Victoria Subota: “Bury the apple in a deserted place. Quiet and deserted places in the world (photo) Underwater city of Shicheng, China

The Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum and the Brandenburg Gate are wonderful monuments of culture and architecture, but, you see, there is a special charm in traveling to those places where tourists do not flock in crazy crowds. Moreover, such underrated corners exist even in those cities and countries that seem to be well-trodden far and wide.

We suggest taking a virtual tour to several of these places. Perhaps your pioneering spirit will awaken in you and you will radically change your plans for your next vacation?

Quinta de Regaleira Castle, included as part of the palace complex on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is one of the most romantic places in Portugal. The main mystery of Regaleira is a well that goes deep into the earth. The spiral gallery running around it has nine levels, each level having fifteen steps. These nine levels symbolize the nine circles of hell, the nine circles of purgatory and the nine circles of heaven described by Dante.

On the wall of the well there is a shining triangle - a symbol of Freemasonry. Many believed that Regaleira Castle was used for Masonic meetings, but no documentary evidence of this was ever found.

Weissgerbergasse is a historic street in Nuremberg, famous for its stunning wrought iron signs.

Procida is the smallest of the islands in the Gulf of Naples. It is not at all like its chic neighbors - the islands of Capri and Ischia. Until 1986, the island served as a prison for especially dangerous criminals, so crowds of holidaymakers avoided it. The inhabitants of Procida still lead a very patriarchal lifestyle: instead of converting all their houses into apartments for rent, they still prefer to grow lemons in the old gardens and fish in the rocky bays.

Cocos is the largest uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, located 600 kilometers off the west coast of Costa Rica. It is famous for the fact that, according to popular legends, the largest treasure is hidden on it, which has not yet been discovered by anyone. This island is also a paradise for divers thanks to its rich underwater fauna.

The town of Blagaj itself is nothing special, it’s more like just a village. But next to it is the source of the Buna River, it is very picturesque. This beautiful place was chosen by wandering Muslim monks - dervishes. In the 16th century, a tekiya (from the Turkish tekke), a monastery of dervishes, was built here. Of course, it has not preserved its original appearance, but the current building is also not so new - it was built in the middle of the 19th century.

Getting to Illokqortoormiut is as difficult as pronouncing its name: only once a week from the capital of Iceland by plane to Greenland, and then by helicopter or boat to the town itself. But it's worth it: this colorful little city sits on the longest glacial river system in the world.

Even in ancient times, this place was used by the Carthaginians, and then by the Romans as the main harbor of Malta. In 1565, when Ottoman Türkiye tried to capture the island, Marsaxlokk had a Turkish navy stationed there.

Now the local population earns money mainly from fishing. One of the attractions of the town is the brightly decorated boats of the townspeople (luzzu).

Hallstatt is a medieval village with a population of less than 1,000 people. Its main attraction is the salt mines, the oldest in Europe, the development of which has been going on for three thousand years. Information about the village has appeared in written sources since 1311. Almost no data has been preserved about the medieval history of Hallstatt due to its remoteness from communication routes.

This ring-shaped island, inaccessible to tourists, has become a refuge from storms and icebergs for many creatures, including thousands of penguins. If you want to escape the cold, know that the island is an active volcano and is replete with hot springs.

The Grotta Palazzese restaurant, located in the Polignano cave on Mare beach, is one of the most amazing places on the planet to dine.

The magnificent Mont Aiguil mountain rises 2000 meters above the French community of Chichillan. Mont Aiguil is known as the “Unattainable Mountain” - its slopes are equally steep on all sides. The peak was not conquered until 1492 and became the first mountain that people decided to climb just like that, out of pure curiosity. It is believed that mountaineering was born with its conquest.

Nauru is a tiny island nation with a population of less than 10,000 people. It is one of the least visited places in the world - simply because few people know about it. Nauru hides kilometers of untouched beaches and forests - so if you want to relax on an island paradise, hurry up and buy a ticket there. Until other tourists came running.

