MapUrbex
Forgotten treasures around the world
Urban exploration isn’t just about dusty mansions or empty factories.
Some abandoned places defy logic — frozen in time, silent witnesses of bygone eras.
Here is the Top 10 most spectacular abandoned places in the world in 2025, chosen for their beauty, mystery, and history.
1️⃣ Buzludzha – Bulgaria 🇧🇬
Perched on the Balkan Mountains, the Buzludzha Monument looks like a crashed UFO.
Built in 1981 to glorify Bulgaria’s communist era, the building is now deserted.
Its interior mosaics still echo the propaganda of another time — a legendary European urbex spot.
2️⃣ Hashima Island (“Gunkanjima”) – Japan 🇯🇵
Nicknamed the Battleship Island, Hashima was once a densely populated mining city.
Abandoned since 1974, it symbolizes Japan’s industrial rise and decline.
Its concrete blocks and empty port offer a uniquely post-apocalyptic scene.
3️⃣ Pripyat – Ukraine 🇺🇦
No urbex list is complete without Pripyat, the ghost city of Chernobyl.
Evacuated after the 1986 nuclear disaster, it remains the most iconic urbex site in the world.
Amusement park, school, hospital — everything is still frozen in radioactive silence.
Read our article on urbex safety and legal risks.
4️⃣ Kolmanskop – Namibia 🇳🇦
A former diamond-mining town in the Namib Desert, Kolmanskop is slowly being swallowed by sand.
Every house becomes a natural work of art as the desert takes back the space.
A must-see for photographers and lovers of surreal atmospheres.
5️⃣ Burj Al Babas – Turkey 🇹🇷
More than 500 identical mini castles line the hills of Mudurnu.
Designed as a luxury real-estate project, Burj Al Babas is now a gigantic ghost city.
A kind of abandoned fairytale world that fascinates urbex explorers.
6️⃣ Tskaltubo – Georgia 🇬🇪
A former Soviet spa resort, Tskaltubo is full of majestic buildings and decaying baths.
Once visited by Stalin, it is now one of the most beautiful post-Soviet relics.
7️⃣ Varosha – Cyprus 🇨🇾
Once a glamorous seaside resort, Varosha was abandoned after the 1974 conflict.
Hotels, beaches, and shops remain as if people were about to return.
Partially reopened, it remains a frozen testimony to time and war.
8️⃣ Doel – Belgium 🇧🇪
The ghost village of Doel, threatened by the expansion of the Port of Antwerp, has become a symbol of Belgian urbex.
Empty houses covered in graffiti create a striking urban landscape — artistic, political, and poetic.
9️⃣ Bodie – California, United States 🇺🇸
A former gold-rush town, Bodie has remained intact since the late 19th century.
Now a State Historic Park, it can still be visited — a journey through time in “arrested decay.”
🔟 Craco – Italy 🇮🇹
A medieval hilltop village in Basilicata, Craco was evacuated after landslides in the 1960s.
Its ruins overlook the valley — a truly cinematic setting.
Craco has been used as a location for Quantum of Solace and The Passion of the Christ.
📸 Bonus – Urbex in France
Want to stay closer to home? Explore our guides:
🚀 Conclusion
From Japan to Namibia, these abandoned places tell stories of human grandeur and decline.
They fascinate with their silence, beauty, and timeless atmosphere.
Urbex is, above all, an exploration of the world’s memory.
