the very prize he has sought himself for years.

episode image Egypt's City of the Dead
8.5/10 (42 votes)

#2 Egypt's City of the Dead

S11:E9

Investigating the mysterious collapse of Egypt's old kingdom, Josh completes his Saqqara necropolis dig. Opening several tombs, Josh finds treasure, clues and haunting remains. Testing results may prove they’ve discovered Egypt’s oldest royal mummy.

episode image Riches of Spain's Pirate King
8.2/10 (4154 votes)

#3 Riches of Spain's Pirate King

S13:E4

Hot on the trail of a massive stolen fortune, Josh chases the treasure of the infamous Spanish pirate Amaro Pargo. An exhaustive hunt of Pargo's stomping grounds in the Canary Islands leads Josh beneath an active volcano to dive for the pirate's hoard.

episode image Mayan Apocalypse
8.1/10 (102 votes)

#4 Mayan Apocalypse

S1:E9

While investigating the fall of the remarkable Mayan Empire, Josh unearths human skulls and ancient Mayan sacrificial altars in the caverns underneath the jungles and ruins of Mexico.

episode image Journey to the Ice Age
8.1/10 (67 votes)

#5 Journey to the Ice Age

S3:E6

Josh retrieves bone samples from the massive Batagay crater and gets DNA results to find out if the woolly mammoth will walk the earth again.

episode image Secrets of the Nazca
8.0/10 (96 votes)

#6 Secrets of the Nazca

S1:E10

Josh travels to Peru to investigate the giant geoglyphs drawn into the earth by the ancient Nazca tribes and while studying newly found lines joining a Nazca psychadelic ritual, Josh discovers the meaning behind the mysterious tracings.

episode image Lost Mexican City
8.0/10 (70 votes)

#7 Lost Mexican City

S2:E16

Josh searches for the mysterious civilization of Teotihuacan, a lost empire left behind in Mexico with soaring pyramids dedicated to the gods, imposing temples, and a treasure trove of cryptic art. He seeks answers on who these indigenous people were, finds out their secrets that have been buried for 2,000 years, and what they left behind.

episode image Lost City of El Mirador
8.0/10 (64 votes)

#8 Lost City of El Mirador

S5:E2

Josh concludes his investigation into the mysterious Maya city of El Mirador, from the possible burial of the elusive Snake Kings to uncovering the secrets behind the fall of one of history's greatest ancient cities.

episode image Cracking the Secret
8.0/10 (60 votes)

#9 Cracking the Secret

S8:E10

Josh Gates is on a nation-wide treasure hunt to solve a mystery no one has cracked for 40 years: The Secret. Josh travels coast-to-coast and back in time using cutting edge augmented reality and tapping into a network of obsessed Secret detectives.

episode image Finding Italy's Lost Empire
8.0/10 (35 votes)

#10 Finding Italy's Lost Empire

S11:E14

Searching a city of the dead, Josh unearths artifacts from the mysterious Etruscans who ruled central Italy before being conquered by the Roman Empire. A dig site unearths clues that reveal the Etruscans may have inspired Rome's greatest achievements.

episode image Hitler's Atomic Secrets
7.9/10 (61 votes)

#11 Hitler's Atomic Secrets

S2:E19

The search for Nazi secrets and their stolen gold continues in the darkest corners of history; both underground and underwater. This time, Josh dives for relics of Nazi foreign minister Joachim Von Ribbontrop who dumped his family's entire fortune into the dark and deep waters of Lake Fuschlsee in the Austrian Alps. In order to learn if the Nazis where building an atomic bomb, he starts his quest for answers in Hitler's hometown of Linz. Then, he stops at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp memorial in Sankt Georgen an der Gusen to pay his respects to the hundreds of thousands who perished here. He also explores 25 miles of tunnel under the Bergkristall complex, the largest secret underground facility ever built. It was designed by SS General Hans Kammler to oversee the Nazis nuclear project.

episode image World's 8th Wonder
7.8/10 (113 votes)

#12 World's 8th Wonder

S1:E3

Josh is on the trail of Russia’s missing Amber Panels, priceless pieces of art stolen by the Nazis during WWII. After starting in St. Petersburg, Russia, and getting exposed to the local culture, Josh makes a brief pit stop in Berlin to marvel at the city’s amazing turnaround since the end of the Cold War.

