Coober Pedy is the opal capital of the world, with an amazing lunar landscape, an underground lifestyle and fascinating natural history. Coober Pedy's opals mines are vast, and their riches are some of the most coveted in the world. Coober Pedy’s interesting history includes miners, people living under ground, very hot weather, and media attention. It will come as no surprise that Coober Pedy's post-apocalyptic desert landscape has also attracted filmmakers — visitors can spot famous locales from Mad Max and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Experience a night of subterranean serenity for yourself at one of Coober Pedy’s underground hotels, such as the Desert Cave Hotel or The Lookout Cave. Literally. The cave-dwellers of Coober Pedy enjoy a constant, cool temperature of around 74 degrees Fahrenheit in their homes, making life underground the standard for desert comfort. It is, after all, a town where most of the population live underground and there’s a massive Hollywood spaceship crashed on the main street, but a man called Crocodile Harry managed it. Possibly our favorite component of Coober Pedy is the Desert Cave, the world’s only underground bar and gaming room. A motel room in the underground city of Coober Pedy. Featuring free WiFi and a barbecue, Underground Bed & Breakfast offers pet-friendly accommodation (some rooms) in Coober Pedy. At Umoona Opal Mine & Museum, visitors can learn the Aboriginal history of the area and the mines, while Tom’s Working Opal Mine offers guided tours. Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. With a large percentage of its inhabitants and attractions underground, Coober Pedy is one of Australia’s more unusual destinations. Residents carve what they need from the sandstone of their homes, which boast bookshelves, tables, and even an underground swimming pool. Like many other underground hotels in Coober Pedy, Radeka’s was once a real opal mine. They say all their rooms have natural daylight, so, if you don’t like the idea of being in somewhere super dark, it might be a good choice for you. No problem. It was the first motel to be dugout underground in Coober Pedy in 1984. Dallol, Ethiopia, the hottest place on earth. When the members of the gold prospecting syndicate beat him back to camp, they were worried — but their anxiety quickly turned to delight and envy when Willie strolled into camp that night with news of two weeks' worth of water and a bucketload of opals in a sack over his shoulder. Travel + Leisure is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation Travel + Leisure Group All Rights Reserved, registered in the United States and other countries. Coober Pedy is located in South Australia, 846kms from Adelaide, 685kms from Alice Springs, and 2,170kms from Darwin. In the blistering heat, the majority of the golfing takes place at night using glow balls. You can reach Coober Pedy on the sealed Stuart Highway. As a visitor in Coober Pedy, you can visit art galleries, jewelry shops well stocked with the town's famous opals, and a working mine (you can even try to dig a bit yourself). Plan your visit. John Coppi/Wikimedia CommonsOpal fields at Coober Pedy, South Australia. It’s a desert town like nowhere on Earth... in fact, it kind of resembles the surface of the moon. FlickrThe orange chimneys of Coober Pedy. Now, there's not a puddle to be seen for miles — but the legacy of the ocean remains in the sparkling gemstones that hide in rocky crevices: opals. Staying here is a once in a lifetime, unique experience that’a not available anywhere else! Mullock heaps dotting the opal mine fields give the landscape a decidedly lunar atmosphere, if you can ignore the blistering heat. Today Coober Pedy also has an underground Anglican and a Serbian Orthodox Church and the Catacomb Church. 1992. Willie, thirsty and annoyed at being left behind, struck out on his own. Regional Express, aka Rex, operates flights between Adelaide and Coober Pedy, which take two hours. More than half the people of Coober Pedy, an opal mining town in the center of the South Australian desert, live underground to survive the scorching summer heat and freezing winters. Phil Whitehouse/Wikimedia CommonsOne of Coober Pedy's beautiful underground tunnels. A comprehensive list of local attractions can be found at cooberpedy.com. After driving past an old dump lot full of about 40 old TV’s and cars, we pulled up to the ‘famous’ Coober Pedy Australia sign – made of a big pickup truck with a mining contraption. Residents carve what they need from the sandstone of their homes, which boast bookshelves, tables, and even an underground swimming pool. Tucked away in the backstreets north of town, the Underground Motel offers an eclectic range of rooms. Start listening to T+L's brand new podcast, Let's Go Together! Gallery. It is also home to around 3,500 people of 45 different nationalities, many of them Europeans who arrived in the 1960s in search of fortune. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Coober Pedy is home to one of the most extreme climates on earth. The temperature presented yet another problem. Kerry Raymond/Wikimedia CommonsA motel room in the underground city of Coober Pedy. The cave-dwellers of Coober Pedy enjoy a constant, cool temperature of around 74 degrees Fahrenheit in their homes, making life underground the standard for desert comfort. Coober Pedy underground homes are not what you expect. In 1914, 500 miles north of Adelaide in the middle of nowhere, a 14-year-old boy named Willie Hutchison was left … Experience the fascinating lifestyle of underground living in one of most unique towns in the world. In Nepal, Every Dog Has Its Day. Coober Pedy was founded in 1915, but only in the 1980s the town became known around the world. 