Mysterious town in the middle of the desert, more than 1,000 people live underground

Coober Pedy is located in South Australia. The town was originally named after European explorer John McDouall Stuart, who first set foot on the land in 1858. In 1920, the town was renamed Coober Pedy, which means “white man’s hole” in the Aboriginal language.

Located in one of Australia’s harshest climates, Coober Pedy endures relentless heat. The landscape resembles the moon, with deep craters. Coober Pedy is subject to seasonal dust storms and water shortages.

Because of such harsh climatic conditions, migrants to the town more than 100 years ago dug tunnels and lived in underground houses, carved into the rocky mountainsides to avoid the heat.

According to the 2021 Australian Census, there are 1,566 people living in Coober Pedy and 80% of the town's population lives in underground housing.

No matter how high the outside temperature rises, the temperature underground always remains around 24 degrees Celsius.

The lights are always on. Each house has its own electrical system and ventilation system. The town's water supply comes from a 24km underground source.

Living underground has not limited the limitless imagination of the people of Coober Pedy. They carved countless beautiful, strange but extremely delicate images everywhere in the “cave”. The rooms are comfortably furnished, no different from those on the ground with clean beds, wardrobes, televisions, and cooking stoves.

Not only that, Coober Pedy also has churches, restaurants, hotels, bars, art galleries, entertainment areas... all located more than 10m underground.

Above ground, only a few vents and chimneys can be seen. Fuel stations and a few public shops are the only structures that remain above ground to serve tourists and passersby.

Coober Pedy also has an underground art museum called “Old Time Mine” which used to be an ancient cave, inside there are many layers of opal preserved, reflecting a period of the town's history.

Coober Pedy is now one of Australia's most unique tourist destinations.

In the 1980s, Umberto Colo, a resident of Coober Pedy, saw the tourism potential of this area. Since then, many modern hostels, hotels, restaurants and serviced apartments have been established to serve tourists.

Temperatures in Coober Pedy often reach over 50 degrees Celsius in summer and sometimes even higher, but the rest of the year is relatively pleasant. April to October is the ideal time to visit the town, although desert nights can be chilly in winter.

TH (according to Vietnamnet)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/thi-tran-bi-an-giua-sa-mac-hon-1-000-nguoi-song-trong-long-dat-386760.html