GTA 5 Easter Eggs & Secrets: UFOs, Bigfoot, the Ghost and More

Rockstar packed GTA 5 with hidden jokes, mysteries and secrets — some so well hidden that players spent years hunting them. Below are the 15 best GTA 5 easter eggs and secrets in story mode, with exactly where to go and what conditions you need, so you can see them yourself.

Best mystery

Mount Chiliad mural

Ghost time

23:00–00:00, Mount Gordo

Spaceship parts

50 (Franklin)

Letter scraps

50 (any character)

Reward for spaceship parts

Space Docker vehicle

Platform

All versions

1. The Mount Chiliad mystery

Take the cable car up Mount Chiliad, the tallest mountain on the map. Inside the station at the top is a mural showing a UFO, a jetpack, an egg and a strange figure. Fans spent years trying to “solve” it. Rockstar later used the mural’s ideas in GTA Online updates, but in story mode it remains the game’s most famous unsolved mystery. It’s still worth the trip just for the view from the summit.

2. The ghost on Mount Gordo

Go to the top of Mount Gordo on the north-east coast and wait until 23:00. Between 23:00 and midnight, a ghostly woman floats above the rocks near a blood-red word, “Jock”, written on the ground. Getting too close makes her vanish. It’s one of the creepiest secrets in any GTA game. Tip: use a phone or sleep at a safehouse to skip to the right time.

3. Bigfoot in the mission “Predator”

In the story mission Predator, Michael uses a thermal scope from a helicopter to look for targets in the woods. Pan the scope around and one heat signature looks like a huge, ape-like figure — Bigfoot. It disappears after a few seconds, so keep an eye out. A separate Strangers and Freaks storyline involving a “Bigfoot” hunt is available too.

4. The frozen alien in the prologue

During the opening mission in North Yankton, as you head toward the train tracks, take the detour down the right side of the hill. Cross the frozen river under the bridge and look down through the ice: there’s a frozen alien trapped below. Be quick — if you leave the route for too long the mission fails.

5. UFOs after 100% completion

Reach 100% completion and UFO sightings unlock in story mode, most famously over Mount Chiliad during a thunderstorm in the early hours. Players also report UFOs over Fort Zancudo once everything is complete. There is also a crashed UFO on the sea floor at the northern edge of the map that you can visit with a submarine at any time.

6. Spaceship parts (50 to collect)

As Franklin, meet Omega — a hippie in the Sandy Shores area — during the Strangers and Freaks mission “Far Out”. That unlocks 50 spaceship parts scattered across the map. Collect them all and Omega rewards you with the Space Docker, a strange space-buggy vehicle you can keep. The parts glow green and are marked on the map only after you meet Omega, so many players use a guide map to find them.

7. Letter scraps and the Infinity Killer

There are 50 letter scraps hidden around Los Santos and Blaine County. Collecting them all reveals a confession from a serial killer and unlocks a short ending to that mystery. These can be collected by any character.

8. Peyote plants

In the newer versions of the game (PS4 and later, Xbox One and later, PC), hidden peyote plants turn your character into an animal for a short time — from a dog to a seagull to a shark. Finding and trying them all is a fun side hunt.

9. The Los Santos sea monster

Off the eastern edge of the map lies the huge skeleton of a sea beast on the ocean floor. Use a submarine or scuba gear to swim down and see it.

10. “No Country for Old Men” briefcase

In the hills of the Mount Chiliad State Wilderness, north-east of a highway bridge, a random event shows four crashed cars and dead bodies. Head down the hill past them to find a case with $25,000. It’s a nod to a famous crime film and one of the easiest bits of free money in the game.

11. The giant snowman

Inside a cold-storage building in La Mesa, find a narrow open door and shoot away some boxes to reveal a giant snowman. It’s pure Rockstar silliness.

12. The Red Dead book

On the bookshelf in Franklin’s Vinewood Hills house, look for a blue book titled “Red Dead” by J. Marston — a nod to Rockstar’s western series and its hero John Marston.

13. The 1.21 GW sticker

Climb the satellite tower area near Sandy Shores and check the circuit box: a sticker reads “1.21 GW”, a reference to the time-travel power needed in Back to the Future.

14. Callbacks to GTA 4

Characters from GTA 4 pop up — including members of The Lost biker gang — and Lester mentions “some Eastern European guy” who sounds a lot like Niko Bellic. If you played GTA 4, these little nods are a treat.

15. The JB 700 spy car

After the mission “Deep Inside”, the JB 700 — a sports car styled after a famous British spy’s car — can be bought on the in-game Legendary Motorsport website. Its gadgets are removed, but it looks great.

How to find GTA 5 easter eggs faster

• ⏰ Control the time. Sleep at a safehouse to jump forward several hours.
• 🚁 Use a helicopter. Spawn a Buzzard with the GTA 5 cheats (BUZZOFF on PC) to reach mountain tops quickly.
• 🗺️ Check the map legend. Collectibles like spaceship parts only appear after you start the right side mission.
• 💾 Save first. Some secrets sit near cliffs or water, so a quick save prevents lost progress.

More GTA 5 easter eggs and side mysteries

The Epsilon Program

Michael can join the Epsilon Program, a parody of a strange religion. It’s a long chain of Strangers and Freaks missions that asks you to donate money, wear robes, run in the desert and pass “tests”. Stick with it to the end for one of the funniest payoffs in the game. Fans still greet each other with the Epsilon word “Kifflom!”.

The Altruist Cult

Deep in the hills near Mount Chiliad lives a cult called the Altruists. During some random events, hitchhikers can be driven to their camp — which pays cash and eventually unlocks a dramatic encounter. It’s dark, strange and very GTA.

Hidden vehicles and places

Los Santos also hides plenty of smaller treats: the underwater wrecks and treasure you can find with a submarine, the abandoned mine in the countryside, the train tunnels, and the many jokes on billboards, TV shows and radio ads. Turn on a TV in a safehouse and you’ll find full cartoons and shows made just for the game.

GTA 5 collectibles at a glance

More GTA secrets

Want more hidden content? See our list of GTA San Andreas girlfriends and their secret rewards, and if you’re ready for the next game, check what’s confirmed on the GTA 6 map.