This 17th century temple is located on the edge of a cliff, almost 1000 meters above the Paro Valley. The holy place was built to protect the cave in which Guru Padmasambhava, a Buddhist leader, meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours.

A beautifully preserved medieval town in northern Spain, Albarracin is famous for its cave paintings (important evidence of Levantine prehistoric art) and its Picaportes - unique door handles. Every door in the city and its handle are unique and created by local craftsmen in accordance with ancient customs and technologies.

The hotel is so high in the Alpine mountains that it can only be reached on foot or by cable car. Therefore, the hotel is only available during the summer season and operates from April to October. Living conditions at the Aescher Hotel can be called Spartan. Several rooms are designed to accommodate four people. The toilet, like the bathroom, is shared and located on the floor; there is no shower at all. The hotel serves simple but hearty food in the tradition of the Swiss Alps. Guests come here to hike and walk through the picturesque mountainous terrain, visit natural caves, and look into the museum of prehistoric finds.

Known as the “Stairway to Heaven,” this hiking trail winds through the highlands of Oahu, Hawaii. The 3,992 steps rise to a height of 850 meters above sea level and offer a magical view of the island.

The lake is part of Thingvellir National Park. The islands on the lake are of volcanic origin. The faults around the lake show that this is where the tectonic plates of Europe and America oppose each other. Lucky divers can swim between the tectonic plates of the continents, which move away from each other by 2 centimeters every year.

Chefchaouen is a small town located on the slopes of the Rif Mountains in northwestern Morocco. It was founded in 1471, and until 1920 only 3 foreigners visited it. Nowadays the city is known primarily for its old part, almost all of the houses in which are painted in different shades of blue. The reason for this choice is religion. In addition to Muslims, Chefchaouen has long been home to a fairly large community of Sephardic Jews. They brought with them beliefs that blue is the color of the tassels of the prayer shawl, the tallit.

This island is still practically untouched by humans: a very small indigenous population and only 400 tourists allowed here annually. This restriction is intended to protect the unique landscape of Lord Howe, whose crystal clear lagoon is home to a coral reef.

America is home to one of the craziest castles in the world, created single-handedly by builder Jim Bishop. It's worth a visit for inspiration - and you can also get married here.

Just over a hundred people permanently live in the village of Huacachina. According to local legend, the lake was created after a beautiful princess was surprised by a young hunter while swimming in the pool. The girl managed to escape, and the pool turned into a lake. The folds of the fleeing princess's robe became the dunes surrounding Huacachina, and she herself soon returned to the lake and still lives in it as a mermaid.

For a true traveler, it is not the number of places visited that is important, but their quality. Agree, visiting the South Pole is much more honorable than, for example, going to Paris. There are no longer white spots on our planet, but, nevertheless, there are many secluded corners that are inaccessible to most tourists...

No. 10. Easter Island, Chile

1. Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, belongs to Chile and is considered the most remote island on the planet from the continent (3500 km to the coast of Chile).

3. At the time of the discovery of the island by the Dutch admiral, the population of the island was 2-3 thousand people. After this event, the island was forgotten for 50 years. And in 1770 the island was annexed by Spain.

4. The ancient culture of Easter Island is shrouded in mystery and charm. The most famous symbol of Easter Island is the large stone idol statues. Moai statues reach a height of 20 meters. They are made in the form of a head with a torso.

5. Moai idols were made between the 12th and 15th centuries, after which their production abruptly ceased. Why the production of Moai stopped and where the people who inhabited the island disappeared remains a mystery.

No. 9. City of La Rinconada, Peru

6. The city of La Rinconada is located in the Andes mountains in the permafrost zone at an altitude of 5100 meters above sea level. Getting to the city is very difficult. The air temperature here is always below zero. There are no plants suitable for human consumption here. And due to the thinness of the air, people quickly lose strength.

