Some of the most beautiful places on earth are far off, and at times are plain unreachable for the average traveler. Some are sequestered due to impossible weather, others are sacred and therefore not recommended to tourists, and others were simply forgotten and neglected. However, that doesn't mean that these places aren't gorgeous. So lean back, and prepare to travel (mentally, at least for now) to the abandoned yet gorgeous beaches, buildings, churches, castles and many more beauties from the forgotten corners of the earth.
1. Kennecott, Alaska
The Kennicott Mines and surrounding town, situated in the Alaskan wilderness, were once flourishing with copper miners and their families. it produced at least $200 million worth of ore until resources were depleted by the late 1930s and all of the townspeople fled - except for a family of three. It was totally abandoned by the 1950s when the family watching over it finally left.
This abandoned copper mining camp serves today as the ground for The National Historic Landmark District - a popular tourist attraction. The iconic view in Kennicott is the giant red mill building from the old Kennecott Copper Company, which stands 14 stories above the Kennicott glacier.
2. Canfranc Station, Spain
Though well past its glory days, the international Canfranc train station in Huesca, Spain, still leaves a majestic impression. It was once one of the most frequented train stations in Europe. It was constructed in 1928 on a grand scale to serve as a major hub for cross-border traffic. Its main building incorporates elaborate Beaux-Arts architecture, featuring 365 windows and 156 doors.
International services came to an abrupt end during the 1970's, when a train derailed on the French side of the bridge. It has remained open but only for a handful of trains from the Spanish side. It has experienced a major decline and neglect, resulting in much of the site becoming derelict.
3. Grossinger's Resort, New York
Though you would never know from looking at its current state, Grossinger's, in Liberty, New York, used to be a luxurious weekend escape in Upstate New York. In its heyday, it was similar to the resort in Dirty Dancing (some even say Grossinger's was the inspiration behind the film.)
After decades of activity and notable guests, due to an economic downfall in the town, the resort closed its doors in 1986. The property was sold, but the new owners failed to reopen the hotel due to the massive costs associated with it. The last building at Grossinger's was demolished in October 2018.
4. Rummu Prison, Estonia
This semi-submerged Soviet prison has a dark past. It was built in a convenient location, on the lip of a limestone quarry, where prisoners were once forced to work, and was abandoned in the 1990s when Estonia gained its independence.
Without anyone maintaining the area, the natural groundwater seeped into the former quarry, and it filled up, creating a new lake. It happened so fast that many of the machines and even some buildings were swallowed whole. Today, parts of the structure can still be seen on land, sticking out from the crystal clear lake waters. The spot has become a prime location for divers and adventurers who come for the sunken ruins beneath the waves.
5. Hotel Goricina, Croatia
Just outside Dubrovnik, on Croatia’s beautiful Dalmatian Coast, there’s an unlikely attraction that draws in visitors from all over the world. Kupari is an abandoned Yugoslav resort that was badly damaged by the Croatian war for Independence in the 1990s. these days, it’s better known as the ‘Bay of Abandoned Hotels’.
In the 1960s, Kupari resort was a highly fashionable beach destination for high-ranking officers with the Yugoslav Army. Sadly, the hotels of that luxurious resort were destroyed during the war and looted by soldiers who dragged away expensive furniture, metal, and marble.
6. Hachijo Royal Hotel, Japan
Located on the lush Japanese island of Hachijojima, Hachijo Royal Hotel was once one of the country's largest resorts. Prior to 1964, the Government made it difficult for the average Japanese to travel overseas and the tourism industry looked nearer to home to find an equivalent haven. Government attempts to promote the island as the “Hawaii of Japan” resonated positively and soon the island saw a rapid influx of investment and property development.
Fast forward 30 years and with overseas travel has become the norm meant Hachijo-Jima was going to struggle to reinvent itself. The Hachijo Royal hotel eventually closed in 2006, and now the French Baroque architecture juxtaposed against the moss and overgrown trees looks eerie.
7. Beelitz Heilstatten hospital, Beelitz, Germany
The Beelitz Heilstätten complex in Beelitz, Germany, was once the largest treatment center in the world for lung diseases like tuberculosis. It was used as a military hospital During World War I and World War II and then occupied by the Soviet military for 50 years.
