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By Fan Chen
Freelance Writer
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Urban exploration of abandoned man-made structures became popular in the 1990s when modern society was fast forwarding into the next century. Left behind were remnants of human civilization. Far away from modernization, rusted in air, tangled in weeds and vines, ruins tell forgotten tales and sometimes become history in and of themselves. From a Volkswagen cemetery in Utah to Soviet architecture in Armenia to a women's correctional facility in Thailand, here are deserted sites that take you back to a forgotten era.
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Punch Buggy Scrapyard Moab, Utah
Vintage car lovers won't want to miss this huge car disposal yard, the impressive open-air Tom Tom's Volkswagen graveyard—a father-and-son collaboration begun in 1961 with eight cars. From buses to Beetles to Karmann Ghias to Squarebacks, hundreds of cars, car windows, doors and tires form a rainbow-colored fleet contrasting with the dry yellow ground.
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Land of Giants Croaker, Virginia
Imagine driving by seeing 43 looming presidential busts staring blankly at you, each 20 feet tall with cracked skulls, partially peeling plaster skin and crumbling noses. Welcome to the remains of Virginia's Presidents Park. Built in 2004 in Williamsburg, the $10 million project was shut down six years later for lack of visitors, and the heads—each weighing up to 20,000 pounds—were relocated to a field 10 miles away.
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Rusted Glory Uyuni, Bolivia
At the outskirts of this small city known for the world's largest salt flat lie over a hundred rusty brown skeletons of trains in what was once an early 20th century transportation hub. As mining resources dried up and the economy of this town declined, the metal train carcasses were left for the salty breezes to chip away.
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Flash in the Pan Kolmanskop, Namibia
Diamond mining brought this small town to its heyday during the early 20th century, attracting an influx of German funds and providing a fine butcher, bakery and even what was then-South Africa's first X-ray machine. But when diamond resources dried up in the 1950s, people and capital swiftly retreated. Once one of the world's wealthiest areas is now a ghost town half buried by the desert.
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Game of Thrones' End Kupari, Croatia
Six miles east of Dubrovnik, one of the main filming locations of Game of Thrones' King's Landing, is a bay of abandoned hotels that witnessed Croatia's real power play. It was once a seaside resort for the military elite before the Yugoslav army looted and destroyed it during the Croatian War in the 1990s. What exists today at the complex of former glory are overgrown weeds, graffiti and rusty remnants.
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Once Upon a Gold Athens
Stadiums that once housed tears and sweat, cheers and boos during the 2004 Olympic games are now left for weeds. The beach volleyball arena, aquatics center and other venues were abandoned because of scant local interest and lack of planning when the $15 billion extravaganza was being built.
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City of Oblivion Pripyat, Ukraine
This city was born and died for the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant: built in the 1970s, Pripyat housed about 49,000 power plant workers and their families; it was evacuated on April 27, 1986, the day after the No. 4 reactor exploded. Now, nature reclaims the land scattered with faded boards, a rusty Ferris wheel and dusty toys. In 2022, Russian troops occupied the city, but Ukraine regained control two months later.
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Deserted Ambition Jermuk, Armenia
Once a landmark in this spa town, the former Palace of Culture now sits abandoned and decaying. Completed only a few years before the Soviet Union collapsed, it once swelled with Soviet pride and ambition, stretching 262 feet long with giant exterior sculptures, an indoor swimming pool, lecture hall and movie theater.
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Behind the Wall Chiang Mai, Thailand
At the heart of this town is the shell of the former Chiang Mai Women's Correctional Institution that incarcerated women primarily for drug offenses. After the facility was closed in 2013, prisoners were relocated and offered training in massage therapy as part of a reentry program. Buddhist monks held seven days and nights of rituals to cleanse its foul past. Now the building is host to rats, cats, snakes and graffiti artists.
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Wild West in the East Nikko, Japan
No, this is not California, but a theme park across the ocean in eastern Japan built by a Wild West–loving owner. Closed after 32 years of operation, Western Village remains a playground for would-be cowboys, horror film directors and keen explorers of haikyo, the Japanese word for ruins or urban exploration.
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Twining Romance Queensland, Australia
Nearly a century ago, Spanish sugarcane cutter José Paronella wanted to build a castle in the rainforest for his wife. The resulting wonderland—Paronella Park—with vines twining on stone pillars and moss peeping out from fissures has been open to the public since 1935. Its current owners are dedicated to "maintaining and preserving" the primitive beauty of this renowned carbon neutral tourist attraction with 7,500 flora and fauna.
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