episode image Genghis Khan's Tomb
7.8/10 (90 votes)

#13 Genghis Khan's Tomb

S2:E2

Josh Gates journeys into the heart of Mongolia in search of the fabled lost tomb of Genghis Khan.

episode image Vikings in America
7.8/10 (73 votes)

#14 Vikings in America

S4:E2

Josh traces the Vikings' westward expansion from the volcanic landscape of Iceland to a mysterious settlement in Greenland; he aims to find out if the Vikings landed in the United States more than 500 years before any other Europeans.

episode image Hunt for Spain's King Arthur
7.8/10 (34 votes)

#15 Hunt for Spain's King Arthur

S12:E6

Plunging hundreds of feet below ground, Josh explores Spain's treacherous La Garma cave system and finds a floor littered with human remains more than 1,000 years old; Josh's deep dive is a quest for scientific proof of Spain's legendary King Pelayo.

episode image Amelia Earhart
7.7/10 (137 votes)

#16 Amelia Earhart

S1:E1

In the 2-hour season premiere of Expedition Unknown, adventurer Josh Gates hunts down new evidence on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. He treks to uncharted tribal lands in Papua New Guinea and ends his journey in Fiji, hoping to uncover the pilot’s remains.

episode image Temple of Doom
7.7/10 (132 votes)

#17 Temple of Doom

S1:E2

Josh travels to the remote and land-mine-riddled jungles of Cambodia to investigate the lost city of the Khmer Empire and search for a mystical relic that gave its god king the power to incinerate his enemies more than 1,000 years ago.

episode image Viking Sunstone
7.7/10 (112 votes)

#18 Viking Sunstone

S1:E6

Josh travels to England and Norway to unlock the secrets of the Viking sunstone, a mystic crystal the Vikings used to conquer the seas. Before testing it, he explores a crypt in a Nordic church and descends 1,000 feet into a deserted mine.

episode image Hunting Vampires
7.7/10 (90 votes)

#19 Hunting Vampires

S2:E4

Gates digs up the truth behind vampire legends. His travels start at Curtea Veche in Romania, where he learns about Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration behind Dracula. Then off to Marotinu de Sus, a Romanian village, where six men desecrated a fresh grave believing it to be a "strigoi". He ends in Perperikon, Bulgaria to examine a supposed vampire grave.

episode image The Hunt for the Golden Owl
7.7/10 (57 votes)

#20 The Hunt for the Golden Owl

S7:E9

Josh Gates stalks prey that has eluded capture for 25 years, the Golden Owl. A book of riddles gives cryptic clues to where the Owl statuette, worth half a million dollars, is hidden. Josh joins treasure hunters using new leads to chase the fortune.

episode image Uncovering the Golden City
7.7/10 (45 votes)

#21 Uncovering the Golden City

S10:E5

The hunt for El Dorado is Josh's most grueling journey ever and one of the crew tumbles into a raging river. When cutting-edge aerial scans reveal a lost city, they push into the jungle to uncover El Dorado and the gold that comes with it.

episode image Nazi Gold Train
7.6/10 (65 votes)

#22 Nazi Gold Train

S2:E18

Josh exposes Nazi secrets as he searches for the lost fortune of war criminal Adolf Hitler's billions in gold, art and relics stolen on his orders by the Nazis to suport his doomsday weapon during World War II. They also built networks of hidden tunnels and bunkers. Today, archaeologists use modern technology to recover treasure and excavate the underground legacy of the Third Reich. On his journey, Josh joins them, first finding answers in Germany, identifying gold in a Nazi train hidden inside a mountain in Poland. Then, in Austria, he explores a subterranean facility to a top secret lab to build a war machine.

episode image Search For The Sultan's Heart
7.6/10 (52 votes)

#23 Search For The Sultan's Heart

S8:E12

Four years after Josh Gates went on a journey to find the lost heart of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, he travels to the newly rediscovered town of Turbek for some shocking new revelations about the case.

episode image Ransom in the Sky
7.6/10 (47 votes)

