12 Places and Things That May Have Been Abandoned, But Haven’t Lost Their Charm

The world is full of interesting places to visit, especially those that were abandoned at some point and later absorbed by nature. In such cases, the place offers us a peculiar and unique aspect, marked by the fusion between human creation and the force of Mother Nature. Ships stranded on beaches or on real estate and old urban settlements that rest in the middle of nowhere hide unique stories, from their emergence to later abandonment.

O awesome.club researched places that have been abandoned over the years, showing why people left them behind and what they look like today.

There is an abandoned hotel in Colombia that was built in the 1920s for high society people. However, due to the economic crisis that hit the country in later years, construction was abandoned, giving rise to several legends.

The great attraction of the place is the fact that it is located on the edge of a cliff, just a few meters from the Tequendama Waterfall. In addition, the construction passed through the hands of several owners, making it one of the favorite visitation points for those who enjoy mystery stories. Currently, it is a tourist site that opens for visitation during certain periods.

The American city of Lincoln has a land known as Ponyhenge, characterized by strange moving objects in the shape of a horse. To this day, no one knows how they ended up there, but it is believed that the first little horse appeared in 2010. Gradually, others appeared to complete the herd.

The area is next to a highway, so any traveler is able to see the horses even from a distance. They have already counted the presence of 30 horses there, but the natives of the place guarantee that they have seen 50 of them. And even over time, the objects have remained conserved, but the strange thing is that they are never positioned in the same place. It’s like someone rearranged them with each visit.

On the outskirts of Uyuni, Bolivia, there is a large amount of abandoned trains whose origin takes us back to the 19th century and the plans to create a railway network that would connect several important cities in the country. Currently, there are more than 100 trains there, all rusted due to the large amount of salt present in the place.

It is a tourist attraction for those visiting the region, as well as a kind of entrance to the nearby Salar de Uyuni. The idea is that the trains are preserved so that, in the future, they can house a railway museum aimed at lovers of this means of transport.

The odd cluster of space dome-shaped houses was built in 1982 by an oil producer named Bob Lee. His intention was to create a beach house where he could spend his vacation away from the city. The design included six interconnected structures, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Some units had two levels, and the domes were designed to eliminate corners and other wasted spaces, typical of common constructions. Although Lee’s family was able to use the house for a while, frequent storms caused the property to be sold and passed through the hands of several owners. Ultimately, the site was abandoned in 2018, becoming state property.

We may even be used to seeing buildings in ruins, but what about entire abandoned villages? This is the case of Houtouwan, a small fishing village located in China that once housed 2,000 people, having been abandoned in the 1990s by the residents themselves.

There are several theories trying to explain the gradual departure of the inhabitants of the village. There are those who believe it was the result of bad management of the fish trade. Others claim that access to the location was too risky, in addition to the bay being too small. Even so, it is possible to visit and admire the peculiar landscape of the houses covered by vegetation, a result of the lack of maintenance.

The peculiar bird-shaped building is situated in a hidden spot in the densely forested area of ​​Magelang, Indonesia. Its name, Gereja Ayam, means “chicken church”, although the original idea was to represent a pigeon. Construction began in 1990, but was abandoned in 2000 due to economic problems and other inconveniences that arose over time.

This gave the place a strange atmosphere, mixed with the peculiarities of nature. In 2016, a documentary dedicated to the church was produced, called Into the Inferno. The work details the property’s connection to a nearby volcano, given the fact that the head points in that direction. Nowadays, it is an interesting place for fans of trails and adventure tourism.

During 2007, the plan arose to build a replica of the Eiffel Tower, but in China. And that’s how the village called Tianducheng was born, formed by a version of the well-known tower, surrounded by other constructions of gardens and buildings in the Parisian style. Due to the low number of inhabitants in the region, the town entered the category of ghost towns.

Among the Paris copies made in Tianducheng are the lighting of the tower itself, the Fountain of Neptune, the Tuileries Garden and the Palace of Versailles, among others. Furthermore, some couples like to take pictures in front of the tower to celebrate the anniversary of their relationship, not forgetting the street vendors who sell souvenirs from the structure.

This peculiar metallic structure served to protect the army against air attacks. But after being abandoned in the middle of the 20th century, it went through a gradual process of degradation. Parts of the fortresses began to be used for scrap metal.

Initially, the fort consisted of a central tower surrounded by five artillery towers and one with reflectors at the rear. Inside, fuel, supplies and water were stored. The site also served as accommodation for the crew.

The island of Poveglia is located between Venice and Lido in northern Italy. There is a small canal there that divides the island into two parts, having been built in the year 421. The place was inhabited until the 60s, when it ended up being completely abandoned.

Despite visits being prohibited for tourists and curious people, many photographers and writers managed to access the space to develop documentaries linked to the paranormal. In 2015, a project emerged to use the island as an amusement park, but the idea has not come to fruition so far.

The Aral Sea was known to host an important fishing industry, but it fell into oblivion as it dried up and became the Aralkum Desert. Estimates indicate that the site yielded more than 50 thousand tons of fish, representing an important source of income for more than 100 thousand people who lived in the region.

Currently, only a few abandoned vessels remain, forming a peculiar apocalyptic landscape because they are right in the middle of a desert. Some travelers often use boats as protection against the sun’s rays. However, with the disappearance of the sea, the area became a completely uninhabitable place.

The island is located in the Caribbean, but is part of British territory. Between 1995 and 2000, a volcano erupted and forced a large part of the population to leave their homes. Half of the island has been declared an “exclusion zone”, forcing several important points (such as the main airport) to move north.

The exclusion zone forms a totally unique landscape, with some ruins that formerly formed places of human occupation. For the most part, however, such areas were destroyed by lava from the volcano. Currently, the space is considered uninhabitable and unsafe for tourism.

Nature spares no effort when it comes to appropriating buildings or uninhabited areas, and this abandoned ship in Australia is a great example of that. The vessel was used as a means of transporting supplies and cargo, but with the end of its useful life, it had parts removed and used as scrap, this in the 70s.

Over time, the ship gradually sank. From then on, a mangrove environment emerged, which transformed the vessel into a floating island. The trees overcame the sides of the ship, slowly and gradually breaking the structure with branches and roots. The phenomenon created a true spectacle that can be enjoyed by anyone passing by.

Would you like to visit an abandoned place? In your opinion, what could be done to encourage the conservation of these areas?