Murcia has the densest military urbex on the Spanish coast — the artillery batteries that defended the Cartagena Arsenal for a century, the mining tunnels of Portmán where the carts still wait in the dark José Maestre passage, and the tuberculosis sanatorium of Sierra Espuña that has been on the Heritage Red List for decades. A region where mining industrial heritage, coastal military heritage, and healthcare institutional heritage concentrate in a compact territory that makes it possible to explore three types of abandonment in a single day. These are the 5 best abandoned places in Murcia, selected from our Urbex Spain Map — 600+ GPS locations across Spain.
Why Murcia Is an Exceptional Urbex Destination
The Murcia Region combines the military heritage of the Cartagena coast — with artillery batteries, arsenals, and coastal forts unmatched in the Spanish Mediterranean — with the mining industrial heritage of La Unión and the healthcare heritage of the Sierra Espuña. The regional tourism of Murcia itself recognizes the value of these abandonments as visit destinations in its official guides.
1. Castillitos Battery – La Azohía, Cartagena — Coastal Battery with 35 km Range Cannons, Car Accessible, Views of the Mediterranean Sea (Known Place)
The Castillitos Battery in La Azohía is one of the most spectacularly located and best-preserved coastal artillery batteries in Spain — its cannons defended the Cartagena coastal area with a range of 35 kilometers out to sea, protecting the Military Arsenal from any naval attack. Documented by EscapadaRural as one of the two most worthwhile military abandonments to see on the Murcia coast, the Castillitos Battery is directly accessible by car — making it unique among the major Spanish coastal batteries. The cannons still point out to the Mediterranean from the firing positions, the underground ammunition facility, and the barracks in progressive abandonment.
🔗 Source: EscapadaRural – The 25 Most Spectacular Abandoned Places in Spain
2. Sierra Espuña Tuberculosis Sanatorium – Alhama de Murcia — Opened in 1935 with 200 Beds, Closed in 1962, Red List of Heritage (Known Place)
The Old Tuberculosis Sanatorium of Sierra Espuña in Alhama de Murcia is one of the most imposing and well-documented sanatoriums in Spain — built between 1917 and 1935 with a project by architect Pedro Cerdán, inaugurated with 200 beds for tuberculosis patients and closed in 1962 when streptomycin made it obsolete. In the 1980s, there was an attempt to convert it into a hostel (only one wing was rehabilitated), and in 1997 surveillance was withdrawn. Today it is fenced off, with destroyed roofs, and included on the Red List of Heritage. The Sierra Espuña Regional Park and the pine landscape surrounding the sanatorium create a setting of abandonment with a unique atmospheric power.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Abandoned Sites in Spain →
3. José Maestre Tunnel – Portmán, La Unión — 2 km Mining Passage Abandoned in the 1980s, Locomotive and Wagon Graveyard, Portmán Bay (Known Place)
In Portmán, south of the mining town of La Unión, lies the José Maestre Tunnel — an old 2-kilometer passageway that was used until the 1980s for transporting minerals. At the dark entrance of the abandoned tunnel, the frames of locomotives and old wagons still remain, an iron graveyard contrasting with the ruins of the old barracks, mud, and wild vegetation. Portmán Bay, visible from outside the tunnel, was for decades the dumping ground for mining debris discharged into the sea by the Peñarroya company — one of the greatest environmental disasters in the Spanish Mediterranean, still visible in the color and texture of the bay’s seabed. Documented by the Official Tourism of the Region of Murcia as one of the region’s most unique places.
🔗 Source: Tourism Region of Murcia – Unique Places
4. Monastery of San Ginés de la Jara – Cartagena — 15th-Century Franciscan Convent, Hermitage with Mural Paintings, Abandoned Pilgrimage Site (Exclusively on Our Map)
The Monastery of San Ginés de la Jara in Cartagena is a 15th-century Franciscan convent whose hermitage with mural paintings and its position on the Mediterranean coast made it one of the most important pilgrimage sites in southeastern Spain for centuries. The abandonment of the religious community left the complex in progressive ruin; the combination of 15th-century convent architecture, the hermitage’s mural paintings, and the coastal Cartagena landscape create one of the most historically significant and visually beautiful abandoned sites in the Region of Murcia. GPS coordinates available on our Urbex Spain Map.
5. Ghost Town of Las Murtas – Interior of Murcia — Abandoned Village, Adobe Houses, Church with Bell Gable, Semi-Arid Landscape (Off the Radar — Only on Our Map)
The ghost town of Las Murtas in the interior of Murcia — adobe and dry stone houses with collapsed roofs, the church with the bell gable still standing, and the semi-arid Murcian landscape slowly reclaiming the land with esparto grass and thyme. The abandoned villages in the interior of Murcia have a unique landscape specificity in Spain: abandonment in the Mediterranean semi-arid zone produces a different kind of ruin than Atlantic or Alpine abandonment — the stone lasts longer, vegetation grows more slowly, and the colors are more ochre. Find it on our map — with access rating and condition report.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous abandoned place in Murcia?
The Castillitos Battery in La Azohía — directly accessible by car, with the cannons still pointing to the Mediterranean from the top of the cliff. The Sierra Espuña Sanatorium is the most imposing institutional abandonment, on the Red List of Heritage for decades in the Sierra Espuña Regional Park.
What happened in Portmán Bay?
The mining company Peñarroya dumped lead and zinc processing waste directly into Portmán Bay for decades — between 1957 and 1991, when mining closed, it dumped 60 million tons of tailings into the sea. The bay, which was once a beach, was practically filled with waste. It is one of the biggest environmental disasters in the Spanish Mediterranean; recovery efforts are progressing slowly.
Is it legal to visit the abandoned military batteries of Murcia?
It depends on the ownership of each battery. Castillitos is accessible from the road and the exterior can be visited without problem. Some batteries are owned by the Ministry of Defense, which may make interior access illegal. Always check ownership before visiting and respect any fencing or no-entry signs.
Safety Tips
- Military installations: some batteries and forts have dangerous access points on cliffs — never approach any edge without a railing or enter underground galleries without lighting and a companion
- Mining contamination: in Portmán and La Unión, soils are contaminated with heavy metals — do not touch or remove any soil material and wear closed footwear
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and share your location
The urbex code: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
🎯 Summary
The abandoned places in Murcia range from the cannons of the Castillitos Battery pointing to the Mediterranean to the sanatorium on the Red List of Heritage in Sierra Espuña and the locomotive cemetery of the José Maestre Tunnel in Portmán. Each of these 5 abandoned sites in Murcia captures a different layer of the region that defended the coast, mined ore, and forgot to care for its sick.
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