What motivates humankind to burrow deep into the Earth? From London to Paris, Budapest to Moscow, the USA to Australia, here are seven of the most amazing examples in the world. Some were built for military defense or shelter, many are abandoned while others thrive. These amazing images feature tunnels, caverns, labyrinths from seven underground location around the world, following the acclaimed 7 Underwater Wonders and 7 Abandoned Wonders of the World from our 7 Wonders Series.
Paris, France: There are extensive networks of catacombs, quarries and other tunnels running under the capital of France. Some of these amazing photographs were taken by urban explorers who lit the scenes with candles, producing remarkable image effects. The other images show the work of Paris General of Police from the late 18th Century, when disease led the city to bury bones underground in unused quarries rather than risk further infection of the population.
Moscow, Russia: This particular photographer is uniquely privileged, as an official government photographer, to take rare looks and snapshots of the myriad tunnels of all kinds running underneath Moscow. Clearly he does a great deal of post-production work, giving these images an air of surreality. Still, they are incredibly impressive and show a compelling range of locations.
London, England: The West Norwood Cemetery has a remarkable collection of historic monuments. Even more fascinating, however, are the catacombs below the chapel on site. As these images show, there is a remarkable collection of coffins in spaces of various sizes. The mahogany coffins have largely survived the test of time, while the pine ones have not fared quite as well. All in all, a beautiful collection, and largely left to wear naturally with time.
Ozarks, Midwest: The Ozark mountain range is filled with caverns and mines that date back generations. They are perhaps most famous for being the site where Radium was discovered shortly after radioactive elements were beginning to be understood in Europe. These more recent explorers featured here have certainly shown dedication, bringing along a raft to use flooded areas.
Budapest, Hungary: A labyrinth of caves and tunnels span for miles under Castle Hill. These are believed to date back many centuries and to have been created for military purposes, and were more recently used as an air-raid shelter during World War II. Visitors are now allowed on two kinds of tours: a flashlight tour and fully lit tour. The aged walls and arches are something to behold. (Images via Dheera dot Net)
Orlando, Florida: For a long time, mysteries circulated about tunnels underneath the so-called Magic Kingdom. As it turns out, the rumors were true: Disney World has an extensive system of underground passages used my employees to travel quickly and discreetly from place to place. These highly private tunnels are large enough to accommodate vehicles as well as pedestrians, and connect a series of offices, kitchens, cafeterias, storage and break rooms, which all lurk below the glittering facade of the world’s most famous theme park.
Coober Pedy, Australia: This small town in the middle of nowhere, Australia, is home to some of the strangest houses on Earth. A combination of climactic conditions and the existence of opal mining in the region have literally driven the residents underground. Everything from residences to churches are carved out of the ground as the above images show. The place is something of a tourist attraction, with underground hotels as well as a golf course above ground - though golf is played at night due to the regional heat!
If you are interested in exploring abandonments, check out this Beginner’s Guide to Building Exploration, these Urban Exploration Images and Links and 7 Tips for Legally Visiting Historical Abandonments. Also see our 7 Abandoned Wonders of Europe, Russia and America. Know of more underground wonders of the world? Feel free to add them in the comments below!
More Underground, Underwater and Other Wonders of the World
7 Underground Wonders of the World
7 (More!) Underground Wonders of the World
7 Underwater Wonders of the World
7 Island Wonders of the World
7 Engineering Wonders of the World
7 Urban Wonders of the World
7 Wonders of Modern Green Design and Technology
Amazing Abandoned Cities, Places and Property of the World
7 Abandoned Wonders of the World
7 (More!) Abandoned Wonders of the World
7 Abandoned Wonders of America
7 (More!) Abandoned Wonders of America
7 (Even More!) Abandoned Wonders of America
7 Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union
7 (More!) Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union
7 Abandoned Wonders of the European Union
121 Comments
September 30th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Amazing shots! I have plans to visit Moscow next year and have heard from numerous friends and comrades of the beautiful subway system.. these photographs fortify what I’ve heard. Thanks!