7. La Rinconada was formed at the end of the 20th century as a small settlement of gold miners. From the side of the plain, a magnificent landscape of mountain peaks opens up, but when you get closer, the smell of rotting industrial waste hits your nose.

8. The population of the city is 30 thousand people, almost all of them are engaged in gold mining in mining caves. La Rinconada has a dubious reputation as a city for the poor and desperate. Gold mining is carried out in terrible conditions, people are not paid, they work for a percentage of the gold found, but not everyone and not always finds it.

9. Life expectancy in the city is about 50 years. There are reasons for this: many accidents occur, people live and work in poor conditions, and the ore emits mercury vapor.

These eerie images of abandoned places on our planet give you an idea of ​​what this world would look like if people left it.

A tree grows in an abandoned piano

Click on the pictures to enlarge the image.

UFO houses in Sanzhi, Taiwan

Also known as the Sanzhi Saucer Houses, a futuristic complex of 60 UFO-shaped houses made from durable fiberglass is located in Sanzhi County, Xinbei, Taiwan. An unrealized project of a group of companies under the patronage of the state of a complex of ultra-modern houses for the capital's rich.

Overgrown Palace, Poland

In 1910, this palace was built as a home for the Polish nobility. Under the communist regime, the palace became an agricultural college and then a mental hospital. After the 90s the building has been empty.

Jet Star amusement park coaster, New Jersey, USA

This coaster remained in the Atlantic Ocean after Storm Sandy in 2013. They rusted for six months until they were dismantled.

Abandoned house in the forest

Church in Saint-Etienne, France

Abandoned church with mannequins of parishioners, Netherlands

Doll factory, Spain

A tree growing through a bicycle

Wrecks on a sandbank, Bermuda Triangle

Floating forest, Sydney, Australia

Cinema in Detroit, Michigan, USA

As Detroit deteriorated, many of its historic buildings were abandoned.

Shipyard in Vallejo, California, USA

Mare Island Naval Shipyard served as a submarine port during both World Wars. In the 1990s, the building was abandoned and flooded.

House between two trees, Florida, USA

Titanic

The Titanic set off on its first and last voyage in April 1912. 73 years later, the largest ship of the early 20th century was found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Circular railway, Paris, France

The Petite Ceinture railway was built in 1852 and ran between the main train stations of Paris within the city walls. During its operation, it connected five city highways. Since 1934, the railway, as well as some of its stations, have been partially abandoned.

Spreepark, Berlin, Germany

In 1969, an amusement park with rides, cafes and green lawns was built on the banks of the Spree in the southeast of the city. After the unification of the two Berlins, the park lost its relevance and closed due to insufficient funding.

Library, Russia

House on the Row, Finland

Turquoise Canal, Venice, Italy

Like any other city, Venice has abandoned places. But there they look even more picturesque.

Stairway to Nowhere, Pismo Beach, California, USA

Nara Dreamland Park, Japan

Nara Dreamland was built in 1961 as Japan's answer to Disneyland and even included its own version of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Closed in 2006 due to low visitor numbers.

Abandoned Mining Road, Taiwan

Abandoned pier

Bare footprints in an abandoned nuclear reactor

Indoor water park

Boathouse, Lake Obersee, Germany

Abandoned administrative building in Italy

Methodist Church in Indiana, USA

Gary, Indiana was founded in 1905 during the US steel boom. In the 1950s, more than 200,000 people lived and worked in this city. After the fall of the dispute on steel, almost half of the city was empty.

Church in the snow, Canada

Blue spiral staircase in a European castle

Soviet naval testing station in Makhachkala, Russia

Bell tower of a church in a frozen lake, Reschen, Italy

Lake Reschen is a reservoir in which several villages and a 14th-century church were flooded.

Glenwood Power Plant, New York, USA

This power plant, built in 1906, has long since become obsolete. After closing in 1968, it was used as a location for filming thrillers and zombie films.

