Welcome To The Town Where Everything Happens UNDERGROUND (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

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They don’t call it Down Under for nothing.

Welcome to Coober Pedy, a bustling Australian town 846 km north of Adelaide, where everyone lives underground.

On the surface, the place looks pretty deserted. With just a few hotels and, randomly, a golf course dotted around, the place has the air of an abandoned town.

In fact, around 3,500 people live there. It’s just that most of them (60 per cent) live below the surface – in homes burrowed out of caves.

COOBER PEDY, AUSTRALIA:  Judy McLean displays the subterranean bedrooms of Faye's underground house in the opal mining town of Coober Pedy, 05 July 2005, located 840 kms north of Adelaide. Living in one of the world's most inhospitable regions -- a tree-less, stony desert where temperatures can climb to 50 degrees Celcius in the day and fall to zero at night -- half of Coober Pedy's 3,500 residents have dug their homes into the chalky clay rock to escape the harsh conditions.  AFP PHOTO/Torsten BLACKWOOD  (Photo credit should read TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP/Getty Images)
Here’s Judy McLean in her cosy cave bedroom (Picture: TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

Coober Pedy was established in 1915 following the discovery of opal there. Ninety five per cent of the world’s opal comes from the area.

But, people who flocked there to mine the previous stones soon discovered life above ground was pretty tough – because of the scorching temperatures. In the summer, the temperature often exceeds 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Amazing
Check out the fake windows (Picture: Getty)

They solved that problem by building ‘dugouts’ – caves bored into the hillsides. Bizarrely, some of the houses even have faux-windows to hang their curtains round. Well, you’ve gotta love those net curtains.

COOBER PEDY, AUSTRALIA:  Judy McLean displays the subterranean bar and lounge of Faye's underground house in the opal mining town of Coober Pedy, 05 July 2005, located 840 kms north of Adelaide. Living in one of the world's most inhospitable regions -- a tree-less, stony desert where temperatures can climb to 50 degrees Celcius in the day and fall to zero at night -- half of Coober Pedy's 3,500 residents have dug their homes into the chalky clay rock to escape the harsh conditions.  AFP PHOTO/Torsten BLACKWOOD  (Photo credit should read TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP/Getty Images)
Judy has a bar in her living room (Picture: TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

100 years later and as well as palatial underground homes, the town has several underground hotels and B&Bs (the Coober Pedy Underground B&B won Australia’s best B&B last year).

Then there’s the underground church, a gift shop, a few museums, a casino, and, of course, the local pub.

COOBER PEDY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 2: Living Underground in Coober Pedy, Australia. The casino of the underground Desert Cave Hotel in Coober Pedy.
The casino of the underground Desert Cave Hotel in Coober Pedy (Picture: Getty)

The entrances to all the buildings are at ground level and all the rooms are ventilated with a vertical shaft, keeping the temperature regulated.

COOBER PEDY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 2: Living Underground in Coober Pedy, Australia. The bar at Coober Pedy's underground Desert Cave Hotel is equipped with a pool table.
The bar at the Cave Hotel (Picture: Getty)

Check out the Coober Pedy video here (if anyone’s seen Aussie cult film The Castle, it’s sort of like that but underground).

Sounds cool, but we’re guessing the phone reception’s a total b*stard.

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