The Soviets abandoned the site in 1995, and although select sections of the enormous hospital are now used for research and rehabilitation, most of the complex has remained virtually untouched for nearly 25 years and was left to decay back into the surrounding forest. In 2002 it was used as a set for the Roman Polanski film The Pianist.
8. Geamana, Romania
In the 1970s, copper mining took off in the village of Geamana in the Romanian countryside. The dictator at the time, Nicolae Ceausescu, decided to exploit a huge underground copper deposit. In only one year the work began, and total evacuation (around 400 families) was mandated so the valley could be used as a toxic dumpsite.
As the exploitation continued, the lake grew more and more, gulping up what used to be a village and creating the surreal landscape we see today. The acidic lake contains cyanide, which is used in the extraction process. The church and a few houses are all that remains of the village today.
9. Craco, Italy
Despite being in existence since 540, when Craco was a monastic and educational center as well as a feudal town, much of this town's population evacuated during the 20th century due to a series of natural disasters. Now Craco is eerily abandoned and slowly crumbling, but the ancient site is so striking that it even served as the set for movies like The Passion of the Christ.
Even without residents, the storied history of the town has left quite a monument to medieval architecture through the ages. Life returns to the town during the many religious festivals held there paying homage to the Virgin Mary and the statue.
10. Temple of Santiago, Mexico
The Temple of Santiago was built in 1564 in southern Mexico's Chiapas state, but when a devastating plague gripped the area from 1773 to 1776, the church was abandoned. Over the years, droughts have caused water levels surrounding this 450-year-old church to drop.
Despite the unfortunate circumstances, they've allowed the temple that's usually hidden below the water to emerge - a stunning-yet-eerie reminder of how things are not always what they seem. In 2002, water levels even dropped so low during a drought that visitors could walk inside the church again.
11. Gouqi Island, China
In the mouth of the Yangtze River lies an incredible example of Mother Nature reclaiming what was hers. This village on the island of Gouqi was once a thriving fishing settlement until the small bay couldn’t support the ever-increasing number of fishing boats. The fishing population left the village, leaving behind a ghost town.
In only a few decades, it has turned into an abandoned paradise with green ivy swallowing every former home. With its lush greens and intriguing back story, the island has become a hotspot for tourists and got the name "Wizard of Oz's dream”. In fact, today tourists are what keeps the village from being hauntingly empty.
12. Saint Nicholas Church, Macedonia
This flooded church of Saint Nicholas sits in the Mavorvo Lake in Macedonia. It was built in 1850 and stood for 153 years until it was decided an artificial lake was needed in the village. The lake was created to support a power plant, and the church and surrounding village were merely caught in the wake of progress.
The icons and other religious objects found inside the church were moved to the one located across it. During the submersion, the wooden iconostasis, icons, books, and religious objects were forgotten inside but were later collected and reconstructed. What's left today is an eerie juxtaposition of the dilapidated building against the lovely landscape.
13. Miranda Castle, Belgium
This fairytale-like structure in Belgium was originally built in 1866 as a residential complex for French aristocrats escaping the guillotine and was later intended to be their summer home. But the designer died in unknown and mysterious circumstances before its completion in 1907.
Afterward, it was taken over by Nazis during World War II, served as an orphanage and summer camp for 20 years, and finally, in 1991, was abandoned because it was too costly to maintain. Through the years the location has become a favorite place for ghost hunters and urban explorers. Interestingly, the clock of the clock-tower has continued working and is still counting, as the time of Miranda Castle slowly ticks away.
14. Ross Island, India
Ross Island is one of the 572 islands in South Andaman, India, once owned by the British and home to thousands of convicts and political prisoners. But after a large earthquake struck the area in 1941, thousands of residents were killed.
Today, nature has reclaimed most of the land and the island exists as a tourist attraction. Gnarly trees have enveloped buildings in their entirety and now it has a stunning Jungle Book vibe. Ross Island was once touted as Paris of the East; now, it remains an unlikely memorial to the misery of the fallen.
