Exploring ghostly old military tunnels in Tallinn….at night… with lanterns!
After I first started researching Estonia when applying for my Digital nomad visa and its interesting history, I stumbled upon a company offering lantern hikes on a night-time exploration of Tallinn’s subdistrict of ‘Astangu’, an area rich in history, intrigue and adventure!
Our knowledgeable guide tells us that during the era of Soviet occupation, the military constructed several underground tunnels, bunkers, and a military base in Astangu in the World War one era of 1917, and plans were drawn up for 39 U-shaped ammunition storage tunnels that were to hand-carved from the limestone cliffs that characterise the district.
Whilst only six were started, two were completed and then discarded at the end of the conflict – yet the remnants of them are still visible and some accessible to explore (see the pictures I took) along with a number of crumbling buildings left over from the soviet occupation.
The hike was hugely interesting, especially at night, with a very insightful commentary (in English) by our knowledgeable guide, and went on for around 2 hours, with some traverses some moderate slopes and unstable terrain – so definitely wear good footwear. We also found it helpful to take a headtorch to navigate the rockier sections, however you’d get on fine without it.
The cost was €20 per person and well worth it for the history of this otherwise unknown history!
More information:
https://www.asseeninestonia.com/lantern-hikes-aka-laternamatkad
You might also like to read:
If you’re seriously considering a year as a digital nomad, whether that’s to explore the world, setup a virtual business, or both, I strongly urge you to put Estonia at the top of your list for all the reasons I mention below – however don’t be surprised if you don’t want to return back to your country of origin at the end of it!
Secondly, I make no apologies for being so enthusiastic about the place, I’ve travelled in over 60 countries across the world and feel like I’ve found somewhere that is truly remarkable for many good reasons that people aren’t yet aware of.