23 impressive underground places you want to visit at least once in your life

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Our article contains 23 outlandish places of the planet, which hide their indescribable atmosphere in the depths of the earth or inside rocky caves.

Salina Turda Salt Mine

The first documented mention of the Romanian city of Turda dates back to 1271. More than seven centuries later, the mine opens to visitors as a theme park. Once inside, you will find a compact amphitheater for concerts and gala events, tennis and billiard tables, a mini golf course and a Ferris wheel. On the lower tier, you can take a boat trip along an underground lake of incredible beauty.

St. Michael's Cave

According to historians, the largest cave in Gibraltar owes its name to a similar grotto in the Italian mountain Gargano - the Sanctuary of Archangel Michael. Equipped with helmets and shoes with rubber soles, you can admire the pristine beauty of nature, illuminated by colorful illumination. A slightly more formal dress code implies concerts and the Miss Gibraltar pageant, which are held here on a regular basis. By the way, the local culture has long-standing traditions: archaeologists have found rock paintings of primitive people in the cave of St. Michael.

Attraction Bounce Below

Zip World specializes in outdoor activities such as cable car rides or trampoline jumping inside a cave. Such unusual entertainment is available to residents and visitors of Blaenau Festiniog, North Wales. The attraction consists of three huge trampolines, the most extreme of which is stretched at a height of 55 meters from the base of the cave. And as far as mobile activity is concerned, proper safety measures are provided here, exceptions for obese people, as well as separate visits for adults and preschool children.

Not far away, in one of the abandoned mines located nearby, the same Zip World company organizes descents into the ground to a depth of 30 meters along rope bridges with obstacles and tunnels.

Concert venue "Volcano Room" (Volcano Room at Cumberland Caverns)

The small American town of McMinnville is unremarkable for the average tourist, but it is quite popular among fans of unusual musical experiences. After all, it is next to it that the Cumberland Caverns are located - one of the longest caves in Tennessee and the United States as a whole, inside which musical events are held. To be precise, concerts are given in the Volcano Room at a depth of about 100 meters. The specific acoustics and unique surroundings provide an incomparable experience. Performances are held here all year round, 1-2 times a month.

Waitomo Glowworm Cave

Along with the National Museum, it is one of the most striking business cards in New Zealand. Since 1889, it has hosted groups of tourists who wish to row a rowboat on an underground river illuminated by a population of fireflies the size of an average mosquito. The beetles' glow is enough to navigate well in the pitch darkness. Many visitors do not miss the opportunity to consolidate their photography skills obtained on virtual simulators. By the way, insects are looked after here: automated equipment monitors air quality, its temperature and humidity. If necessary, ventilation is carried out, and the access of people is limited.

Alux Restaurant (Alux Restaurant Bar & Lounge)

Someone looks into restaurants for juicy pictures of food, someone wants to join a higher gastronomic school, and for someone the very atmosphere of the institution is important. If you are one of the latter, on your next vacation you need to go to distant Mexico, to the city of Playa del Carmen, where the restaurant is located. Of course, this is not the cheapest trip, but reviews from visitors indicate that the interior decoration and the inimitable atmosphere of the cave, which is 10,000 years old, are worth it.

Postojna Cave

The cave system near the Slovenian town of Postojna is the largest underground space in the world open to visitors, and of course, 24 kilometers of marvelous views for walking. You can also enjoy the amazing variety of karst formations with the help of an electric locomotive, which has been running here since 1872 (then it was hand-drawn).

Formosa Boulevard Station

“Majestic”, “amazing”, “impressive” are the most frequent exclamations of people who happened to visit one of the metro stations in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. And it is not surprising, because it is here that the famous "Dome of Light" is laid out. The creation of the Italian Narcissus Quangliata has record parameters: 30 meters in diameter, 2,180 square meters of area and 4,500 glass elements. The creation of the panel with a kaleidoscopic effect was timed to coincide with the 2009 World Games. It symbolizes the combination of four elements: earth, water, fire and air. By the way, live music is often played here and weddings are held.

Song Doong Cave

Surprisingly, the largest cave in the world was discovered by British cavers only in 2009. The dimensions of the natural underground cavity are simply amazing: the length is 9 kilometers, 150 meters in the widest part, 200 meters in height - Mother Nature has worked wonderfully well! Two sinkholes form tunnels through which sunlight enters the cave, giving life to a variety of vegetation. As befits a king, it contains the largest stalagmites in the world, whose height reaches 70 meters. Moreover, an abnormally large cave pearl, the size of a baseball, was found here. This may be why access to the cave is subject to a limited fee. For example, in 2013 the tour cost was $ 3,000, and only 500 permits were issued in 2015. From August to February, Shondong is completely closed due to heavy rains that flood most of the cave.

Kungsträdgården metro station

The Stockholm Metro has a hundred operating stations, and more than 90 of them are decorated to one degree or another with works of art: sculptures, mosaics, paintings, prints and reliefs. About 150 masters had a hand in the formation of the "art gallery". One of the most eye-catching underground stops, Kungstredgorden Station, was the work of artist Ulrik Samuelson. In its design, relics were used that were saved during the reconstruction of the central part of the Swedish capital in the middle of the last century.

Reed Flute Cave

It is not for nothing that the Chinese are considered true masters of poetry. Once again, you are convinced of this when you get to know the main attraction of the city of Guilin - the cave. As you might guess, a famous aquatic plant grows in this area, from which a simple musical instrument was once made. This is not the hackneyed name of the city, like the Romanian Turda, or the banal royal garden, like the Swedish Kungstredgorden. The inner beauty of the cave, the first praise for which was left by its visitors back in 792, also matches the melodic name.

