Airbnb changed the vacation game when they emerged 15 years ago and now ambitious hosts are getting creative with their properties to appeal to holiday-makers seeking unique experiences.

From a secluded lighthouse on an Alaskan island, to a sprawling 3,000-sq-ft home inside a cave in Arizona and a 186ft-deep missile silo in New Mexico, home owners are pushing the boundaries to get listed as ‘super hosts’.

The website even has specific categories for ‘earth homes’ – hobbit-style properties – windmills, shepherd’s huts, caves, barns and towers, to cater to the specific demands of tourists.

Here DailyMail.com takes a look at some of the most bizarre and magnificent homes across the States. 

Alaska

For $900 a night, you can stay in The Lighthouse, an Airbnb in Alaska that sleeps up to six people and offers 1.5 bathrooms.

The Lighthouse was constructed in 1983 by a local veterinarian called Burgess Bauder – who spent 18 months doing the heavy lifting to build the property by himself.

It sits on the high point of a one-acre private island in Sitka. 

The main level has a full kitchen, living room, dining room and a full deck that wraps around the entire property while the bedrooms sit on the second and third floor. 

‘It’s an idyllic place to relax, read, do a little yoga or just cast your eyes out for whales and other wildlife,’ the Airbnb page reads. 

Arizona 

Arizona’s Canyon Cavehouse is a wildly unique property that is literally a cave settled in the Mule Mountains of Brisbee. 

The $1,620-a-night experience includes the entire cave house, a stunning patio, pool areas and plenty of hiking paths surrounding it.

There is one catch – because of its cave location, there is no cell phone service or WiFi inside the house. 

Sitting at an altitude of 5,300ft, the 3,000-sq-ft home was built in 1985 and took 15 years to construct because of its remote and inaccessible location. 

While the Airbnb only has three customer reviews, they’re all glowing with five stars in every category. ‘Amazing cave house, gorgeously constructed and simply breathtaking piece of history,’ a guest shared. 

California

The Pinecone Treehouse in Santa Cruz, California, is a breathtaking property majestically propped amongst the redwood forests of Bonny Doon. 

Described as ‘a space created to tap into your higher self, a space to rediscover your inner calm,’ the treehouse costs $650-a-night, plus $206 in fees, and can sleep two guests.

The shiny golden structure is perched 35ft in the air with only a narrow wooden ladder leading up to the single-room ‘house’.

Guests of the Pinecone raved about their stay, describing it as ‘special,’ ‘unique’ and an ‘unbelievable experience’ – which is why the Airbnb earned a score of 4.87 from its 230 reviewers. 

The only catch of this beautiful experience is the lack of bathroom. Guests are required to make a short expedition across a catwalk bridge where there is running water, but no plumbed toilet. 

Colorado

Colorado’s Pink Church Airbnb is located in the historic district of Leadville, nestled between Aspen and Breckenridge.

The 1888 pink church houses up to seven guests and charges $449 a night.

It features three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a fully stocked kitchen and offers guests a prime location that is walkable to everything in town.

The unique property even includes its own Tesla charger and a ‘luxury’ Aspen-style gas fireplace.

Though the Airbnb has only been reviewed by three guests, the reviews were glowing – with one visitor calling it ‘one of the coolest Vacation Rentals we have ever stayed in.’

Florida

Florida’s unique Space Ship Airbnb is located in Lake Placid, Florida, and is a hit with guests, 171 of which have granted the rental 4.96 stars.

The dome-shaped property is full of fun alien references – with a special ‘galaxy arcade’ loft that is stocked with vintage gaming machines including Star Wars, Space Invaders, Terminator 2, Simpsons, Ms. Pac-Man, Tempest and Outrun Racing.

The house’s décor is entirely space-themed, with galaxy bed sheets, green and blue lighting throughout and even an alien shower curtain.

At $249 a night (plus an additional $200 in fees), this fun property can house up to 10 guests.

The hosts said that while the inside has endless entertainment opportunities, the outside of ‘Area 1609’ is peaceful and relaxing. 

Georgia

The Glass Treehouse in Georgia is a stunning property showcasing fantastic architectural design in the state’s capital city of Atlanta.

At $250 a night, the one bedroom one bathroom home can sleep up to three guests and is conveniently close to downtown East Atlanta, Little Points and Grant Park Zoo.

