History Main / HiddenElfVillage

* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'': Galt's Gulch. Initially, it's just a retreat from the awful proletariat, becoming this in time.

** ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' features Rapture, a secret underwater city [[DeconstructedTrope inspired by]] [[Literature/AtlasShrugged Galt's Gulch.]] It's also a permutation of the RealLife concept of Seasteading, which is this trope mixed with CityOfCanals.

* Tenchi's hometown in ''Anime/TenchiMuyoRyoOhki'' turns out to be this, as an enclave of a long-lived branch family of HumanAliens who happen to be part of the galaxy's royal family(which is one of the reasons nobody raises any noise despite the regularity Mihoshi crashes her ship into the lake). It's secluded on Earth due to upholding TheMasquerade, but also from the galactic empire at large because due to Tenchi's ChickMagnet-ness, it also happens to be the single greatest concentration of power in the ''universe''.

* This is a running theme in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series, due to being set in [[CrapsackWorld a hostile wasteland]].

* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' features Rapture, a secret underwater city [[DeconstructedTrope inspired by]] [[Literature/AtlasShrugged Galt's Gulch.]]
** It's also a permutation of the RealLife concept of Seasteading, which is this trope mixed with CityOfCanals.
** ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' has an [[AvertedTrope aversion]]. The flying city of Columbia was built as a demonstration of American ingenuity, so the designers ''wanted'' to show it off, and everyone knows about it. Which is then [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in that the mysterious stranger's actions seem to imply that getting there is a pain. It makes sense, since not only does the game takes place before the proliferation of airplanes and the invention of radar, but while everyone knows that Columbia exists, no one knows where it went. It's then played straight later because nobody knows about it even in TheEighties when those things ''are'' commonplace.

* The original Vault 13 in ''VideoGame/Fallout1'' was a clear-cut one, only getting in touch with the "savage" outside world when their own continued existence depended on it.

*** By the time of the game Vault 13 has become a home for friendly, intelligent deathclaws, and a few humans who have settled in with them.
*** This is a running theme in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series generally, since Vault 101 in VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}} also avoids any contact at all with the outside.
*** Which [[spoiler: becomes quite a problem about halfway through the game]].

** Fallout is full of cloistered communities, more or less isolated by distance and lack of infrastructure, and [[ProperlyParanoid naturally wary of outsiders]]. Little Lamplight is one of the most hidden, and Bigtown by contrast suffers for its openness.

** Subverted with the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] hero Rock Man. In his original stories, he was portrayed as the king of a subterranean realm who periodically came to the surface to fight evil. The much more recent miniseries ''Comicbook/TheTwelve'' revealed that this was likely a delusion he retreated to after his hometown was destroyed by coal barons in response to his attempts to unionize. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane Possibly.]]

** ''TableTopGame/GrimHollow'': The Charneualt Kingdom qualifies, despite being an elf ''and'' human (and naturally, half-elf) kingdom. The entire region is separated from the rest of Etharis by natural barriers, and entry is guarded by powerful nature spirits; getting inside requires getting past them, through an ever-shifting forest called the Grove Maze. It's also the only place in Etharis where humans and elves co-exist peacefully, whereas the rest of the continent was carved up by various human warlords, displacing or wiping out the non-human inhabitants. It ''was'' a standard Hidden Elf Kingdom, but the nature spirits actually allowed passage for the few human tribes they found worthy, and they were eventually able to forge a peaceful co-existence with the current inhabitants. Compared to the DarkFantasy nature of the ''rest'' of the setting, it's practically a paradise and a haven for elven and half-elven refugess.

** A plot-important village is the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Elibe games']] village of {{Arcadia}}, located in an obscure part of the Nabata Desert. It's a village where humans and dragons live in harmony, much like they did before the Scouring.

** Ayuthay initially appears to be this in ''Dark Dawn'', but it's justified: they're under a siege at the time.

* ''Literature/IslandsEnd'' has the En-ge, an indigenous tribe that lives on one of the Andaman Islanders. They used to live on a larger island with some other tribes, until an offshoot of the tribe that included Uido's grandparents moved to an uninhabited island to escape modern influence. They have been living in almost total isolation ever since. Uido eventually learns that the main branch of the En-ge died out, leaving her people the only ones left. When strangers visit the island, the En-ge debate whether to open up communication with the outside world or not.

* ''Hari-Lek'' by "Ganpat". Harry Lake and his pals find a remote valley populated by the Christianised descendants of one of Alexander the Great's legions, somewhere in Central Asia. This was set shortly after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI and written in 1925 -- probably the last time when such a thing would have been just about possible in real life.

** The floating island of the Bird People, home to both Golden Age hero Red Raven and the giant two-headed [[Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk enemy]] Bi-Beast.

%%* The North Pole village in ''Film/SantaBaby''.

* ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'': Sanctuary is an enclave in the heart of the Dark Forest, untouched by the poisonous presence of Queen Ravenna.[[note]] The aesthetic of the place and the creatures who inhabit it seem influenced by the work of Hayao Miyazaki.[[/note]]
%%* The Bak'u homeworld from ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection''.

* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'': Galt's Gulch. Initially, it's just a retreat from the awful proletariat, becoming this in time. ([[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}''.)

%%* The Lost Kingdom of Skifander, in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''.%%ZCE

%%* In ''Webcomic/LucidSpring'', Pacem's hometown Repa Village is this.

* Subverted in the case of the ''original'' Buddhist kingdom in Tibet commonly identified as [[TheShangriLa Shangri-La]]. It was indeed a peaceful and enlightened place that welcomed and made peace with visiting Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s... until the kingdom was ''invaded and burned to the ground by a rival Buddhist Tibetan group that was angry at them for tolerating Christians.''
* The Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints compounds.

** Most of the examples are Vaults or the descendant polities of Vaults, which makes sense -- the public purpose of the Vaults was to allow people that entered them to survive the atomic apocalypse, to re-emerge when the worst was over. The Vaults that actually did have that purpose tended to emerge into a world where the most common visitors were roving bands of bandits or monstrous beings (and where they were the only ones around to have kept a measure of high technology and a historical record). Add to that Vaults whose actual purpose required/was long-term isolation, like Vault 13 and Vault 101...

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'', the Wingley village in the forest of Mille Seseau qualifies, complete with main character who was exiled.

** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' has New Kasuto, a town in the later part of the game that requires you to remove the right patch of trees in a forest to reveal it. A villager states they had to flee Old Kasuto, so it makes sense for them to hide their new hometown.
** The trope returns in full in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', where the Koroks have a cozy village in the Lost Woods. Since most Hylians can't see Koroks, and the woods are difficult to navigate, the village naturally doesn't have many visitors. They're more than happy to welcome Link, though.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'': Gummi-Glen.

* ''VideoGame/KnightBewitched'': The Nymphs and elves have a village hidden within a deep wood, there's nothing indicating where their village is in the middle of the dense forest in the overworld map, but it's pretty much in the center of it. A drunken Nymph in Westvale will give you the information.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' has a literal hidden elf village, Kokiri Forest. The eponymous Kokiri are a race of perpetually childlike elves (compared to the Hylians, who are elf-like but age normally and [[HumanSubspecies are basically humans.]] They're forbidden to leave the forest by their leader, the Great Deku Tree, since they'll apparently die if they leave the forest (though seeing as the credits show them outside the forest, this seems to be a lie for their own good), though after he dies monsters overrun the forest, forcing the Kokiri to cower in their huts. Link, the hero, hails from this village, although [[spoiler:he's actually a Hylian that was left in the forest as a baby]].

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' has a literal hidden elf village, Kokiri Forest. The eponymous Kokiri are a race of perpetually childlike elves (compared to the Hylians, who are ''also'' elves, but age normally). They're forbidden to leave the forest by their leader, the Great Deku Tree, since they'll apparently die if they leave the forest (though seeing as the credits show them outside the forest, this seems to be a lie for their own good), though after he dies monsters overrun the forest, forcing the Kokiri to cower in their huts. Link, the hero, hails from this village, although [[spoiler:he's actually a Hylian that was left in the forest as a baby]].

* ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'': The Hidden Kingdom, a very beautiful, idyllic, isolated Country. Its people are Elves, Mystical Masters, or both. Tourists will be given a talk by its ruler on magic or their life goals. Food may, surprisingly, not be Stew (but invariably vegetarian). Despite it being utopian, Tourists will quickly grow bored and want them to go. Its people will be happy with that, finding them restive. They will deliver a Prophecy and then send the Tourists off with supplies.

* ''Literature/TheHeroIsOverpoweredButOverlyCautious'': The Dragon Village is the home of the dragonkin/dragonewts, and can only be accessed by a teleporter in the Dragons' Den due to the village being on a distant and phantasmal continent.

* ''Anime/RuneSoldierLouie'': After being captured by Louie, [[BitchInSheepsClothing Celecia]] pretends to guide him and his friends back to her village, and walks them straight into a trap set by her people. Though she ''does'' speak on their behalf, while they're there, to prevent them from being executed for trespassing into their forest.