15. Six Flags, New Orleans
The sun-soaked assembly of thrill rides opened as Jazzland in 2000, promising to become a new major entertainment amenity for the region. It changed hands in 2002 and was renamed Six Flags, New Orleans. The park was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Murky water rose high and saltwater damaged 80% of the rides, leaving it too expensive to restore.
Katrina’s wrath left behind dystopian landscapes, and it didn’t spare the amusement park. The contents sank and rose along with the tide until all that was left was something that resembled a post-Atlantis wonderland, which makes a strangely beautiful monument to the vibrant city once nearly destroyed by tragedy.
16. Hirta, St Kilda, Scotland
While this lush but secluded island was inhabited for more than 2,000 years, it’s been abandoned since 1930, when the last residents of the UK’s remotest islands requested evacuation to the mainland. After many years of isolation, the residents were exposed to the outside world and their lives have become unsustainable in the face of modernity and a rapidly diminishing population.
They left behind a traditional Scottish coastal village which now lies in ruins and today the islands are a double UNESCO World Heritage Site, for both cultural and ecological reasons due to their human history and globally significant bird colonies.
17. Dome Homes, Florida
Numerous legends have sprung up surrounding the origins of the crumbling cluster of domes off of the Coast of Marco Island, Florida. Everything from a secret cult to aliens has been credited with creating the space-age buildings but they were in fact the vision of retired oil producer, Bob Lee. Built in 1981, in Lee’s initial conception, the eccentric home was to be a self-sufficient, eco-friendly vacation spot for his family.
Unfortunately, as the landscape on the edge of the island began to change, simple erosion made the homes unlivable. The firm beach on which they were built was overtaken by the sea until the domes were surrounded on all sides with no chance of reclamation.
18. Kolmanskop, Namibia
In the dry, barren stretches on the edge of the Namib Desert lie the bones of a grand town. People flocked to what became known as Kolmanskop, after the discovery of diamonds in the area in 1908. The diamonds could actually be picked off the ground by bare hands, and soon the area was flooded with men wanting to make their fortune.
As people arrived, houses and other buildings were built. Ballrooms, casinos, theaters, and hospitals were constructed in the German-influenced town. But in 1954 it was abandoned after resources were exhausted. Today it’s a popular tourist destination, with guided tours taking visitors around the ghost-town and through the houses which are now filled only with sand.
19. Kilchurn Castle, Scotland
Although Kilchurn Castle is now in a state of disrepair, it is still a beautiful ruin in an extraordinarily scenic location surrounded by green Scottish hills and the crystal clear Loch Awe. This Scottish castle was built in the mid-1400s and housed some of the most powerful people in the country.
During the next centuries, the castle was extended and new chambers were built. However, it was abandoned in 1760, when it was badly damaged by lightning. The remains of a turret of a tower are still resting upside-down in the center of the courtyard. Today, the ruins are a tourist attraction open to visitors in the summer season.
20. Kayakoy, Turkey
Nestled in the Taurus Mountains, Kayakoy was once home to a mixed population with residents living peacefully with their neighbors. But the Greco-Turkish war ended with violence and retribution aimed at religious minorities remaining on both sides, which led the governments to agree to a mutual compulsory population exchange, and the town was deserted in the 1920s.
Today, the stone houses slowly give into dilapidation while a story of abandonment awaits to be discovered. Approximately 350 homes sit empty and mostly roofless, along with two Greek Orthodox churches and the fountains and cisterns that watered the city. Harsh winters and strong winds have stripped the buildings down to ruins, making the town look ancient.
21. The Floating Forest, Australia
The SS Ayrfield is one of many decommissioned ships in the Homebush Bay, just west of Sydney, but what separates it from the other stranded vessels is the incredible foliage that adorns the rusted hull. This 102-year-old ship, previously a transport ship, was supposed to be dismantled but ended up becoming a famous attraction instead.
For years the bushes and other plants have overgrown the ship and it was discovered recently after the attempts to clean the bay. Now the beautiful spectacle, also referred to as The Floating Forest, adds a bit of life to this ship graveyard.
22. Allerheiligen Monastery, Germany
Deep in the German Black Forest, are the ruins of Kloster Allerheiligen, the Monastery of All Saints, which has been burnt time and again by lightning and fire seemed like God hated it, but still exists today as a haunting ruin.