150 million years ago, the town of Coober Pedy was the bed of a vast ocean. FlickrThe sign that greets visitors to Coober Pedy, Australia's underground city. The region's arid desert climate makes water scarce and vegetation even rarer. The town has become a popular stopover point and tourist destination, especially since 1987, when the sealing of the Stuart Highway was completed. Whether you're traveling solo or planning a family vacation, here are the 50 best places to visit in 2021. Underground Books was converted from a 1930s-era mining shaft into a small bookstore filled with Coober Pedy history books and more. And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: It is the number-one source of gem-quality opals in the world. Another option is to … Free Underground museums/displays are found at the Desert Cave and Umoona Museum, both in the main street. It was converted to a motel in the mid-1980s and has 10 Motel rooms, 12 Budget Rooms and 12 Dormitories. Beneath the surface, art galleries and churches also dot the outback town, including the spectacular Serbian Orthodox Church. Riba's Underground Camping, Coober Pedy: See 85 traveller reviews, 38 candid photos, and great deals for Riba's Underground Camping, ranked #5 of 17 Speciality lodging in Coober Pedy and rated 4 of 5 at Tripadvisor. Riba's is a camping ground and caravan park with underground single and double rooms to suit any budget. But this small city in southern Australia also lays claim to another rarity: most of its inhabitants live underground. Willie's discovery put Coober Pedy on the map, but that didn't mean things were going to be easy for the droves of opal-seekers the story attracted. It's about 165 km to William Creek on a track that crosses the world's largest cattle station, Anna Creek. An evening on-site Opal mine tour is the highlight of every visit. The push and pull of the tide carried minerals from the sandstone seabed deep into cracks in the earth, leaving behind silica deposits that gradually hardened. Underground Accommodation in Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy is known for being the world capital of opal, as numerous mines of this mineral can be found here which was first found at the site in 1915 by Willie Hutchsion. With a large percentage of its inhabitants and attractions underground, Coober Pedy is one of Australia’s more unusual destinations. The greatest islands, cities, hotels, cruise lines, airports, and more — as voted by you. “There is a lot of unique beauty around Coober Pedy, with the Breakaways and Painted Desert not too far away,” Brent Hill, executive director of marketing, South Australian Tourism Commission, told Travel + Leisure. Fall asleep tucked beneath the earth’s surface in one of the town’s famous dugouts. Known as “dugouts,” these subterranean homes are naturally eco-friendly, with no air conditioning or insulation required. If you enjoyed this look at Coober Pedy, Australia's very cool underground city, check out Dallol, Ethiopia, the hottest place on earth and learn about Australia's Great Emu War. One of Coober Pedy's beautiful underground tunnels. Coober Pedy Accommodation Underground. Arriving in Coober Pedy Australia. The town was formally established in 1915, and a surprising number of people were willing to leave hearth and home for the new settlement. Opal fields at Coober Pedy, South Australia. Coming from Alice Springs (690 km), or even Darwin (2210 km), in the north, or from Port Augusta (535 km) and Adelaide (845 km) in the south, either way it is a long drive. 64 were here. Coober Pedy Tourism: Tripadvisor has 11,377 reviews of Coober Pedy Hotels, Attractions, and Restaurants making it your best Coober Pedy resource. The stars above the underground city of 3,500. Explore the opal … Most of This Australian Town's Residents Live in Underground 'Dugouts' — and You Can Stay There in a Subterranean Hotel. The brutal conditions have led many of the South Australian town’s approximately 1,800 inhabitants to live underground. There are 3,500 people who call Coober Pedy home, and almost all of them live and work under ground. With a storm brewing in the background and not a blade of grass to be seen, the Coober Pedy Golf Club has been open since 1976. James St. John/Wikimedia CommonsAn opalized bivalve from the Coober Pedy Opal Field. Journey to the underground town of Coober Pedy – Australia’s opal capital, boasting a sun-baked lunar landscape, fascinating history and a unique way of life. Carved into the earth, these homes are built at much the same cost as comparable aboveground structures — but they're not vulnerable to sandstorms and they don't require air conditioning. There are two routes from Coober Pedy to join the famous Oodnadatta Track. Renowned as the opal capital of … Faye's Underground Home, Coober Pedy: Hours, Address, Faye's Underground Home Reviews: 4.5/5 Coober Pedy, The Opal Capital Of The World. What you can’t do, however, is see the Coober Pedy Saints play football. Welcome to Coober Pedy. In the 60's and 70's saw opal mining develop into a multi-million dollar industry. So keep an eye on your feet as you explore the terrain. The idea of living underground usually triggers thoughts of dark, damp and cramped spaces. It takes a lot to stand out as odd in Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy has a high ranging temperature that reaches 49-degree Celsius. Though Coober Pedy probably won't ever look like Central Park, a tree-planting initiative has added variety to the landscape, and the network of tunnels grows with each passing year. 1992. Silica has even replaced the organic material in million-year-old fossils, creating bizarre and beautiful opaline sea creatures, like this opalized bivalve. The town's first tree was a metal one erected for (we assume) visual relief in the town's center, where you can still see it today. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out the stories to illuminate the past, present, and future. An opalized bivalve from the Coober Pedy Opal Field. Coober Pedy has culture, charm and a unique lifestyle. With so many attractions underground, it is possible to visit throughout the year; however, January and February are exceptionally hot months. Coober Pedy was founded by a bored teen. Descend beneath the ground and discover a labyrinth of underground houses, hotels and even shops. At night you can enjoy their grassless golf course, where all the golfers use glow-in-the-dark golf balls. This must-see space sends visitors spiraling into the past. Life above ground was untenable, so the newcomers did the only thing that made sense: they started digging. They also voted to update their new home's name. Church of Saint Elijah the Prophet is the Serbian Orthodox church in Coober Pedy, South Australia, built in 1993 and is dedicated to Saint Elijah. Coming To Coober Pedy? Coober Pedy is located in the middle of nowhere, with Alice Springs being the closest (688km), followed by Melbourne (1560km) and Sydney (2060km). Wandering a land suffering from drought, Willie's fellow prospectors had split up to search for water, leaving Willie to man the camp. 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