Tons of natural light spills through the glass windows that spread from floor to ceiling and on the ground and roof of the house.

The astounding property is raised high up in the air and surrounded by mature hardwood trees.

The open plan home spans over two floors and is furnished with minimalist modern pieces.

Idaho

The Big Idaho Potato Hotel in the Rocky Mountains state offers guests a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay in a potato. 

For $123 a night, up to two visitors can spend their trip to Boise, Idaho nestled in a giant cozy potato.

Recycled from the Idaho Potato Commission’s Big Idaho Potato Tour, the six-ton potato traveled on the back of a semi to (48) states for seven years.

The bizarre property was designed by Kristie Wolfe, a former Big Idaho Potato Tour spokesperson, to allow for stylish private comfort and amenities such as power outlets for your electronic devices, a mini fridge, old records to play and a custom-built bed.

The Airbnb has brought in 801 reviews so far which have granted the fun Idaho experience 4.9 stars overall. 

Missouri

The Silo in Bonne Terre, Missouri, offers guests of the Southeast city the very exclusive opportunity to stay in a silo. 

Originally used to store agricultural materials, this tower has now been converted into a lakeside experience for up to five guests to enjoy.

The $204-a-night stay is described by hosts as ‘boho, industrial, farmhouse and luxury.’

The adorable property has custom bricks, 100-year-old logs, a custom architectural ceiling and even a walk-in marble shower.

There is also a two-story deck above a pond, a hammock, two swings and a claw foot tub.  

New Mexico

The Bunker in New Mexico is a bizarre underground property listed on Airbnb for $499 a night.

The missile base property is located in Roswell and offers guests a private apartment and a utility tunnel that leads to the Missile Silo which is more than 180ft deep.

Major construction works have transformed the former weapons system into an incredible underground home which offers a one-of-a-kind experience. 

Guests’ stay includes an amazing tour, providing insight into the fascinating history of the property.

Over 350 guests have reviewed the Airbnb – giving it an extremely impressive score of 4.99 stars.  

New York

The Highlands Castle in Bolton, New York, is a breathtaking mansion poised on a ‘graceful mountaintop’ overlooking Lake George. 

At a whopping $1,790 a night, the stunning castle sleeps up to eight people, with two more castles on the property sleeping six and seven other guests. The fees for this property add up to an additional $1,070.

The castle features a Great Hall – which is the property’s ‘grandest’ room, featuring 25ft-high ceilings and 21 windows overlooking Lake George and the Adirondack Mountains.

Other rooms that the astounding property has to offer include a library, music room and outdoor terraces with spectacular views. 

With five reviews so far, the property has earned 4.8 stars from its guests.  

Oregon

The Tower in Oregon provides its guests with a wholesome nook nestled 40 feet in the air.

The property, which is located in Tiller, is known as Summit Prairie and is currently closed for the season, but usually costs $250 a night.

Surrounded by the Umpqua National Forest, the private and stunning tower grants guests with true peace and relaxation.

Although simple from the outside, the interior décor is charming and homely with plenty of wood and cozy places to sit and enjoy the panoramic views.

‘Kick back and relax, read a book, play a game (or three)… write in a journal, meditate… daydream in the hammocks down the hill… soak your cares away and relax in a secluded wood-fired, spring-fed hot tub… Even dance under the moon or sing to the stars,’ the website says.  

Pennsylvania 

A Converted School Bus in Pennsylvania might not be everyone’s idea of a dream vacation destination, but over 226 guests have given this unique property an overall score of 4.83 stars.

The classic yellow school bus, which is set up in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country in Lancaster County, costs just $77 a night.

On the outside, it appears as just a school bus, but the inside is fully decked out with couches, a kitchen and a tiny bedroom.

Although the showers only have cold water, the property does feature a composting toilet.

Guests can enjoy the three dogs that run loose on the property as well as chickens and even two ponies.  

Tennessee

A haunted castle in Knoxville, Tennessee, offers guests a very unique and spooky vacation experience. 

The Williamswood Castle, which is close to downtown Knoxville, costs $379 per night. 

‘Step back in time and become royalty by staying at Knoxville’s most unique estate – your very own castle only ten minutes from downtown,’ the website advertises. ‘Surrounded by 300 acres of Ijams Nature Center. Secret passage, towers, swords, armor, and magic abound!’

