Welcome to The Urban Explorer blog! We have stories about urban exploration from around the world, from interesting public places to hidden, exploded bunkers with rebar pointing all the wrong ways. The Urban Explorer has explored 268 places in 34 countries. You can also click on the map below to see where in the world they took place.
The Urban Explorer articles appeared originally in the Blogspot Planetskier series, at TGR posts, or at the Relaa website. See also the articles about skiing, climbing, cycling, caving, flying, swimming, and saunas.
All urban exploration-related articles:
| Underground rivers of Flåm While going on the Flåm railway (see the other article), I noticed that on Google Maps there was a marking for a "cave waterfall", Grottefossen-Høgabru. I saw it briefly when the train drove by, the river entered the mountain and came out shortly thereafter on the other side. And there was an additional similar underground water flow after the Kjosfossen waterfall, under the station. These seem man-made, however, as in both cases the water is taking a different direction to bypass the station or the bank that the rails were on. Full story June 2025, Grottefossen-Høgabru, Flåm, Norway; Kjosfossen station, Flåm, Norway Travel; Urban-Exploration (Tunnels, Railways); Caving (Man-Made, None) | |
| Flåm bunkers and caves While in Flåm (see separate articles about Vatnahalsen and the train journey), I noticed that there are some interesting places near the Flåm harbor. Today, the harbor is visited by massive cruise ships that flood the little town with tourists, but it is an old harbor and has seen a lot of history. Full story June 2025, Flåm bunker, Flåm, Norway; Flåm dynamite cellar, Flåm, Norway; Flåm harbour boulder cave, Flåm, Norway; Floating fjord sauna, Flåm, Norway Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Boulders); Sauna (Normal, None) | |
| The Pohja Tunnels In Pohja (near Raasepori) there are three railway tunnels, only one of which is still in use. One has been entirely decommissioned and there are no rails there, another one is used as a storage depot for old railway cars, and one is indeed still in use. The tunnels go through a large cliff by the Pohja harbor. The unused tunnels have been a popular urban exploration site, but apparently no longer, as they are closed shut, and there are signs about surveillance and fines... nice visit, interesting to see the old railway cars, but ... couldn't get inside the tunnels. Full story June 2025, Pohjankurun vanha rautatietunneli, Pohja, Finland; Pohjankurun keskivanha rautatietunneli, Pohja, Finland; Pohjankurun uusi rautatietunneli, Pohja, Finland; Pohjankurun talon rauniot, Pohja, Finland; Pohjankurun kellari-bunkkeri, Pohja, Finland Urban-Exploration (Tunnels, Railway); Urban-Exploration (Ruins); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers, Ruins) | |
| Swimming hall on floor -8 Hervanta, a suburb of Tampere. I was told there was a swimming hall here, an underground one. Usually there'd be some signs but now I see nothing, at least not at the parking lot. But the map points to the yard of the nearby apartment block, so after walking just 50 meters I see the entrance, a small concrete building is the only thing that sticks out above ground. Full story April 2025, Hervannan uimahalli, Hervanta, Tampere, Finland Swimming (Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal); Caving (Man-Made, Basic, Rock); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
| Caves around Annecy, France I had a chance to visit Lac d'Annecy and surroundings last weekend. It is a wonderful area, much closer to nature than the bustling megacity Geneve nearby. Lakes, mountains, and .. caves! Visited three very different caves, Grotte du Grand Pertuis that was only reachable by boat from the lake, Grotte de l'ermitage by high up above the lake and under a church (where the founder of the monastery and church lived for 40 years), and finally closer to Geneve and on the mountains, Grotte du Diable, a mud-infested pit of the devil. Very nice! Full story April 2025, Grotte du Grand Pertuis, Talloires-Montmin, France; Grotte de l'ermitage, Talloires-Montmin, France; Grotte du Diable, Le Sappey, France; Roselet islet, Duingt, France; Abandoned restaurant, Le Sappey, France Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst); Urban-Exploration (Historic); Urban-Exploration (Buildings) | |
| Terelj's Crystal Cave(s) I tried hard. Very hard. To find more caves than the 100 Monks Cave... but it was difficult. After long period of Internet searching, I settled on visiting the Crystal "cave", even if it was just an abandoned man-made mine. It was nearby though, also in Terelj, and not 17 hour drive away so that's a positive :-) But my first guide was unable to take me to this place, so I looked for another guide company. A got the whole deal, the driver, the guy who speaks English to me, and the local guide who knows where the mine is :-) Full story February 2025, East Crystal Cave, Terelj, Mongolia; West Crystal Cave, Terelj, Mongolia; Tiny roof cave among boulders, Terelj, Mongolia; A crack in a cliff, Terelj, Mongolia; Cow shed roof cave, Terelj, Mongolia Urban-Exploration (Mines); Caving (Basic, Man-Made); Hiking; Urban-Exploration (None, Mines); Caving (None, Man-Made); Caving (Basic, Rock); Hiking; Hiking | |
