Exploring Abandoned Places: Top Urban Exploration Destinations

Over the history of humanity, many cities have become abandoned places, leaving them for nature to swallow. Some locations are urban sites worthy of exploration.

Are you interested in visiting ancient and abandoned cities to get a glimpse at how people lived in places that have been left behind? If so, you’ll want to check out some of these locations that have been left behind by the previous inhabitants to become abandoned tourist attractions. If this is what you want to enjoy during your travels, these are some of the most incredible abandoned places to visit.

Plymouth, Montserrat

On the island of Montserrat lies a small city called Plymouth. This island is located between St. Kitts & Nevis and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. The first inhabitants ventured to this island in the 1600s and called the capital Plymouth. This town was located in the southwest part of the island. Hurricane Hugo destroyed the stone jetty in Plymouth’s harbor in 1989, causing people to leave the city. It limped along until 1995, when a series of volcanic eruptions buried much of the city, causing residents still living in Plymouth to leave.

Kolmanskop, Namibia

Like many other diamond and mining towns, Kolmanskop eventually became one of those abandoned places people only visit to see what life was like when the town was thriving. This town in Namibia was a diamond mining town from 1908 until it became a ghost town in 1956. This town set some firsts in the area when it was built with a hospital, power station, school, theater, sports facility, ice factory, and the first x-ray machine in the southern hemisphere.

Pripyat, Ukraine

Pripyat is the most famous abandoned city in the world. This city was built in 1970 to house the workers at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which was only 1.25 miles away from the city. The 49,000 residents of the town were in for a rude awakening when Reactor No. 4 exploded and spewed radiation into the air. This caused the city to evacuate, and a 30-mile exclusion zone was created around the reactor. Life stopped in this town as soon as the reactor exploded, and now it’s become a tourist attraction.

Hashima Island, Japan

This small island town is one of the most interesting, abandoned places in the world. Like many other ghost towns, Hashima Island was built to support undersea coal mining. The town was established in 1887 and reached peak population in 1959. By 1974, the coal reserves were depleted and the residents of this island let. Eventually this island town was opened to tourists in 2009 where people can visit and see what it was like to live in a town that was remote and removed from the main island of Japan.

North Brother Island, New York

North Brother Island is located in the East River between the Bronx and Rikers Island. It is nearly 20 acres in size and was uninhabited until 1885. This was when Riverside Hospital was moved there to treat smallpox patients who needed to be removed and isolated from the rest of the population. This island is popular for confining Mary Mallon, known as Typhoid Mary, where she stayed for more than 20 years until she died in 1938. Today, it serves as a sanctuary for herons and wading shorebirds.

Wittenoom, Australia

Wittenoom went from being a thriving mining town to having only one resident remaining in the area today. This location in Australia was where asbestos was mined, which was used in buildings, tanks, airplanes, battleships, gas masks, and helmets during World War II. By 1951, this small town had more than 500 people and more than 150 houses. When studies found how damaging asbestos can be, Australia began buying the town and eventually shut off power in 2006 and closed off all roads leading to the town.

Craco, Italy

Craco is the oldest abandoned place on our list, dating back to the 8th century BCE. The town was named in 1060 CE by the Catholic Church, and the population swelled to more than 2,500 people at one time. In 1566, the plague struck the town and decimated the population. Between 1892 and 1922, many residents left for North America, and in 1963, the sewers and water systems caused several landslides in Craco, which was eventually engulfed by a food in 1972.

You can visit most of these abandoned places to see what life was like before the residents were moved or left on their own. If you’re looking for a little history, these could be cool places to go.