The house is decked out with dozens of pieces of antique furniture and even features its very own pub.

Texas

The Nest is a one-of-a-kind rental property in Glen Rose, Texas.

The Airbnb is a human-sized bird’s nest, surrounded by wooden twigs and sparkling lights. 

The cozy nook, described as ‘a hybrid cabin with features of both a treehouse and a bohemian bungalow,’  sleeps just two guests and costs $308 a night.

‘From the cover of nearby cedar and hardwoods, you are guaranteed a concert from our local birds and maybe even a gobble from the wild turkeys,’ the website says.

The property is a ‘guest favorite’ on Airbnb and has gained average reviews of 4.97 stars from 295 visitors.

Utah

Utah’s Bedrock Homestead is an off-the-grid, sustainable Airbnb property lodged in an actual cave.

The unique cave property is created from the surrounding landscape of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

The secluded home is so private that the visitors even need four-wheel-drive vehicle to access it because of the dirt roads and one-mile-long driveway.

At $279 a night, the property sleeps up to six guests.

‘Enjoy your own private entrance, as well as balcony and BBQ. You’ll have a coffee maker and grinder, tea, hot water kettle, microwave, and paper goods,’ the Airbnb page advertises. 

Vermont

Honey Pond Farm Estate is a fairytale property in Middletown Springs, Vermont, that sprawls over a whopping 575-acre private plot of land.

One night at Honey Pond will cost you a staggering $4,143, but the mansion-estate does sleep up to 15 guests.

The ‘recreational retreat’ Airbnb offers golf, tennis, bocce, paddle boats, kayaking, fishing, a full gym and over 10 miles of hiking trails which lead up to a mountaintop with spectacular views. 

‘The centerpiece of this ultimate playground is the USGA-rated private golf course comprised of 3 greens, multiple fairways and 26 tees,’ the Airbnb page boasts. 

There is even a wine cellar, game room, a wood burning pizza oven and eight golf carts to drive around the vast estate.  

Virginia

Apple Ridge Farm Caboose Bed & Breakfast is a renovated train perched on Copper Hill, Virginia. 

‘Go back in time in this lovingly remodeled Norfolk & Western Caboose Car complete with a queen size bed, sleeper sofa, table for two, and bathroom,’ the Airbnb page says.

This unique B&B experience provides a complimentary breakfast, mountain beauty, over four miles of hiking trails, as well as many other outdoor areas to be enjoyed by guests. 

All proceeds brought in from the $175-a-night Airbnb are donated to support Apple Ridge Farm, a non-profit with a mission of Helpings Kids Grow. 

The quaint and wholesome ‘home’ is a hit with guests, earning a 4.93 star rating from more than 100 visitors. 

A woman who built a doomsday bunker says the door will remain closed to everyone outside her home, including family.

Rowan MacKenzie of Missouri, who became a social media phenomenon after revealing she had been preparing her home for 12 years, believes it is necessary to prepare for the end of the world.

She previously made headlines after revealing she spent more than $90,000 on her hidden bunker stash.

The 38-year-old started stocking her cupboards thirteen years ago, initially purchasing life-long necessities like beans and rice, which she taught herself to store through trial and error.

She said: “I've always said that if you don't help build it, tough decisions will have to be made.

“My door will not be open to anyone, family or not, as I have prepared for my own home. I feel bad, but tough times call for tough blows – and tough realities.”

As her stash grew, the housewife spent more than $10,000 having an underground space built into the basement of her home, where she keeps food, water and defensive weapons.

Now, with several wars, a strain on the economy and potential 10-foot aliens coming to Earth, the 'prepper' has taken new measures to ensure her family stays safe.

“I am preparing as a whole for war, inflation, nuclear disasters and total chaos,” Rowan said.

“The price of everything has skyrocketed and I have to prepare myself and my family for any disaster situation.

“Our stock should last a year or more [once used and not replenished] and I have had new plans made to build a second bunker in case one is compromised.'

Rowan claims that the majority of its stock won't expire for another 25 years, and it's all thanks to its 'flawless' rotation system that ensures there is little to no waste.

With the new year in full swing, the mother of three has taken new measures to ensure her system is fully up to date with all the essentials.