September 30th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Gee - there must be something primal about how caves - and especially bones in caves - are freaky and send chills down my spine. Is it a fear of being buried alive where the sun doesn’t shine?
September 30th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Coober Pedy is incredible — stranger than quite a few fictional places I’ve seen. Is it occupied though? Or is it more of a ghost town?
September 30th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
The West Norwood Chapel Cemetery catacombs remind me oddly of some very old slave quarters I once saw at my cousin’s home in Maryland. The only access to these underground dungeon-like quarters was through a small hole in the foundation. Unspeakable living conditions…for the living.
In catacombs, though, the dead don’t care.
October 1st, 2007 at 12:00 am
I can’t believe you forgot one of the largest ancient underground cities of the World: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocia
October 1st, 2007 at 12:10 am
There must be so much more… what about abandoned missile silos, natural cave formations, and high energy physics laboratories? This is really a nice collection of photos but I am not really sure they are the top 7…
October 1st, 2007 at 12:28 am
Coober Pedy is a working rural town. Opal mining is going strong. You can visit, but, if memory serves, the plane only goes to Coober Pedy twice a week.
October 1st, 2007 at 12:31 am
al: people live there. It’s not exactly a thriving metropolis but it’s far from a ghost town.
October 1st, 2007 at 12:47 am
I’m disappointed that the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Krakow, Poland was not on this list, especially when Disney World tunnels were included. It is a huge underground mine filled with ornate carvings and even chandeliers made from the rock salt. In particular, there is a beautiful chapel almost 500 feet underground, with patterns carved onto the floors and walls, rock salt carved chandeliers and sculptures. There is even a carving of the last supper on one of the walls. Here is a zoomed-out picture of the room:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/colin_r/432291996/
October 1st, 2007 at 12:47 am
Amazing picture …
Just like a game adventure :D
October 1st, 2007 at 12:51 am
@Al Ebaster: yeap its occupied
October 1st, 2007 at 12:53 am
Coober Pedy is still very much inhabited, by locals and opal miners. The homes are made underground because it is far cooler than above ground. Also the ground is easy to mine, yet strong enough to support itself in large rooms.
The homes are sometimes started as an opal mine and then when the colour is gone (no more opal left), the drives are turned into a house if the owner wants it. Sometimes the houses have strange rooms with odd angles and connections because that was the way the opal led the miners.
October 1st, 2007 at 1:04 am
Amazing! There is so much to learn about our world, isn’t there?
October 1st, 2007 at 1:17 am
What a great post! Splendid idea :)
October 1st, 2007 at 1:19 am
Where’s the Edinburgh Valuts, where people too poor to live over ground lived and died…
Surley they deserve a mention…or perhaps the Scotland street tunnel also in Edinburgh?
http://farm1.static.flickr.com.....1613_o.jpg
October 1st, 2007 at 1:38 am
just amazing !!!
October 1st, 2007 at 1:43 am
To be fair, the Disney tunnels are above ground, acting as a first floor with the park built on an artificial second story.
October 1st, 2007 at 1:55 am
There’s also Edinburgh vaults - the original Edinburgh city that was bricked up to contain plague victims and the new city we know today was built on top.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:00 am
Coober Pedy is an active town with lots of tourism and opal mines.
Check out http://www.cooberpedy.sa.gov.a......cfm?u=191
October 1st, 2007 at 2:03 am
You have missed what I believe is an even more impressive underground tunnel (though less easy to photograph beautifully) and that’s CERN and their many kilometers of tunnels and vast underground chambers.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:05 am
Coober Pedy is definitely still there and has a population of a few thousand people. It’s famous for it’s Opal mines and you can normally find a few small opals by just sifting through the rubble around some of the old abandoned mines.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:08 am
I would certainly add this one to this list…
http://www.undergroundtour.com/
October 1st, 2007 at 2:43 am
I was expecting to see this in the list: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pag.....ge_id=1770
It’s the largest underground cave in the UK, estimated to be about 140m from floor to ceiling!
