Magadan is the darkest destination for urban exploration in Russia — the capital of the Kolyma Gulag, where 3 million prisoners passed through on their way to forced labour camps along the Road of Bones. Here are the 5 best abandoned places in Magadan, selected from our Urbex Russia Map — 500+ GPS locations across Russia.

Why Magadan Is One of the Most Extraordinary Urbex Destinations in Russia

No region in Russia carries the weight of the Gulag like Magadan Oblast. The Kolyma region contained over 80 camps at its peak — and unlike most of Russia, where camps were demolished or absorbed by subsequent development, the extreme remoteness of the Far East preserved dozens of sites intact. Guard towers, barracks, mine shafts, and barbed wire perimeters still stand in the Kolyma hills exactly as they were left when the last prisoners walked free.

📍 All locations below are referenced on our Urbex Russia Map — GPS coordinates, access notes, condition ratings, and explorer reports included.

1. Dneprovsky Gulag Camp – The Best-Preserved Labour Camp in Russia (Known Location)

The most complete abandoned Gulag camp in Russia. Guard towers still stand on the surrounding hills, barbed wire perimeters remain intact, prisoner barracks are still identifiable, and the mine shaft entrances gape open in the hillside. A cemetery where prisoners were buried against their own religious customs lies at the perimeter. Walking the site takes three hours on foot — the same path the prisoners walked, on the same stones, in the same Kolyma silence.

👉 Story: Operated 1941–1955, with 1,500 prisoners mining tin at peak. One of the only Gulag camps where the full infrastructure — mine, barracks, towers, fences, cemetery — survives intact. Remote location 320 km from Magadan preserved it from demolition.

🔗 More on Dneprovsky: Wikipedia – Dneprovsky Camp

2. Mask of Sorrow – The Monument Above the Road of Bones (Known Location)

A 15-metre concrete face weeping tears made of smaller human faces, built on the hill where Magadan's transit prisoner processing camp once stood. Inside the hollow face is a recreation of a Stalin-era prison cell. Behind it, a bronze woman kneels in grief. The monument overlooks the Road of Bones — the highway built by prisoners whose remains were buried in the ground beneath it.

👉 Story: Designed by sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, whose own parents were victims of Stalin's purges. Inaugurated June 12, 1996 on Krutaya Hill — the exact site of Magadan's original transit camp where millions of prisoners were processed before dispersal across Kolyma.

🔗 Also read: Top 5 Abandoned Places in Russia →

3. The Abandoned Kolyma Mine Settlement – Road of Bones (Exclusive on our Map)

Collapsed wooden barracks swallowed by the permafrost, a mine headframe rusting against the Kolyma sky, and the silence of a settlement that once held hundreds of prisoners — now visited by almost no one.

👉 Story: One of dozens of smaller Kolyma mining settlements that operated alongside the major Gulag camps. Abandoned when the Soviet system collapsed, its remoteness along the Road of Bones has kept it untouched for over three decades. Exact location available on our Urbex Russia Map.

4. The Abandoned Soviet Port Infrastructure – Nagayev Bay (Exclusive on our Map)

Rusting cranes above the bay where prisoner ships docked, derelict warehouse buildings along the waterfront, and a pier that once received hundreds of thousands of forced labourers from Vladivostok — now silent above the grey waters of the Sea of Okhotsk.

👉 Story: Nagayev Bay was the point of arrival for every prisoner sent to Kolyma — transported from Vladivostok in cargo holds and disembarked onto this pier. The port infrastructure that processed millions of lives now rusts quietly above the bay. Exact location available on our Urbex Russia Map.

5. The Abandoned Post-Soviet Town – Magadan Oblast (Exclusive on our Map)

A settlement emptied in the 1990s when salaries stopped being paid and the collective farms closed — wooden houses still furnished, a school with books on the desks, and a village square where the Soviet flag was lowered for the last time.

👉 Story: Dozens of settlements across Magadan Oblast were declared "without a future" between 1991 and 1996 — their populations subsidised to relocate to Magadan or back to continental Russia. The permafrost preserves what was left behind in extraordinary condition. Exact location available on our Urbex Russia Map.

Urbex Russia – Safety & Legal Reminder

Urban exploration in the Magadan region carries specific risks. Remote sites require serious logistical preparation. Always:

• Research each site thoroughly — many require a 4WD vehicle and local guide
• Never visit Kolyma sites alone — distances and conditions are extreme
• Wear protective gear — mask, gloves, sturdy boots, and warm layers
• Prepare for temperatures below -40°C from October to April
• Never force access or cause damage to any structure
• Respect the spaces and leave no trace

The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."

❓ FAQ – Urbex Magadan

What is the most famous abandoned place in Magadan?
The Dneprovsky Gulag Camp is the most documented — the best-preserved labour camp in Russia, with guard towers, barracks, mine shafts, and fences still standing 320 km from Magadan along the Road of Bones.

How do I get to Dneprovsky from Magadan?
Drive 265 km along the Kolyma Highway to the turnoff, then 20 km on an unmaintained track requiring a 4WD vehicle. Allow a full day from Magadan. A local guide with knowledge of the terrain is strongly recommended.

What makes Magadan unique for urbex compared to other Russian cities?
Magadan is the only city in this series where the primary category of abandoned places is Gulag infrastructure — and where the extreme remoteness of the Far East has preserved that infrastructure in a condition impossible to find anywhere else in Russia.

🎯 Conclusion

Magadan offers the heaviest and most historically charged urbex Russia experience — a region where the ruins of the Gulag system are not monuments or museums but simply abandoned places in the Kolyma hills, left exactly as the last prisoners left them. Every abandoned site here is shaped by the same history: forced labour, extreme cold, and the silence that followed the collapse of the system that built it all.

Thanks to our Urbex Russia Map, you get access to over 500 unique locations across Russia — GPS coordinates, access ratings, photos, and explorer reports for every spot.

🗺️ Explore the full Urbex Russia Map →