Birthday
HydrangeasOnce people leave, nature starts taking the land back: roots push stones apart, ivy covers walls and trees grow in rooms. Such places look both sad and mesmerising. Here are the best known, plus one story of an abandoned garden brought back to life.
A little living nature at home: potted plants and flower baskets.
Five places nature took back
- Ta Prohm (Cambodia). A temple at Angkor that restorers deliberately left as it was found, with huge tree roots wrapped around its walls and galleries.
- Houtouwan (China). A fishing village on Shengshan Island emptied in the late 20th century. Its houses are almost entirely covered in green ivy and creepers.
- Kolmanskop (Namibia). A diamond-mining town abandoned in the mid-20th century, where the desert has filled houses with sand up to the windows.
- Ross Island (India). In the Andaman Islands, banyan roots have wrapped themselves around colonial ruins.
- Prypiat and the Chornobyl zone (Ukraine). Without people, forest quickly takes over streets and yards, and wild animals, including Przewalski’s horses, have settled in the exclusion zone. It can only be visited under official rules.
A happy ending: the Lost Gardens of Heligan
In Cornwall, England, lie the Lost Gardens of Heligan. After the First World War the gardeners went to the front and the estate was overgrown for decades. In 1990 the gardens were rediscovered and restored; today the kitchen gardens and glasshouses work again, giant rhododendrons flourish and sculptures of stone and moss stand in the jungle.
For more places where nature surprises, see amazing caves of the world and hidden towns of the world.
FAQ
Can you visit Ta Prohm?
Yes, the temple is on the standard Angkor route, and tickets cover the whole complex.
Is it safe to explore abandoned buildings?
Not unless it is an organised route: old structures can collapse. Choose official tours.
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Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