Impressive list tho, especially considering I live near West Norwood !!
October 1st, 2007 at 2:47 am
Very beautiful. Makes me want to go exploring
October 1st, 2007 at 3:08 am
take a look at palermo (italy) catacombs. simply incredible –> http://www.palermoweb.com/pano.....uccini.htm
October 1st, 2007 at 3:21 am
You forget about Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland (near Cracov). There is no other place like this in whole world:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine
Also this one is simply amazing!:
http://news.nationalgeographic.....tals-cave/
October 1st, 2007 at 4:07 am
awesome post, thanks
October 1st, 2007 at 4:13 am
great set of pictures
October 1st, 2007 at 5:17 am
All what i can say : THIS IS AMAZING
October 1st, 2007 at 5:41 am
I’ve been in the Magic Kingdom tunnels or Utilidors as they are called.
Amazing “city” beneath the park.
October 1st, 2007 at 7:04 am
By far, the most incredible underground wonder of the worlds are the cities built undergrond in Cappadocia, Turkey (Anatolia). There were 35 cities with over 50 000 inhabitants all linked by tunnels. And these cities had for some up to 15 floor levels down deep under the ground.
These should be on the most important ones underground wonders.
October 1st, 2007 at 7:09 am
thought i’d see damanhur community undrground temple. worth checking out. http://www.damanhur.com.
October 1st, 2007 at 7:10 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C....._Australia
Population of about 2000 as of 2006, to answer Al Ebaster.
October 1st, 2007 at 7:33 am
I visited an amazing place when was in poland.
Wieliczka Salt Mines.
Baquet Hall, chapel, Post Office, Statues, Model of town above the mines all carved out of solid salt.
Check out
http://www.travelblog.org/Euro.....-6241.html
October 1st, 2007 at 8:44 am
You forgot the salt mines in Krakow poland… the miners made a salt statue of pope john paul the second, and there is a HUGE cathedral made from salt like 100m below ground…..
October 1st, 2007 at 10:01 am
lol this is cool! i should visit on of those places.
October 1st, 2007 at 10:44 am
You should include the Salt Mines in Turda, Romania. They were excavated from the early 11th century on; it is one of the largest in Europe.
http://www.trekkingklub.com/images/img.gif
October 1st, 2007 at 11:17 am
Wieliczka salt mine in Poland should be on the list: http://www.photo-exhibits.com/.....raphs.html
check out the chapel carved entirely from salt.
October 1st, 2007 at 11:38 am
What about Poland? Wieliczka near to Krakow? Check this site if you need more info. It is stunning….
http://www.kopalnia.pl/site.ph.....e&
October 1st, 2007 at 11:54 am
You should add the Wieliczka Salt Mine to your list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine
October 1st, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Several years at Disney, We were on the Tower Of Terror, and the ride broke down. After about 30 minutes sitting in total darkness, the ride was pulled off it’s track and we got to see the back of Disney. We were told immediately that no photo’s were permitted but we got to spend about 10 minutes behind the scenes and then were escorted through a tunnel and back into the park.
October 1st, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Gibraltar has some amazing underground (well, inside a mountain/very large rock) sights as well, including seige tunnels, many amazing caves and an indoor concert hall.
The seige tunnels are very impressive as they were dug into the mountain, and the waste rubble dumped in the sea to construct the runway that is Gibraltar Airport.
October 1st, 2007 at 12:28 pm
The West Norwood Cemetery is creepy but id love to visit that place someday.
October 1st, 2007 at 1:33 pm
These are breathtaking images!
October 1st, 2007 at 4:13 pm
This article is inspiration for me to go install some subterranean sprinkler pipes.
October 1st, 2007 at 5:05 pm
This is a good post; however, larger pictures would make it amazing.
