Hue Abandoned Water Park, also known as Thuy Tien Lake, sits on the outskirts of the Vietnamese city of Hue and has been attracting urban explorers since it closed 14 years ago
Dried-up waterslides run out of the mouths of crumbling dragon statues in a curious abandoned theme park.
Hue Abandoned Water Park, also known as Thuy Tien Lake, is about four miles outside the city center of Hue, Vietnam. Built a quarter of a century ago, the water park once attracted crowds of thrillseekers who flocked to peer into the aquarium, marvel at the dragon sculptures, and whizz down the rides.
Sadly for the business minds behind the park, it proved to be a commercial failure. A change of ownership and management led to the park’s closure just 11 years after it first opened.
For several years, it remained forgotten and gathering dust until urban explorers began posting about Thuy Tien Lake online. Soon it became a fixture of the backpacker trail, with many drawn to the way its curious buildings and statues appear frozen in time.
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They were also drawn to rumours of a scarier surprise. Years after the park officially packed up, a group of crocodiles—initially brought in as an attraction—continued to roam Hue unchecked. Thankfully, for the safety of those who rock up and pay 10,000 VND (£0.29) to look around the abandoned park today, the animals were removed and rehomed.
The dragon that emerges from the center of the lake have become a popular hangout spot among Vietnamese teens and backpackers alike.
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“The once-bustling tourist attraction is now covered in colorful graffiti, creating an amazingly dystopian-esque scene,” travel writer Justine wrote of her time at the park.
“The inside of the dragon used to be an aquarium filled with all sorts of creatures, including crocodiles. Now the inside is in complete disrepair. There’s graffiti everywhere and there’s still glass on the ground from people bashing in the glass aquariums. It’s super eerie and would be the perfect setting for a horror film.
“Walk up the stairs and check out the view from the dragon’s mouth. I’m not sure that the platform is all that safe to stand on, but I went for it anyway. The view from there is pretty amazing.”
The park is mostly easily accessed via a short scooter or taxi ride from Hue centre. The staff members guarding the entrance to Hue require visitors sign a waiver to access the park.
If you fancy visiting somewhere abandoned but don’t feel like travelling so far, Crete is a good bet.
The abandoned Dionysos village sits along the coast from Sitia. As you approach the flock of buildings on the hillside you will notice that it “looks different somehow. Something looks wrong, somehow lost,” an explorer for We Travel wrote recently.
Until the mid 2010s, the village was a thriving holiday destination. It has a prime location on the coastline scorched by summer sun. To the untrained eye, there is nothing amiss about the cluster of holiday homes and hotels that sit at the foot of the parched, dusty hillside. Get closer, and you realise it’s all but empty.
Today plants are growing through cracks in the rocks and the streets are untidy. A large central swimming pool is empty of water but increasingly full of dust. Now, just 10 families call Dionysos their fulltime home.