Truly, this is the most unusual city on the planet, which, not only cannot be seen from a bird's eye view, but even passing by, it would be difficult to notice. Only a sign in the middle of the red-hot plain of Australia and fragments of houses, which are difficult to recognize residential buildings, give out the location of the unique underground city of Coober Pedy. Not only ordinary people live and work in it, but also manage to meet tourists who, in an endless stream, strive to experience all the delights of living underground.
To find Australia's quirkiest city, all you have to do is look through the hole.
Coober Pedy's quaint town, home to 1,916 residents, is impossible to find unless you know where to look. Only the designation on the map says that it is located at 846 km. Stuart Highway north of Adelaide in South Australia, practically near the Victoria Desert. And with the help of pointers you can find the entrance to it, but you need to be extremely careful.
Warning signs are posted throughout the underground city (Coober Pedy, Australia).
Many signs on the outskirts of the city warn about this, informing that you need to be extremely careful and look under your feet, otherwise you can "fall" into it.
The city of Coober Pedy is impossible to find from a bird's eye view (Australia).
And this is not someone's stupid joke, but a very real threat to life, because the entrance to Coober Pedy is the usual holes in the ground, which served as the entrance to the mines. According to local residents, at the beginning of this century there were already about 250 thousand of them in the desert territory!
Land area of the unique city of Coober Pedy (Australia).
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The holes are a kind of gateway to the city (Coober Pedy, Australia).
The new city almost immediately emerged underground, because the arrived miners could not live in terrible climatic conditions and simply stopped going outside, remaining after work in the refreshing coolness.
Landscapes of the region where the underground city of Coober Pedy (Australia) is located.
And this is not surprising, given the fact that in summer this land heats up over 40 degrees, and in winter it freezes catastrophically. But deep in the mines, the air temperature remains stable and comfortable all year round - 22-24 °, and sandstorms are not terrible, so the arriving workers with their families settled underground in the already worked mines.
Some of the "city gates" look exactly like this (Coober Pedy, Australia).
Novate. Ru experts have found that at the moment the city has a fully developed infrastructure and has more than 1,500 houses, and its premises do not differ from the usual living conditions of a modern person.
The design of housing underground is not much different from the usual interiors (Coober Pedy, Australia).
For more than a decade, this mysterious and strange settlement has been attracting crowds of tourists. Every year, a huge number of people come here who are interested not only in the beauty of precious stones that are mined here as before, but also in the incomprehensible life of the people of this strange underground city.
Opal is one of the most beautiful gemstones on the planet.
Some houses in the city have their own entrance (Coober Pedy, Australia).
Some houses of such an extraordinary city do have external facades, although they can only be distinguished upon close examination. Such apartments are considered the most prestigious, because daylight comes to them, and the front door is present, unlike the others, which are content with an ordinary hole.
Tunnel streets of the underground city of Coober Pedy (Australia).
The rest of the underground dwellings do not differ from the usual houses and apartments and have all the same benefits and functionality as the above ground premises. The style of interior decoration differs only slightly, because it is possible to use two finishing options.
Some homeowners left the walls and ceilings intact (Coober Pedy, Australia).
In the first case, the owners leave the internal space in its original form, where the color and texture of the rock are preserved, which are simply opened with a special bonding solution so that dust does not fall.
Partial interior decoration of an underground house (Coober Pedy, Australia).
In the second version, all finishing work is carried out using modern building materials, and then the interior of an underground house cannot be distinguished from a typical above-ground housing. The only thing that darkens the existence of the inhabitants of Coober Pedy is the lack of water.
The original interior of an underground dwelling (Coober Pedy, Australia).
No matter how they drilled the bowels of the earth, how many did not look for it, but all in vain. In the old days, it was brought many kilometers away on mules, and it cost a lot of money. At the moment, the water supply has already been installed, but the cost is still high.
For almost 40 years, the Desert Cave has been hosting everyone who wants to "taste" the underground life (Coober Pedy, Australia).
Considering the fact that the city has become a local landmark and crowds of tourists were drawn into its bowels, enterprising residents began to more carefully develop the infrastructure of their non-standard settlement.
In the underground city, each section of the tunnel is designed according to the needs of tourists (Coober Pedy, Australia).
For example, in 1981, Umberto Colo learned about the potential of this region and decided to build the first underground hotel, Desert Cave, which is still the most popular. And now curious sightseers could not only look at the underground city, but also live in this unique place.
Bars and restaurants offer interesting local cuisine (Coober Pedy, Australia).
Naturally, cafes and restaurants, fashion boutiques and jewelry stores began to open in it, offering a wide range of products, where opal is always present. There are not only entertainment centers where you can play billiards or chat with friends, but also cultural sites.
The underground city has its own churches (Coober Pedy, Australia).
A museum and art gallery (Coober Pedy, Australia) are open to tourists.
The underground city has a huge bookstore and jewelry stores (Coober Pedy, Australia).
The city has three churches, an art gallery, a library, a bookstore and an opal museum located in the very first mine, which was opened back in 1915.
An extreme golf course has been set up above the surface, where unusual devices are issued for the game (Coober Pedy, Australia).
A golf course was even designed on the surface of the earth, but this is entertainment for fans of extreme sports (given the climatic features of the region). To make a blow, the participants of the game have to wear a plate with turf, because there is no grass at all on this piece of land. On especially hot summer days, games are played at night and special glowing balls are used.
The breathtaking beauty of the Lunar Plain (Astralia).
But not only the underground city of Coober Pedy is a landmark of this region, because next to it is the Moon Plain - a favorite filming location for science fiction films.
The landscape of the Moon Plain, near which the underground city is located, can be seen in science fiction films (Australia).
It was this territory that became the set for the filming of films: "Black Hole", "Kangaroo Jackpot", "Mad Max 3: Under the Dome of Thunder" and "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."