Lost civilizations you can still visit today

There are several ancient civilizations all over the world that are in ruins today and provide a glimpse into the ancient past when people had a world of their own in these places. These places date back thousands of years and were abandoned due to some unfortunate incident. One can discover the sacred rituals, the vanished civilizations, and the architecture from thousands of years ago through these places.

We have curated a list of all those lost civilizations that you can visit today and get a glimpse of the past—for all those curious minds and history enthusiasts:

Machu Picchu is one of the lost civilizations located in Inca, Peru and has also been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and offers a glimpse of the Inca civilization. This site is quite famous worldwide for being an architectural marvel with stunning construction techniques, as it has cut stones that are fitted together in such a way that they do not need mortar to stay together. What adds to the beauty of this site is the natural beauty that surrounds it.

Angkor Wat is located in Cambodia and is considered the largest religious monument in the world. This site has served as a capital to the Khmer Empire for about six centuries and has provided shelter to almost a million people. This site greatly symbolizes Cambodia’s heritage and is also listed in the UNESCO and global heritage lists. This temple was earlier dedicated to the deity Vishnu but afterward was transformed into a Buddhist temple.

This is the oldest known temple complex located in Turkey, dated around 9600–8200 BCE. It has massive pillars which are decorated with carvings of animals like foxes, lions, scorpions, and vultures. It is considered that this temple was built by hunter-gatherers with no metal tools. This site does not have evidence of everyday life, giving it away that this might have been a ritualistic site. This site represents how human beings evolved from the nomadic life to creating architectural marvels.

This site is located between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea and is also known worldwide for its elaborate temple and tomb architecture. This site was carved into rose-red cliffs, which is why it is known as ‘the Rose City’. It is also considered one of the world’s richest and largest archaeological sites with a red sandstone landscape. This site also had a few tunnels, channels, and dams which conserved seasonal rains, depicting why it is considered an architectural marvel. This site was discovered in 1812.

This site is located in Italy and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the only archaeological site in the world that gives a glimpse into an ancient Roman city. This was a thriving Roman city that got destroyed into ashes when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. When you visit the site, you can see the preserved amphitheatres, bathhouses, and marketplaces that would feel like you are back in time.