Flooded shopping center

Train station in Canfranc, Spain

Canfranc is a small town located near the border with France. In 1928, the largest and most beautiful railway station in the world at that time opened here, which was called “the sparkling jewel of modernity.”

In 1970, the railway bridge on the road to Canfranc was destroyed and the station was closed. The bridge was not restored, and the former “pearl of Art Nouveau” began to fall into disrepair.

Abandoned theater

Automobile cemetery, Ardennes, Belgium

Many American soldiers on the Western Front during World War II purchased cars for personal use. When the war ended, it turned out that sending them home was very expensive and many of the cars remained here.

Attraction in Chernobyl, Ukraine

Abandoned hospital. Chernobyl, Ukraine

The city of Pripyat was deserted after the 1986 disaster at the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It has been empty since then and will remain empty for thousands of years.

City Hall Subway Station, New York, USA

City Hall Station opened in 1904 and closed in 1945. Only 600 people a day used it when it was operational.

Abandoned house in Virginia, USA

Poveglia Island, Italy

Poveglia is an island in the Venetian lagoon that, during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, became an isolation ward for plague victims and later an asylum for the mentally ill.

Gulliver's Travels Park, Kawagushi, Japan

The park opened in 1997. Lasted only 10 years and was abandoned due to financial problems

Lighthouse on Aniva rock, Sakhalin, Russia

The Aniva lighthouse was installed in 1939 by the Japanese (at that time this part of Sakhalin belonged to them) on the small Sivuchya rock, near the inaccessible rocky Cape Aniva. This area is replete with currents, frequent fogs, and underwater rocky banks. The height of the tower is 31 meters, the height of the light is 40 meters above sea level.

Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

A castle located on a rocky island lying in the Loch Duich fjord in Scotland. One of the most romantic castles in Scotland, it is famous for its heather honey and interesting history. Filming took place in the castle: “The Phantom Goes West” (1935), “The Master of Ballantrae” (1953), “Highlander” (1986), “Mio, My Mio” (1987), “The World Is Not Enough” (1999) , Friend of the Bride (2008).

Abandoned mill, Ontario, Canada

Underwater city Shicheng, China

Hidden beneath the waters of the Lake of a Thousand Islands in China is the underwater city of Shicheng City. The architecture of the city has remained virtually untouched, for which archaeologists have nicknamed it a “time capsule.” Shicheng, or as it is also called “Lion City”, was founded more than 1339 years ago. During the construction of a hydroelectric power station in 1959, it was decided to flood the city.

Munsell Sea Forts, UK

In the shallow waters of the North Sea off the coast of Great Britain, abandoned air defense sea forts stand above the water. Their main tasks were to protect the large industrial centers of England from air attacks from the most vulnerable direction - from the sea - from the mouths of the Thames and Mersey rivers and to protect the approaches from the sea to London and Liverpool, respectively.

Christ from the Abyss, San Fruttoso, Italy

The statue of Jesus Christ, located at the bottom of the sea, in the bay of San Fruttuoso, near Genoa. The statue, about 2.5 meters high, was installed on August 22, 1954 at a depth of 17 meters. In addition, in different parts of the world there are several similar statues (both copies of the original and variations on its theme), also bearing the name “Christ from the Abyss”.

Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang, North Korea

Now it is the largest and tallest building in Pyongyang and the DPRK as a whole. The hotel was expected to open in June 1989, but construction problems and material shortages delayed the opening. The Japanese press estimated the amount spent on construction at $750 million - 2% of North Korean GDP. In 1992, due to lack of funding and the general economic crisis in the country, construction was stopped.

The main part of the tower was built, but windows, communications and equipment were not installed. The top of the building is poorly made and may fall off. The current structure of the building cannot be used. The North Korean government is trying to attract $300 million in foreign investment to develop and build a new hotel design, but in the meantime it has removed the long-term construction from maps and postage stamps.

