Abandoned
Abandoned Places With Fascinating Histories
Pripyat was evacuated on 27 April 1986, the day after the Chernobyl reactor 4 explosion. The 49,000 residents were told they would return in three days; they never came back. The city is still there: the cinema, the swimming pool, the unused Ferris wheel that was due to open four days later for May Day 1986. Today guided tours (when geopolitics permits) walk visitors past the radiation hotspots in the gymnasium and through the kindergarten where dolls still sit on the desks.
Abandoned places are time capsules sealed by sudden departure. The eight on this list were all left in a hurry — for fallout, for war, for the end of an industry — and have not been moved since.
Each entry: who left and why, when you can visit, and what is genuinely dangerous to touch.
Late afternoon light, looking east. Photo by our regional correspondent.
Why This Place Matters
Pripyat, Ukraine — Soviet model city built 1970 for Chernobyl plant workers, evacuated 1986. The 30 km Exclusion Zone is open with licensed guides (when wartime conditions allow).
Hashima Island (Battleship Island, Japan) — Mitsubishi coal-mining city off Nagasaki, peak population 5,259 in 1959 (the highest density ever recorded anywhere on Earth). Closed 1974 when the coal ran out.
Buzludzha Monument, Bulgaria — communist-era 'flying saucer' built 1981 on a 1,432 m Balkan peak to celebrate the 1891 founding of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party. Abandoned 1989; the 510 kg gold-leaf mosaics inside are still partly intact.
A Short History
Hashima housed Korean and Chinese forced labourers during WWII; UNESCO listed it in 2015 over Korean objections that the forced-labour history was being whitewashed. Japan agreed to add an information center, which opened 2020.
Buzludzha was designed by architect Georgi Stoilov and built by the People's Army over 7 years. The 70 m mosaic ring depicting Lenin, Marx, and Engels was made by 25 mosaic-artists working in shifts; sections have been stolen since 1989.
Craco, Italy — Basilicata village abandoned in 1963 after a landslide. The 11th-century Norman tower still stands; the village was used as the location for the hanging of Judas in The Passion of the Christ.
What You Will Actually See
Pripyat (subject to security situation) — the Avanhard Stadium (which never hosted a match), the amusement park, the music school, the swimming pool. Tours via Chernobyl Tour or SoloEast.
Hashima Island, Japan — boat from Nagasaki (Gunkanjima Concierge tour, ¥4,500). Visitors walk only the southern viewing decks; the interior is unsafe.
Buzludzha, Bulgaria — accessible by car all year; the interior was sealed in 2019 but conservation tours run from Kazanlăk via the Buzludzha Project NGO.
Craco, Italy — guided tours only with helmet (€10) via the visitor center in Craco Peschiera.
Houtouwan, China — fishing village on Shengsi Islands, abandoned 1990s, now overgrown with vines into a green ghost town. Day trip from Shanghai.
Bodie, California — gold-rush ghost town preserved in 'arrested decay' by the state park service; about 200 buildings.
Kayaköy, Turkey — Greek Orthodox village near Fethiye, depopulated in the 1923 population exchange; 500 stone houses remain.
Kolmanskop, Namibia — German colonial diamond town in the Namib Desert, abandoned 1956. Sand fills the ballroom and the casino.
The kind of detail you only notice on the second visit.
Interesting Facts
A few quick notes on abandoned places with fascinating histories before the section below.
These are the details our correspondents most often get asked about by readers planning a trip.
Practical Information
Pripyat — currently restricted due to the war in Ukraine. Pre-2022, tours required a licensed guide and a Geiger counter. Wear closed shoes; do not sit on the ground.
Hashima — landings depend on sea conditions; only 4 of 7 days a week on average. Book the morning tour for calmer water.
Buzludzha — the road is closed in winter (October to May); from June, drive up from Shipka Pass.
Kolmanskop — entry permit from the Lüderitz tourism office (NAD 100); photographers can buy a sunrise permit for an extra NAD 250.
Interesting Facts
- Hashima Island had a population density of 83,500 people per km² in 1959 — the highest ever recorded in human history.
- The Pripyat amusement park's Ferris wheel was due to open on 1 May 1986, five days after the reactor 4 explosion; it never carried a paying passenger.
- Buzludzha's interior mosaics contain over 500 kg of original Italian gold-leaf glass tesserae; the ceiling fresco of the hammer and sickle covers 510 m².
- Kolmanskop produced 11.7% of the entire world's diamond supply in 1912; the ballroom had imported Bavarian beech-wood floors.
- Craco was used as a filming location for The Passion of the Christ (2004) and Quantum of Solace (2008); the Norman tower still stands on the highest point.
Most travellers walk straight past this corner. Stop and look up.
How To Visit
Kyiv → Chernobyl (when reopened): Day tour from central Kyiv, $130, includes Pripyat and the Duga radar.
Nagasaki → Hashima: 50-min boat trip; pier near Tokiwa.
Sofia → Buzludzha: 2h30 drive east via Kazanlăk.
Lüderitz → Kolmanskop: 10 km east on the B4; tours leave 9:30 and 11:00 daily.
Final Thoughts
Abandoned does not mean unprotected. Houtouwan villagers have started charging entrance; Bodie park rangers will fine you for taking a nail. Take photos, take nothing else.
Hashima is the most logistically smooth; Buzludzha is the most emotionally affecting.
Of the eight: Kolmanskop on a dawn-light photo permit. The sand-filled rooms with shafts of orange morning sun are unlike anywhere else on Earth.
If you read this article and noticed something we got wrong, please write to us. Reader corrections shape what we publish next.
Elena Marchetti
Regional correspondent for WIGO Trips. Writes about overlooked places and quiet histories.