Now she reveals her top tips for anyone who wants to get ready too.

She said: 'The most essential items to stock up on are water, as adequate storage of this and ways to filter it are a must.

“Food and medical supplies, which are often overlooked, are needed and that will certainly end in disaster.

“I never regret my purchases and the thing about prepping is that even the most useless items will be a blessing if they are needed and not accessible.

“It's better to have more than you need than to need it later and not have it.”

Rowan says those closest to her understand the importance of what she does, but they often get confused looks when they tell other people.

The mother said: 'I get a lot of comments from people who think what I do is useless and not essential.

“I've been called every name you can think of, and the worst of the worst.

“It hurt my feelings at first, but now I don't let it bother me anymore.”

Rowan's husband, Matt Bradley, 38, said: 'I love that we are like-minded when it comes to preparation because two heads are better than one.'

Her son, Ashton Varney, 21, added: “I sit back and watch my parents go crazy sometimes trying to find this or that to add to the bunker.

“Everything I've learned about saving a life in tough times is so worth it.”

She added: “I know what I do is important to me and I have over 80,000 people who agree with that too.

“I feel sorry for the people who don't understand what is really happening around them right now, and I fear that because they choose to ignore it, they may not be able to last long if something happens.”

Chris Christie dramatically announced Wednesday that he was withdrawing from the 2024 Republican presidential race, issuing an angry indictment of Donald Trump and telling his supporters he was determined to keep his former ally out of the White House.

“It is clear to me tonight that there is no path for me to win the nomination, and therefore tonight I am suspending my campaign for president of the United States,” Christie told supporters in Windham, New Hampshire.

It’s a stunning development that could be a big boost for Nikki Haley, as many Christie voters are now expected to support her.

But in extended remarks, Christie did not come close to expressing support for any of Trump’s remaining challengers. Instead, he criticized unnamed contenders for their ambition and “cowardice” in not being willing to take on the frontrunner directly. And he mentioned Haley by name as one of those who wouldn’t stand up enough to Trump. (She has said Trump would cause “chaos” if re-elected, but has not ruled out running as his vice president if asked).

He decried the “smallness of the campaigns that spend more time arguing and worrying about who should drop out of the race than they spent chasing the front-runner.”

Christie went after a campaign that he said is not “playing to win.” It is a campaign that ensures you do not offend.”

He said the country’s problems “will not be solved by people who are too afraid to talk about what the real problems are.”

In one of his most visceral attacks, he said Trump, a former New Yorker, would not have acted in the nation’s best interests if he had been in the Oval Office on September 11.

“The first thing he would have done is run to the bunker to protect himself,” Christie said.

“Anyone who won’t say he’s unfit to be president of the United States is unfit to be president of the United States,” he said.

It came moments after he was caught on a hot mic saying Haley was “going to get smoked” and “couldn’t handle this.”

He blamed his rivals for failing to take on Trump.

“If Donald Trump becomes this party’s nominee, the moment that happened was when Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, Doug Burgum and Vivek Ramaswamy stood on that stage in Milwaukee in August and when we were asked if If you support someone who is a convicted felon and wants to be president of the United States, they raise their hands,” he said.

The former governor of New Jersey did not spare senior Republicans in Congress from his criticism. He mentioned Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming and House Republican Party Rep. Tom Emmer, both of whom supported Trump.

‘They know better. I know they know better.’ He went after “people who continue to deny the outcome of the 2020 election” and “people in House leadership who say on TV that the people who attacked the Capitol on January 6 are hostages.”

That was a reference to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a former Trump critic who, following Trump, used the term “hostage” to describe Jan. 6 suspects.

‘I’ll tell you who the hostages are. The Israelis who are still being hidden in tunnels in Gaza against their will through no fault of their own,” he said.

“President Trump has already defeated eight challengers before a single vote has been cast, because Republican voters want a strong leader who will restart our economy, secure our borders, make America energy independent again and keep our families safe,” Karoline said Leavitt, spokeswoman for Make America Great Again Inc.

Haley’s campaign released a statement talking about their friendship and, like Trump, not directly addressing his criticism.

“Chris Christie has been a friend for years. I commend him for his hard-fought campaign. Voters have a clear choice in this election: the chaos and drama of the past or a new generation of conservative leadership. “I will fight to earn every vote so that together we can build a strong and proud America,” she said.