The city, once a bustling industrial center, is now part of the independent Republic of Abkhazia, but its legitimacy is recognized by only four UN member countries; the rest consider the region to be part of Russian-occupied Georgia.
Tkvarcheli was founded in the 1940s and in just a few years the city turned into one of the regional centers for coal mining and processing. Under Soviet rule, Tkvarcheli actively developed and prospered, but the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent Georgian-Abkhaz war caused significant damage to the city’s economy. The volume of industrial production fell almost 10 times, more and more residents left, as a result of which Tkvarcheli turned into a provincial mountain town, the times of its former heyday are reminiscent only of dilapidated buildings overgrown with lush southern vegetation. Now about 5 thousand people live in Tkvarcheli (another version of the name is Tkuarchal). Tourists will enjoy the city with its abundance of stunning mountain scenery and wonderful climate, but vacationers should take care of accommodation for the night - there are no hotels in the city.

Hashima Island, Japan

At the beginning of the 19th century, rich coal deposits were discovered on Khasim and the authorities of the Land of the Rising Sun began to actively develop the promising industrial region. In a matter of years, many coal mines (including those going to depths below sea level) and several military factories appeared on the island. In its heyday, Hashima was one of the most densely populated places on the planet - according to 1959 data, the population density reached 5,259 people per 1 km². It must be said that the working and living conditions on the island were far from resort ones - many Chinese and Korean prisoners of war, whom the Mitsubishi Corporation brought to Hashima to work in underwater mines, died.

This piece of land, located in the East China Sea, is also known by the nickname Gunkanjima (in Japanese - “Cruiser”) - when viewed from the sea, the silhouette of the island resembles a warship.

In the 1960s, the reorientation of Japanese industrial enterprises from coal to oil began, coal mining at Gunkanjima became unprofitable, and in 1974 Mitsubishi was forced to close all mines. Within a few weeks, the busy island turned into a deserted ghost settlement and remains so to this day.

Kitsault, Canada

The city of Kitsault, located in the Canadian province of British Columbia, a few tens of kilometers from the border with Alaska, has everything a small community needs - hundreds of houses, a hospital, a cinema, a sports complex, a bank and a shopping center. The only thing Kitsalt lacks is residents.
Kitsault appeared in 1979, the city-forming enterprise for it was a molybdenum mine, deposits of which geologists had discovered shortly before. While the cost of molybdenum on the metal market remained quite high, the city lived, but the idyll did not last too long - in 1982 there was a collapse in prices and Kitsault was deserted almost overnight.
In 2004, one of the American entrepreneurs bought the city territory for $5 million - in his opinion, Kitsault could be brought back to life. Time will tell whether the enthusiast will be able to carry out his plans, but the prospects for this business plan seem doubtful.

House-monument Buzludzha, Bulgaria

The structure, which looks like a giant concrete saucer or flying saucer "parked" on top of a mountain, is a monument erected in the 1980s in honor of the Bulgarian Communist Party. In 1891, it was here, on the top of Mount Buzludzha, that the first congress of Bulgarian socialists took place, at which representatives of the most progressive political forces at that time discussed options for the development of the country.

The house-monument can be called a typical masterpiece of Soviet architectural thought: the walls of the building are richly decorated with Soviet symbols, including beautiful mosaics depicting various scenes from the life of the Bulgarian people. The huge “hammer and sickle” located in the center of the dome logically completes and complements the pathetic aesthetics of the interior, decorated in the best socialist traditions. Unfortunately, after the dissolution of the Bulgarian Communist Party in 1989, the original building turned out to be of no use to anyone and quickly fell into disrepair.

Doyle, Belgium

The history of the small Belgian town of Doyle goes back more than 700 years, but in recent years the country's government has been actively relocating its residents in connection with plans to expand the nearby seaport, so most likely the town will soon turn into a ghost settlement. Some residents of Doyle speak out against the relocation, various protests are held in the city, and the walls of its buildings have become the subject of creativity for many European street artists advocating for the preservation of the city.