October 1st, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Cappadocia in Turkey, is a must on this list, come on…Orlando? With all respect, what is amazing is that many of these underground cities where built centuries ago, without today’s technology. Anyway, congratulations for putting this together, new places on my list to go !!
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Thanks for the info guys — and by the sounds of it, we can expect Seven More Underground Wonders of the World.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:14 am
What a fantastic post! I’m going to have to go to some one day; it’s really cool to find this stuff out!
October 4th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Either of the old roman capitals (Rome and Istanbul) could have made this list. Most of the original roman buildings are still standing underneath the modern cities.
October 5th, 2007 at 4:11 am
Liverpools Tunnels are suppose to be an amazing sight.Thought to be a giant job creation scheme
see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.....7s_tunnels
http://www.williamsontunnels.co.uk/
brian
October 5th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Definitely CERN
Also the Chunnel
Cappadocia
and also in Turkey the Yerebatan Saray (Sunken Palace Cistern) in Istanbul is an underground cavern that looks like a palace with over 300 columns…
October 6th, 2007 at 2:47 am
and what about Wieliczka, Krakow, Poland? I think you must watch it.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:43 am
Might be a “small” underground wonder, but still I like this underground crypt a lot!
-> http://www.forbidden-places.ne.....oned-crypt
October 9th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Exploration Urbaine ! Underground.
Catacombes de Paris:
http:\\ckzone.org
January 7th, 2008 at 10:32 am
We used to go spelunking in the old (shut down by GM) subway under Rochester, NY. Very scary and surreal. It is deep, dark, and long. It is also inhabitted by some strange people who live similarly to gollum from LotR. However, instead of fish, they take in massive amounts of narcotics. They must go to the surface occaisionally. There are many large objects deep in the tunnels that must have taken some effort to get there. I was very claustrophobic and very glad to get out of there. If you’re ever there, it is easy to access, just go under one of the first bridges as you enter the city proper from the direction of U of R.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Have seen many like these as catacombs.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Wow, some of these photo’s remind me of the salt mines in Germany. I went down inside the earth and saw how people mine them so that we may enjoy the salt we use today.
Incredible to see how men have lost their lives so that others can enjoy luxury items such as salt.
Beautiful pictures and I so appreciate you for sharing them with us.
Judith May
March 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Such wonderful unseen sights.Love these.
March 23rd, 2008 at 11:30 pm
What drastic transformation.Well constructed.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:29 am
Truly amazing, thanks for sharing these beautiful pics.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Great pics! I hope I have a chance to visit these one day.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 am
Those are some great pictures. My grandmother always told me stories about the underground tunnels in Paris. It is neat to finally see them.
June 14th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
it is all fantastic and keeps a man in the tip of the chair with great enthisiasm.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:01 am
How can you left out Cappadocia’s underground cities!? It’s one of the world’s largest and deepest, if not most…
June 18th, 2008 at 10:14 am
incredible
June 18th, 2008 at 11:32 am
The Wieliczka Salt Mine outside of Krakow, Poland contains several chapels. According to Wikipedia: ” It includes statues of historic and mythical figures, all sculpted by miners out of rock salt. Even the crystal chandeliers are fashioned out of rock salt. Also featured are beautifully carved chambers, chapels, an underground lake, and exhibits on the history of salt mining. The mine is frequently referred to as ‘The Underground Salt Cathedral of Poland.’ “
June 19th, 2008 at 8:55 am
No Cappadocia? No Super Kamiokande?
June 26th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Thanks for sharing these beautiful pics.
June 30th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
I can’t believe no one has mentioned the underground salt Cathedral of Colombia. It is the most fascinating, and largest, underground construction I’ve been to. Built from an old salt mine, it is now a working, functioning cathedral far below surface level. One fascinating aspect is how the light below there is reflecting off the salt crystals in the walls, and how huge rooms are hollowed out from the tunnels.
It is in Zipaquirá, for anyone interested.
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