| Cité de Carcassonne What a wonderful ancient, wall-surrounded fortress and a medieval village on the top of a hill! Carcassonne is a city an hour south of Toulouse and an hour north of the mediterranean coast. Cité de Carcassonne is the old town. Full story December 2024, Cité de Carcassonne, Carcassonne, France Urban-Exploration (Castles, Historic) | |
| La Canya dels Pujols Caves + 1, Andorra. La Canya dels Pujols, a hundred-meter cave about 80 meters above the riverbed below. Full story December 2024, La Canya dels Pujols, Margineda, Andorra; La Canya dels Pujols side cave, Margineda, Andorra; La Balma de la Margineda, Margineda, Andorra Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Unknown, Surveying); Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Unknown); Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites) | |
| Abandoned metro station with high voltage barriers Kymlinge, the ghost station on the Stockholm underground. A station for the planned but never completed suburb near Kista's technology-oriented neighborhood. A station where only the dead are said to exit, and where only the long lost ghost train, the "Silverpilen" travel. A station with underground platforms and additional space underneath. Full story September 2024, Kymlinge Station, Stockholm, Sweden Urban-Exploration (Tunnels, Railways) | |
| Fort George What a wonderful visit in an 19th century fortress, a museum, and an excellent restaurant. With a view. And a sunset! Full story August 2024, Fort George, Vis, Croatia Urban-Exploration (Ruins, Castles, Military, Historic-Sites) | |
| Dinosaur footprints Dinosaur Valley State Park is a national park service area hosting easily viewable dinosaur footprints. Much recommended! The park is in Glen Rose, Texas, about 130 km from the Dallas Forth Worth airport, about 1.5 hour drive if there's no traffic. Full story July 2024, Dinosaur Valley State Park, Glen Rose, Texas, USA Hiking; Travel; Urban-Exploration (Historic) | |
| Vancouver beach swim While on a conference in Vancouver, I had a wonderful walk on one of the days. Partially because I had been exposed to Covid and did not want to infect anyone, so walked around and connected over the net to the meetings. It turned out that I did not get the infection, though, phew. Full story July 2024, Inukshuk Point, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; English Bay Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Urban-Exploration (Historic); Swimming (Waterbody-Sea, Beach) | |
| Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun I visited the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, as well as the Ravne tunnels few kilometers away. The pyramid is remarkably pyramid-looking green mountain and the tunnels are .. well, more about that later. Both are in the small town of Visoko, 35 kilometers outside Sarajevo. The claim is that the pyramid is a concrete-covered man-made structure built by an ancient civilization 29 000 years ago. And that the tunnels were also man-made network leading under the pyramids, and only later filled in. And that there are health benefits to all of this. Long story short: lots of pseudoscience, but of course a nice mountain to visit. And it is always pleasant to be wet, dark underground tunnels. Even if the the support beams are rotting... Full story May 2024, Tunnel Ravne, Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina Urban-Exploration (Tunnels, Ruins); Caving (Basic, Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Ruins); Climbing (Mountain) | |
| Through the grey stone In Finnish we have this expression, "läpi harmaan kiven". It translates literally as 'through the grey stone'. It represents sisu, another Finnish concept: going through no matter what. Even through rock. Here Harri-Pekka Pietikäinen demonstrates the concept. Full story May 2024, Korkbergetin lohkareluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Fagerkullan bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Basic, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
| Dobrun caves It was a good try. I think. Or maybe I should have pushed harder. But ... it was getting difficult to stay on the slope, even with some smaller trees around me. But in the end I turned around, and did not reach the Dobrun cave in the mountains of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina... the slope was loose gravel, and getting steeper on every step. No sign of paths. I do wonder though, I could *see* the cave but not reach it! And reportedly monks have lived in the cave, is there another path? Full story April 2024, Dobrun Cave, Dobrun, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Dobrun Party Cave, Dobrun, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Dobrun railway tunnel, Dobrun, Bosnia and Herzegovina Caving (None, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst); Caving (Basic, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst); Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-River); Urban-Exploration (Tunnels) | |
| Lago di Como tower ruins Castello Baradello is a fortress on a nice hill above present day Como, with great views of the city and the lake. Fortresses on this site date back to the 6th century, although the current fortress was rebuilt in the 13th century. This is also the site of the original settlement in Como. Full story January 2024, Castello Baradello, Como, Italy Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites, Towers) | |
This is the 1th set of articles. The next sets are set 2, set 3, set 4, set 5, set 6, set 7, set 8, set 9, set 10, set 11, and set 12.