Coober Pedy Underground

Australians are often compared to aliens who, among other things, walk upside down. There is definitely something true about this. Take the same city, whose inhabitants for centuries have been building their compact dwellings and socio-cultural objects (for example, churches) exclusively underground. Although, in truth, it is not difficult to understand them: the air temperature here often warms up to 40 ° C, sandstorms constantly occur, and the most accessible job is opal mining. The mesmerized place has an extremely attractive power not only for tourists, but also for filmmakers. So, it was here that the third part of "Mad Max" and a couple of other good films were filmed.

Underground river Puerto Princesa (Puero Princesa River)

The Puerto Princesa underground river flows near the Philippine city of the same name in the eponymous nature reserve, also known for its inimitable flora and fauna. Eight kilometers of current inside the karst cave makes the river the largest of its kind. Some of the halls of the cave are up to 120 meters wide, which is quite pleased with the local stalactites and stalagmites of impressive size.

Thrihnukagigur Volcano Crater

In 2010, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano disrupted flights over Europe, which was widely covered on television. Kilometer-long columns of ash have severely damaged the nerves of millions of people stuck in airports, as well as news announcers who had to practice pronunciation of such a tricky name for a long time. But in Iceland there are other famous volcanoes, for example (in the local common people Three Peaks). The last time the volcano was active was about 4,000 years ago. During that long-standing eruption, some of the lava could not flow out, and the mouth of the volcano was not clogged. Thus, an unusual natural phenomenon was formed. Now the walls of the crater are decorated with a scattering of the most beautiful minerals, to which crowds of tourists willingly flock.

Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira

Few people know that there are salt mines in Colombia. Basically, this country is famous for the production and sale of another snow-white sensation enhancer, which is in demand from its North American neighbors. True, this business is illegal, but, more importantly, it is sinful from the point of view of the most widespread religion in the country - Catholicism. And in order to somehow justify their behavior, local businessmen, however, like ordinary people, need to repent before the higher powers. And this can be done, including in the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, three sections of which are located underground on the site of the former salt mine.

Catacombs of Paris

According to various estimates, the total length of the network of underground tunnels and caves near Paris reaches 300 kilometers. became the final resting place for 6 million people, whose remains are neatly laid out along their winding passages. Only 2 kilometers are open to tourists, but they are enough to fully appreciate the eerie atmosphere of this place. The faint of heart and impressionable are better off wandering around the Champs Elysees.

Batu Caves

The Malaysian Batu Caves are a popular pilgrimage destination for Hindu residents of India, Australia and Singapore. It is here that iconic Hindu temples are located, and it is here that Taisupan, the festival-festival of the god of war Murugan, is annually celebrated. During festive events, some atypical rituals for Europeans are performed, for example, piercing certain parts of the body with knitting needles. Such a sight can evoke a response from the body of an unprepared viewer, which is completely undesirable for holy places. The second potential nuisance is sometimes aggressive monkeys that can bite.

Basilica Cistern

Istanbul Museum "" is located within the boundaries of an ancient underground reservoir, which was used as a reserve source of water in case of drought or the siege of Constantinople. The monumental structure with four-meter walls made of refractory bricks and eight-meter marble columns is a living proof of the remarkable architectural skills of the Byzantine masters.

Wieliczka Salt Mine

“The Wieliczka Salt Mine is one of the most valuable monuments of material and spiritual culture in Polish lands, which is visited annually by over a million tourists from all over the world,” the official mine says, in Russian. The lower levels drop to 100 meters above the ground. So, the famous chapel of St. Kinga at a depth of 101 meters hosts concerts, divine services and wedding celebrations, designed for 400 people at a time. Moreover, there is a sanatorium in the mine, as well as areas for fashion shows and theatrical performances. In general, anyhow, they will not be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Cango Caves

Legend has it that Johnny van Wassenaer, the first official travel guide, took 29 hours to get to the end. It was in 1898. According to the brave man, he covered 25 kilometers and descended to a depth of 275 meters. It is difficult to say if this is true, because according to official data, the length of the South African caves is only 4 kilometers, a quarter of which are open to visitors. At the same time, it should be noted that scientists are still discovering new sections of the cave. Be that as it may, here you can order a standard one-hour tour or an extreme one and a half hour journey with steep climbs and narrow passages, into which not everyone can squeeze.

Dambulla Cave Temple

Dambulla Buddhist temple is often called. And there are at least two reasons for this. Firstly, since time immemorial, 73 Buddha statues covered with gold are located in the temple (and there are 153 of them in total). Secondly, the most famous cave temple in Sri Lanka is a golden place for all Buddhists in the world. All in all, you should definitely pay a visit here if you are looking for pacification or examples of correct posture.

Derinkuyu underground city (Derinkuyu underground city)

Cappadocia is the historical name of a part of the territory of modern Turkey with a unique landscape of volcanic origin. And it is thanks to the soft volcanic rock that Cappadocia is known for its many cave monasteries and even cities. - the largest of them. Imagine, according to very rough estimates, the cave settlement in the best times could accommodate about 20 thousand people. According to scientists, such cities served as a reliable refuge for the local population from enemy raids and sieges, which could last for long weeks. And all because the city sheltered not only people, but all livestock, crops, food and water supplies, as well as household utensils. Churches, warehouses, workshops, together with an established ventilation system, made it possible to live a full life here. There is an opinion that the eight tiers of Derinkuyu up to 60 meters deep is only a tenth of the explored part of the city. Great!

Churchill Bunker (Churchill War Rooms)

will be of interest to all lovers of the history of the Second World War. It was from the underground fortifications located under the building of the London Treasury that the British Secretary of Defense controlled the troops entrusted to him. The organizers of the museum claim that the interior decoration of the bedrooms, switch room, meeting rooms and other premises has not changed at all after 70 years, even the Prime Minister's chamber pot is in place.