Christie based his campaign on being Trump’s most outspoken and aggressive opponent. But he was languishing in the polls and came under increasing pressure to back down and give Haley, who has been gaining momentum, a better chance of catching Trump.

On average, Christie was in fifth place in Iowa with 3 percent support.

He had staked almost his entire campaign on success in New Hampshire, the second state to vote on January 23. According to opinion polls, he was in third place there with 12 percent.

His shocking decision to withdraw came just a day after he rejected the idea that ending his presidential bid would help Haley defeat Trump.

Speaking at a barbecue restaurant in New Hampshire on Tuesday, he said: ‘I would like to get out of the way of anyone who actually stands up to Donald Trump. Why do we think she (Haley) would hit him? She’s not trying to beat him.”

He noted her support for pardoning Trump if one of his criminal trials ends in a conviction, and her refusal to rule out becoming Trump’s running mate if asked.

“Let’s just say I now dropped out of the race and endorsed Nikki Haley,” Christie said Tuesday.

“And in three months, in four months, when you’re ready to go to the convention, she’ll emerge as his vice president. What will I look like? What will all the people who supported her at my request look like?’

At his town hall event in New Hampshire on Tuesday, one of Christie’s constituents suggested he should consider resigning.

Greg Leach, 49, of Dover, told Christie he wants his vote to count and asked him about the need to unite around one anti-Trump candidate.

“I really want to vote for Christie, but strategically right now I feel like Nikki Haley is the right choice,” he said.

Leach said he was interested in what’s happening in Iowa, but wondered whether Christie should drop out sooner rather than later.

“I don’t want it to be too late and for Trump to end up winning because people waited too long,” he said.

Christie had insisted he would stay in the race as long as he saw a path to the nomination.

He had also said he would not make an endorsement based on politics, as he did when he supported Trump eight years ago.

“I’m not going to make the same mistake again,” he said. ‘Can it not.’

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Haley’s political action committee said: “It’s time for voters to tell Christie what we all know, which is that his campaign isn’t holding anyone back and, frankly, it’s helping Trump, whom he proudly supported in 2016 and supposedly is against. by 2024.’

But the calculations in recent polls signaled a way Christie could make an impact in his crusade to stop Trump after endorsing his former rival in 2016.

According to the latest CNN/University of New Hampshire poll, Trump was in the lead with 39 percent, while Hailing was only 7 points behind with 32 percent.

Christie was on 12 points. But if most of his supporters turned to Haley, it could give her a way to surpass Trump in the nation’s first primary.

Christie’s planned announcement came after a pro-Trump super PAC began hammering Haley with a new ad on immigration — in a move that responded to her rise in the polls.

China’s recent “purge” of several top military officials came after an embarrassing mishap in which they accidentally filled rockets with water instead of fuel, according to US intelligence.

The news comes days after a surprise New Year’s message from ruler Xi Jingping, who warned that “all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait” will be “reunified.”

The communist country’s top lawmakers expelled nine senior military officers from the national legislature on Friday, state media reported, a move that usually precedes further punishment.

Many of the removed soldiers belonged to the Rocket Force, a major branch of the Chinese military that oversees tactical and nuclear missiles.

Now US intelligence claims military corruption led to the failures, which also included fields of silos in western China fitted with covers that prevented the missiles from being launched.

The purges are a setback for Xi, who has poured billions into buying and developing equipment as part of his modernization efforts to build a “world-class” military by 2050.

In line with these plans, Beijing’s outsized defense budget has been growing faster than its economy for several years.

However, the recent demise of generals and suppliers of military equipment has shattered some of this aura and raised questions about whether there has been sufficient oversight of the massive military investments as China competes with the United States.

Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has launched a major crackdown on corruption among Communist Party officials and government officials, with the military among the main targets.

The nine generals removed from the legislature were from different military divisions; three were former Rocket Force commanders or vice commanders; one a former chief of the air force and one a naval commander in charge of the South China Sea. Four officers were responsible for the equipment.

Wei Fenghe, a former defense minister who used to lead the Rocket Force, has also disappeared.

When asked about his whereabouts, a Defense Ministry spokesman said in August that the military has zero tolerance for corruption.

His successor, Li Shangfu, was abruptly ousted as defense minister in October after also disappearing for months before returning, only to fall victim to the purge himself.