After the final calamity struck, no one bothered to try and repair the aging abbey and it was left to crumble as ruins. Despite this initial neglect, the ruins of the church remain today, kept from deteriorating further by historic preservationists. While it used to be monks and pilgrims flocking to the site, it is now tourists and lovers of beautiful ruin.
23. Ta Prohm Temple, Cambodia
The history of the Ta Prohm temple dates back to the 12th century when many of the temples in the Angkor area were built at the height of the Khmer Empire. It was a Buddhist monastery and center of learning where more than 10,000 people once lived but was abandoned in the 15th century after the fall of the Khmer empire.
The ancient Buddhist carvings and crumbling walls have been decayed by time and swallowed up by giant jungle roots, and rediscovered in the early 20th century by French archaeologists. Today, it’s easily one of the most visited temples in the Angkor complex, especially because of its appearance in the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
24. Maunsell Army Sea Forts, England
Rising from the water like rusty invaders out of H.G. Wells, the Maunsell Army Forts in the Thames Estuary are decaying reminders of the darkest days of World War II, when it was created to protect the shores of Kent, England from German attacks.
The anti-aircraft tower-forts were designed by Guy Maunsell, a British civil engineer, constructed in 1942 on land and then transported to their watery homes. After their successful wartime career, the forts were decommissioned in the 1950s. Originally there were three of them, but only two are left standing: the Redsands Fort and the Shivering Sands Fort, and today they can be seen by boat or from land on a clear day.
25. City Methodist Church, Indiana
This stunning gothic ruin was a casualty of the Indiana steel industry crash. The massive, nine-story City Methodist Church was built for an astronomical cost, which would translate to over 7 million dollars today. It looked like something picked up from historic England and plopped right down in the middle of Gary, Indiana.
It was once the largest Methodist church in the Midwest, but eventually, the steel industry faltered, the population dwindled significantly and the upkeep on the grand church became too high. By 1975 it was closed for good. It has remained abandoned to this day, but turned into a haunting piece of urban ruin, with multiple films using it as a backdrop.
26. Tequendama Falls Museum, Colombia
From a mansion to a hotel to a museum, this gorgeous building has never lost its view of the titular gorgeous falls. Built in 1923 to serve as a successful architect’s mountain mansion, the decadent structure was constructed to symbolize the lush roaring ’20s. During the 1950s it was to be expanded to a hotel complex, but the construction plans petered out leaving the French-styled architecture intact.
After serving its time as the Hotel del Salto, it was abandoned and left to cultivate moss and tales of hauntings. Most recently it has been converted into the Tequendama Falls Museum, displaying wonders of the natural world to complement the organic beauty of the falls that inspired the building’s construction.
27. Michigan Central Station
The massive Beaux-Arts train station known as Michigan Central Station (MCS) has stood empty now for more than 30 years. Once a bustling hub, the abandoned shell has become a symbol of Detroit’s economic problems. The elegant building, opened in 1913, was designed by the same team of architects responsible for New York’s Grand Central Station.
For the first 20 years, MCS was the main passenger terminal for Detroit’s rail network, a source of civic pride, and an example of the growing city’s potential. Beginning in the middle of the century, however, train travel declined and automobile traffic expanded. By the mid-1980s only a handful of trains passed through it, and the last train left the station in 1988.
28. Bodie, California
Nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Bodie grew quickly during the gold and silver rush, from a quiet town to a rowdy mining city. By 1879, its population exploded with fortune hunters from all over the world, and it had 65 saloons, opium and gambling dens, brothels, and the reputation of the most lawless town in California.
Perhaps predictably, the mines quickly reached full capacity, and soon the mining companies closed down, and the population had plummeted below 100 by 1888. Today it is the best-preserved ghost town in California, with remaining structures, rusted-out cars and machinery, and boarded-up mines. Many of the building-interiors still contain original artifacts and cannot be entered.
29. Aniva Rock Lighthouse, Russia
The nine-story Aniva lighthouse was built by the Japanese in 1939, on an island situated just east of Russia. The island was largely uninhabited until both Japan and Russia wanted to annex it. After years of conflict, both nations agreed to share it, but the Russians annexed it all in World War II, causing some half a million Japanese to be evacuated.