#24 Ransom in the Sky

S10:E3

With brand-new evidence Josh looks to finally crack the DB Cooper case, America's only unsolved skyjacking. A deathbed confession and cutting-edge forensics have Josh hot on the trail of the $200,000 ransom that's never been recovered.

episode image Buried Secrets of Hitler
7.6/10 (45 votes)

#25 Buried Secrets of Hitler

S11:E1

With word of an urgent lead, Josh jets to Poland to join in the opening of a secret Nazi tunnel system dug into a dormant volcano. Josh helps a local team tear away a stone wall built by the Germans in the last days of World War II.

episode image Captain Morgan's Lost Gold
7.5/10 (106 votes)

#26 Captain Morgan's Lost Gold

S1:E7

Josh joins archaeologists in Panama as they search for the Satisfaction, the sunken flagship of legendary pirate Captain Henry Morgan. But first he must understand the man behind the rum who attacked Panama City looking for treasure. He also searches one of many shipwrecks near Fort San Lorenzo at the reef, where Morgan's ship ran aground.

episode image Japan's Atlantis
7.5/10 (81 votes)

#27 Japan's Atlantis

S2:E7

Gates goes to the ruins of Yonaguni Island, the westernmost Japanese island on the East China Sea, to determine whether the undersea structures are geologic or man-made. The Yonaguni Monument discoverer, Kihachiro Aratake, dives with Josh, showing him the undersea area with cut steps leading up to a level platform. Josh takes a rock sample for geologic analysis. In Osaka, archaeologist Michio Maezano shows Josh an ancient rock tomb. It proves that ancient people could have carved the Yonaguni structures, then an earthquake could have sunk them.

episode image Columbus: Legend or Liar?
7.5/10 (54 votes)

#28 Columbus: Legend or Liar?

S2:E13

Josh embarks on a journey around the world to uncover mysteries about Christopher Columbus. First, Josh looks for Columbus' legendary ship, the Santa Maria, and later ventures to find the real remains of the explorer.

episode image Plummer's Gold
7.5/10 (68 votes)

#29 Plummer's Gold

S3:E1

Josh Gates sets off for gold rush country to search for the lost fortune of a notorious Montana sheriff. During his investigation, Josh explores hidden cave systems and blows open a mine that's been sealed for over a century.

episode image England's Vanished Crown Jewels
7.5/10 (62 votes)

#30 England's Vanished Crown Jewels

S3:E13

Gates tries to find the lost treasure of King John. He explores the marshlands of England to find the king's crown jewels, which were swept away in a freak tidal surge in the 13th century.

episode image Hunt for the Ruby Slippers
7.5/10 (69 votes)

#31 Hunt for the Ruby Slippers

S5:E6

Josh investigates the theft of one of the most iconic pieces of Hollywood memorabilia of all time — the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 classic movie, The Wizard of Oz.

episode image Deciphering the Last Nazi Code
7.5/10 (53 votes)

#32 Deciphering the Last Nazi Code

S7:E2

Josh Gates ventures into the former Third Reich in search of an elusive Nazi fortune hidden with a code allegedly created by Hitler's private secretary, and embedded into a piece of sheet music.

episode image The Quest for King Arthur
7.4/10 (79 votes)

#33 The Quest for King Arthur

S2:E1

In the Season 2 premiere, Josh scours the United Kingdom to find the real-life King Arthur.

episode image The Real Robin Hood
7.4/10 (81 votes)

#34 The Real Robin Hood

S2:E5

Josh travels the English countryside on a mission to learn if Robin Hood was a real man and if he's the hero from the legends or a murderous outlaw. He dives into 800 years of ballads and stories at London's British Library, explores tunnels and caves beneath Nottingham, and joins historians in search of Hood's grave, first in Kirklees Priory, Yorkshire, and lastly at a churchyard in Loxley, where researchers believe an outlaw named Roger Godberd who was the real Robin Hood is buried.

episode image The Lost Tomb of Attila the Hun
7.4/10 (76 votes)

#35 The Lost Tomb of Attila the Hun

S3:E2

Josh Gates travels to Hungary to join three separate archeological teams looking for the lost tomb of Attila the Hun. Legends and ancient texts lead the search from the bottom of the Danube to the mountain forests just outside of Budapest.