Doyle now resembles a huge open-air art gallery, the contrast between ancient buildings and modern graffiti both horrifying and amazing. Hundreds of art objects have turned Doyle into a favorite place of pilgrimage for fans of modern art, but most likely, its days as a populated area are numbered - currently only 25 people permanently live here, and the decision to demolish the city has not been canceled.

Coco Palms Resort, Hawaii, USA

The Hawaiian resort Coco Palms is famous for the fact that in the 1960s, the film Blue Hawaii, one of the most successful films starring Elvis Presley, took place here.
The resort appeared in 1953, the film “Miss Sadie Thompson” was filmed here, making it popular among vacationers, but the flow of tourists in the 1950s is nothing compared to the avalanche of fans of the “King of Rock and Roll” that poured onto the island after the premiere movie with Presley. For decades, Coco Palms was one of the most popular Hawaiian resorts and it seemed that this would continue forever, but... In 1992, Hawaii was visited by Iniki, the infamous hurricane that caused irreparable damage to the islands of the archipelago. The amount required to restore the resort was so great that insurance companies refused to cover the damage and declared bankruptcy, so Coco Palms' glorious rock 'n' roll past, alas, became part of history.
Recently, proposals to revive the resort have been increasingly heard, but there have been no practical steps to implement this laudable intention yet.

Canyon Lodge, Arizona, USA

The sad and instructive history of the Cayon Lodge settlement began in the 1920s. Highway 66, which had just appeared (also called the “Mother of Roads” or “Main Street of America”) quickly won the love of motorists, many of them stopped to rest in the town of Canyon Lodge, which, by and large, was just a small store, owned by Earl and Louise Cundiff. There were more and more travelers on Route 66, the couple’s profits grew, and as a result, entrepreneur Harry Miller, nicknamed “Two Guns,” drew attention to Canyon Lodge. The businessman convinced the couple to lease the land to him for ten years, after which he began work to transform Canyon Lodge into a tourist paradise with many attractions and even a zoo.
Miller considered one of the main attractions for tourists to be the canyon located not far from the city, where in ancient times a battle took place between the Apache and Navajo tribes. According to Harry, real historical events were not attractive enough for tourists, so he decided to stir up interest in Canyon Lodge in his own way - with the help of his workers, “ancient ruins” appeared near the city, a trade in fake Indian remains was established, and in the so-called “Cave” Death”, which served as a burial vault for 42 Apache warriors, even had soda fountains, and the burial itself was renamed “Mysterious Cave”.
Miller did not get away with trying to make money from the dead - robbers visited the town, after which an unpleasant conversation took place between the entrepreneur and the Cundiff couple. The dispute culminated in a shot - the hot-tempered businessman killed Earl on the spot. Incredibly, the court acquitted Harry, but his misadventures did not end there: soon after this, he was attacked twice by a cougar, and in addition, Miller was bitten by an Arizona snaketooth - a poisonous lizard, the bites of which are usually not fatal to humans, but can be very painful . In 1929, a fire destroyed Canyon Lodge almost to the ground, the entrepreneur failed to prove his right to these lands in court, and Miller stopped working with the city. After Highway 66 was rerouted, Canyon Lodge was left off the beaten path and quickly fell into disrepair.

Cinema of the end of the world", Egypt

In the middle of the Sinai desert lies what is probably the most rarely visited cinema in the world - its only auditorium has never been seen by a single visitor.

Such a strange place to build a cinema was chosen by a French patron of the arts, who for some reason thought that it was best to enjoy films among the deserted sandy hills of Sinai. The entrepreneur managed to obtain a construction permit, obtained the necessary equipment, but after completing the work in 1990, it turned out (surprise!) that the public did not really want to fight for tickets to the new cinema - in other words, the building turned out to be of no use to anyone, nor One film was never shown in it.