It remained in use up until 2006, and then was abandoned, since modern navigation hardly needs lighthouses. Its seven stories of diesel engines, accumulator rooms, keeper’s living spaces, radio facilities, storerooms, large clockwork pendulum, and 300kg pool of mercury are still and echo only with the crash of waves against the surrounding crags.
30. Bannerman Castle, New York
Francis Bannerman was born in Scotland, in 1851, and by age 14 founded his own company in New York, selling military surplus goods. His business grew meteorically until Bannerman’s had accumulated so much equipment and ammunition that he was forced by law to look for storage outside of city limits.
Pollepel Island, close to the Hudson River’s eastern shore, was purchased in 1900 as a safe storage site with an elaborately decorated Scottish-style castle and residence, designed by Bannerman himself. But construction halted with his death in 1918, and since then Tragedy and disaster struck the place time and time again. Today the remains of the Scottish castle are being preserved for the public.
31. Gereja Ayam, Magelang, Indonesia
If you’re ever in the jungles of central Java, you might stumble upon a church that's both awesome and confusing. Gereja Ayam, AKA the "Chicken Church”, has a bit of a misnomer, since the architect meant it to look like a dove. It was opened in the 1990s, with the upper floors used as a worship center for all religions, while the lower floors provided rehab, among other charitable services.
Unfortunately, construction costs soon became too high, so the project, and building, were abandoned and left to the forest in 2000. These days it is a tourist destination, with vibrant murals by local artists adorning the interior, incredible views of the surrounding forests, and even a small cafe.
32. Pripyat, Ukraine
Pripyat, founded in 1970 to house workers from Chernobyl, was the city most affected by the nuclear disaster in 1986. The incident released massive amounts of radiation, forcing the residents to flee. Over three decades later, this ghost town is a freeze-frame of the Soviet Union in 1986.
Communist propaganda still hangs on walls, personal belongings litter the streets, a decaying amusement park, toys are strewn about a schoolhouse, and all clocks are frozen at the exact same time. Ironically, the absence of humans has been excellent for wildlife, the animal populations grew enormously and today more closely resembles that of a national park than a radioactive containment zone.
33. Power Plant IM, Charleroi, Belgium
In a small neighborhood within the Belgian town of Charleroi sits an abandoned power station. Originally built in 1921, the Power Plant IM used to be one of the largest coal-burning power plants in Belgium - its massive cooling tower was able to cool down 480,000 gallons of water per minute in its heyday.
But with great power comes great pollution, and this particular plant was responsible for 10% of the total CO2 emissions in the entire country. Greenpeace protested, and the site was shut down in 2007. And while it no longer produces electricity, the magnificent cooling tower of which still looms over the town no longer creating electricity, but providing plenty of dystopian views.
34. Kangbashi, Ordos, China
It seems the residents of this megalopolis suddenly vanished, but they were never actually there. This modern ghost town, located in the city of Ordos, was built in 2004 with the intention to accommodate some one million people. But unlike typical ghost towns, Kangbashi never had a bustling population of residents, since city officials had trouble filling the expensive apartment building. And the remote desert location certainly didn't help matters.
The urban landscape is filled with lavish apartment buildings, state-of-the-art office towers, museums, sports fields, and theaters. There’s just no one to use them. Most of the buildings and apartments, in fact, have already been sold. Still, most buyers don’t move to the city and it remains mostly deserted.
35. Crystal Palace Subway, Dulwich, London
Hidden under a main road around Crystal Palace Park is a cavernous, vaulted structure, consisting of octagonal pillars and stone ribs, that resembles a crypt from a Byzantine church. However, this was no last resting place but originally built as a subway station for visitors to the famous Crystal Palace.
The Palace, which was built for the World Fair in Hyde Park in 1851, was sadly destroyed by a fire in 1936, rendering the subway station completely useless - but not destroyed. It survived and took on many roles in the following years: air-raid shelter, improvised children’s playground, and a perfect location for 90’s ravers. Today, tours of the station can be taken just a few times a year.