Top-10 List: Our Favourite Underground Places Around the World
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This list is our own personal top10 favourite underground places we have visited around the world, based on what we have seen and experienced in our travels. It includes not just caves, but tunnels, churches and houses.
[UPDATED April 2019, the glow worm caves shot to no.1!) ]
Glow Worm Caves, Waitomo, New Zealand
In the Waitomo area of the north island of New Zealand there are caves with thousands of glow worms. We had an amazing experience cruising along underground in one of these caves, on a boat slowly drifting along while we gazed at the ceiling in awe, thousands of glow worms glowing like stars in the sky.
Chu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam
Narrow tunnels underground in Vietnam, used by Vietnamese people to hide during the war.
Orvieto Caves, Italy
The peaceful countryside town of Orvieto, not far from Rome, hides a subterranean city underneath with 1,200 caves, tunnels & wells carved into the rock thousands of years ago
Derinkuyu, Cappadocia, Turkey
The Derinkuyu underground city, located in Cappadocia, includes houses and churches
Tham Ting Cave, Laos
Tham Ting cave, overlooking the Mekong River, 25 km north of Luang Prabang, Laos. Inside are many buddha statues and figurines.
Coober Pedy, South Australia
Coober Pedy is an opal mining town, and the harsh environment sent people underground. There are houses, hotels, and even churches built underground.
The Catacombs, Paris
The Catacombs hold the remains of more than six million people, removed from the overcrowded cemeteries in Paris.
Semuc Champey Caves, Guatemala
Near the cascading waterfalls Semuk Champey are some caves. In our more adventurous days, we went on a guided tour through one of these wet caves. We had to swim, paddle and climb our way through the narrow cave system with only a candle to light our way.
Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
The most interesting thing about our visit to the Naracoorte Caves in the Naracoorte Caves National Park in the south-east of South Australia was the bones of ancient megafauna.
Silver Mine, Zacatecas
The most interesting thing about our tour of this mine in Mexico was that the guide spoke entirely in Spanish.