episode image Lasseter's Gold
7.4/10 (63 votes)

#36 Lasseter's Gold

S3:E8

Josh Gates sets off deep into the Australian Outback, following the footsteps of legendary explorer Harold Lasseter, who claims to have found a vast field of gold.

episode image Africa's Cursed Lake of Gold
7.4/10 (59 votes)

#37 Africa's Cursed Lake of Gold

S3:E11

Josh Gates journeys to the wilds of Namibia to embark on a treacherously deep dive in Lake Otjikoto for a long lost World War I treasure.

episode image The Quest for El Dorado
7.4/10 (53 votes)

#38 The Quest for El Dorado

S10:E4

Josh Gates treks deep into Colombia's deadly jungle to unravel the El Dorado myth and retrace the steps of Spanish conquistadors. Josh meets with the tribe who inspired the legend of a city of gold and unearths their treasure in a surprising location.

episode image Mystery of the Flooded Pyramid
7.4/10 (16 votes)

#39 Mystery of the Flooded Pyramid

S12:E2

The conclusion to Josh Gates' dive into a Kush king's flooded pyramid tomb; Josh scales a mountain to learn how the Kingdom of Kush conquered Egypt and braves the murky waters for one more dive to find the king's mummified remains.

episode image Code to Gold
7.3/10 (96 votes)

#40 Code to Gold

S1:E8

Josh scours the Virginia backcountry in search of the legendary Thomas Beale treasure, which would be worth millions today. Since encrypted codes are hiding its whereabouts, Josh takes a detour to Philadelphia to uncover missing pieces of the puzzle.

Cast & Chracters

character image Self - Host

Self - Host

Actor: Josh Gates

The highest rated episode of Expedition Unknown is "The Secret Solved" (S8E13) with a rating of 9.10.

This episode received 91 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Chasing Everglades" (S11E10) with a rating of 6.50.

This episode received 39 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Mayan Apocalypse" (S1E9) with a rating of 8.10.

This episode received 102 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Code to Gold" (S1E8) with a rating of 7.30.

This episode received 96 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Lost Mexican City" (S2E16) with a rating of 8.00.

This episode received 70 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Kalahari Desert's Lost City" (S2E11) with a rating of 7.20.

This episode received 69 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Journey to the Ice Age" (S3E6) with a rating of 8.10.

This episode received 67 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Lost Tomb of Attila the Hun" (S3E2) with a rating of 7.40.

This episode received 76 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Vikings in America" (S4E2) with a rating of 7.80.

This episode received 73 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Vikings in America" (S4E2) with a rating of 7.80.

This episode received 73 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Lost City of El Mirador" (S5E2) with a rating of 8.00.

This episode received 64 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Mahogany Ship" (S5E5) with a rating of 7.10.

This episode received 55 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Hunt for the Golden Owl" (S7E9) with a rating of 7.70.

This episode received 57 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Atlantis of the Andes" (S7E4) with a rating of 6.80.

This episode received 70 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Secret Solved" (S8E13) with a rating of 9.10.

This episode received 91 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Search For The Sultan's Heart" (S8E12) with a rating of 7.60.

This episode received 52 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Hunt for Our Ancient Ancestors" (S9E3) with a rating of 6.80.

This episode received 55 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Hunt for Our Ancient Ancestors" (S9E3) with a rating of 6.80.

This episode received 55 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Uncovering the Golden City" (S10E5) with a rating of 7.70.

This episode received 45 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Lost Avenger" (S10E2) with a rating of 7.00.

This episode received 44 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Egypt's City of the Dead" (S11E9) with a rating of 8.50.

This episode received 42 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Chasing Everglades" (S11E10) with a rating of 6.50.

This episode received 39 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Hunt for Spain's King Arthur" (S12E6) with a rating of 7.80.

This episode received 34 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Mystery of the Flooded Pyramid" (S12E2) with a rating of 7.40.

This episode received 16 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Riches of Spain's Pirate King" (S13E4) with a rating of 8.20.

This episode received 4,154 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Riches of Spain's Pirate King" (S13E4) with a rating of 8.20.

This episode received 4,154 votes.

Similar Shows You Might Like