* ''Literature/SeireiGensoukiSpiritChronicles'': The various races of the Seirei no Tami live in a secluded forest to avoid humans. Bonus points for elves being among those races. Few humans, such as the main character Rio, are allowed to enter their civilization due to past conflicts.
* ''Literature/SoImASpiderSoWhat'':
** The elves live in a single isolated village protected by a powerful magic barrier. Entry is strictly regulated and the only ones who regularly leave are on the business of their leader, Potimas, or half-elves who are exiled at adulthood. [[spoiler:Potimas is responsible for the world's current state and everyone who knows it wants him and the elves dead. The isolated village keeps them at bay while he continues his research into MA energy and the System]].
** The country of interstice was an isolated country blocked off from the other nations by mountain ranges controlled by dragons. Monsters were docile, life was easy, and skills were not needed. Gyurie created it as a safe haven where demons and humans tired of the ForeverWar could live together in peace [[spoiler:and to protect souls on the verge of collapse]]. Unfortunately it was destroyed by Wrath while Gyurie was otherwise preoccupied.

* While it's started to open up somewhat in recent years, Bhutan still counts even today. Unlike other such modern-day countries, it actually maintains its status of a Kingdom! That said, it can remain a peaceful isolated nation, because the formidable [[IndiansWithIglas Indian Army]] is tasked with protecting it.

* Xenophobic isolationist empires in ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' are essentially an interstellar empire version of this. They seldom expand very much, so as to prevent border friction with aliens, and shy away from diplomatic interaction. Beyond being almost impossible to trade with as they prefer acting as though you weren't there, this makes them generally fairly good neighbours as they're unlikely to start trouble.
** Even more true with the "Inward Perfection" civic available to Pacifist/Xenophobe empires only. The flavour text suggests the nation is a hermit kingdom akin to Joseon Korea, a calm and isolationist place where the people have no time for strange visitors who don't understand their way of life. It's DifficultButAwesome because it places severe restrictions on how you conduct war and diplomacy[[note]]you cannot wage aggressive wars, so military expansion is practically impossible for you; you cannot enter commercial or defensive pacts or research agreements, nor can you join federations or make rivals and tributaries either[[/note]] but it makes your empire massively stable and gives hefty bonuses. [[BewareTheQuietOnes If you play your cards right]], you can quietly become the galactic superpower in a galaxy of conflict and hold out against the [[FinalBoss endgame Crises]] by yourself, or take the Psionic Ascension route, [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant remove the Inward Perfection restrictions by getting the Divine Sovereign event, and then easily conquer the galaxy like an unleashed]] [[{{Superboss}} Awakened Fallen Empire]].

* ''VideoGame/Destiny2: Lightfall'' introduces Neomuna, a bustling neon-lit metropolis hidden beneath the clouds of Neptune. The entire rest of the solar system is in an AfterTheEnd state, but the Neomuni are not only untouched but even thriving. No special technology is involved; the secret behind their concealment is simply that nobody knew that there was a city on Neptune, and even if they did, Neptune is so large nobody would be able to find it. They're only discovered because the city is built on top of a MacGuffin the villains have tracked down.

* ''VideoGame/Destiny2: Lightfall'' introduces Neomuna, a bustling neon-lit metropolis hidden beneath the clouds of Neptune. The entire rest of the solar system is in an AfterTheEnd state, but the Neomuni are not only untouched but even thriving. No special technology is involved; the secret behind their concealment is simply that nobody knew that there was a city on Neptune, and even if they did, Neptune is so large nobody would be able to find it. They're only discovered because it's built on top of a MacGuffin the villains are trying to capture.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'': the so-called "Lost Colony" is an Agnian Colony that got cut off from the war and from the Consuls. It was assumed destroyed and forgotten about by everyone, and its leader at the time instituted a policy of staying hidden within their cave rather than every venturing outside, fearing what the Consuls would do if they knew about a Colony not under their control. Fears that prove well-founded when one of the Consuls does get word that the Colony exists.

* Xenophobic isolationist empires in ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' are essentially an intergalactic empire version of this. They seldom expand very much, so as to prevent border friction with aliens, and shy away from diplomatic interaction. Beyond being almost impossible to trade with as they prefer acting as though you weren't there, this makes them generally fairly good neighbours as they're unlikely to start trouble.

** The "Inward Perfection" civic available to Fanatic Pacifist/Xenophobe empires. The flavour text suggests the nation is a hermit kingdom akin to Joseon Korea, a calm and isolationist place where the people have no time for strange visitors who don't understand their way of life. It's DifficultButAwesome because it places severe restrictions on how you conduct war and diplomacy[[note]]you cannot invade anyone, you can only defend yourself; you cannot enter commercial or defensive pacts or research agreements, nor can you join federations or make rivals and tributaries either[[/note]] but it makes your empire massively stable and gives hefty bonuses. [[BewareTheQuietOnes If you play your cards right]], you can quietly become the galactic superpower in a galaxy of conflict and hold out against the [[FinalBoss endgame Crises]] by yourself, or take the Psionic Ascension route, [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant remove the Inward Perfection restrictions by getting the Divine Sovereign event, and then easily conquer the galaxy like an unleashed]] [[{{Superboss}} Awakened Fallen Empire]].