More than 80 underground rivers flow beneath the streets of Kiev. Each of them has a historical name. The most interesting among them are the Klov, the Glybochytsa and the Skomoroh.
The Skomoroh is a left tributary of the Lybid river and is about 3 km long. In 2001, right after the terrorist attacks in the United States, urban explorers investigated it and climbed out through a manhole right … on the territory of the US embassy! The encounter with the marines was unexpected for both sides, but it ended peacefully. The Skomoroh flows into the Lybid river near Victory Square, on the grounds of the Transsignal plant.
Renovated in 2014, the tunnel has a square profile.
This colorful, illuminated row of pipes connects the Afanasiev Yar stream to the main Skomoroh river.
These strange manholes in the floor of the drain tunnels are the remains of an old sewer system that was built here more than a hundred years ago and no longer works.
The highlight of this tunnel system is “The Great Column Hall”. It is located beneath a new building in the city center.
Urbex guide to underground Kyiv with diggers! Want to see incredible places hidden from people’s eyes?
Beneath Victory Square, the stream changes direction at a 90-degree angle. Here we decided to light a torch.
We ran a small light-painting photo experiment with the torch inside the pipe. It looks awesome!
A historically valuable part of the tunnel system is located beneath Lukyanivska prison. But we feel safe, because the tunnels are much deeper and have no connection to it.
Our urbex team invites you to explore underground Kiev with us. You can book our Kiev Urbex Tour and set out to explore the tunnels and an abandoned Cold War bunker.