Shangfu had previously headed the equipment department. One of his then deputies was removed from parliament on Friday.

On the same day, Dong Jun, a Chinese ex-navy chief with a background in the South China Sea, was appointed Li’s replacement as defense minister.

Corruption in the Chinese military is apparently so deep-rooted that it will change Xi’s plans to take major military action in the near future. Bloomberg reports this.

Xi recently warned in his saber-rattling New Year’s message that “all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait” will be “reunified.”

He said China’s reunification with Taiwan is inevitable, as he addressed the nation less than two weeks before the Chinese-claimed island elects a new leader.

The January 13 presidential and parliamentary elections come at a time of fraught relations between Beijing and Taipei. China has increased military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over democratically governed Taiwan.

China considers Taiwan its “sacred territory” and has never refrained from using force to bring it under Chinese control, although Xi made no mention of military threats in his speech on state television.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington DC did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

In the longer term, analysts expect the chronic problem of corruption in China’s military to persist because a number of root causes – including low officer pay and opacity in military spending – have not been addressed.

In his New Year’s message, Xi also said the country’s economy has become “more resilient and dynamic than before” after weathering a challenging 2023 at the helm of the world’s second-largest economy.

His government has struggled to sustain an economic recovery since quickly dropping its tough zero-Covid policy a year ago.

But Xi said the economy has “weathered the storm” in 2023 and has become “more resilient and dynamic than before.”

Record youth unemployment and an ongoing debt crisis in the crucial real estate sector have also hampered Chinese growth.

Official figures released on Sunday showed a nationwide decline in factory activity that deepened in December, the third straight month of contraction.

Analysts have said Beijing could struggle to meet its annual growth target of around five percent, the lowest ambition in years.

A sprawling Cold War-era Soviet bunker, built to withstand a 20-kiloton nuclear explosion but abandoned for decades, will be transformed into Europe’s newest tourist attraction.

Carved into the side of a mountain on the border of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Zeljava underground air base was once one of the continent’s largest military complexes.

But for decades it stood silent after being abandoned during the 1992 Serbo-Croatian War, with only the occasional intrepid adventurer ever daring to venture into its crumbling cavernous core.

Now plans are in the works to open the huge complex, which is just a stone’s throw from southern Europe’s busiest national park, Europe’s Plitvice Lakes, to tourists – while terrifying new images of the sprawling base were revealed revealed.

It was secretly built in the 1960s at a cost of $6 billion to hide a fleet of Soviet fighter jets in what was then Yugoslavia – a socialist federation that sought a middle ground between Moscow and Washington during the Cold War – and had about one’s own power, water and water. purification and ventilation systems and could work autonomously.

In its heyday, the bunker had five runways and could house nearly 60 MiG-21 aircraft, while its approximately 3.5 kilometers of tunnels were also home to command centers, offices and dormitories for 1,000 Soviet troops.

The remains of the enormous 100-ton retractable concrete doors at the four entrances are still visible and the metal bracings protrude from the structures.

“All the systems were state-of-the-art at the time,” says Mirsad Fazlic, a former pilot who worked at the base for almost a decade in the 1980s.

“It was the best military and civilian technology at the time.”

During the wars that followed the fall of communism and the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the facility was destroyed by the remnants of the Yugoslav army, using powerful explosives.

“Everything that was in there, all that equipment, everything was burned,” Mr. Fazlic said. “Only the tunnels and walls remained.”

After the destruction, the base lay largely empty and in disrepair, attracting adventurous tourists who wanted to explore the rusting ruins of the bunker’s maze of tunnels and abandoned aircraft.

That all changed in 2016 with the release of a Slovenian mockumentary called ‘Houston, We Have a Problem!’ with the base.

According to locals, the state complex has since attracted more than 150,000 people per year.

Authorities in the area are hopeful that with proper marketing the base can attract many more tourists, especially some of the 1.7 million tourists who visit the nearby Plitvice Lakes National Park every year.

“By revitalizing Zeljava, we would create additional content for the national park, allowing tourists to stay an extra day,” said Ante Kovac, the area’s mayor.

Auto races have already been held at the base, and officials believe its extraordinary size means it could house data centers, host parties or create a Cold War museum.

Currently, visitors walk through the damp, pitch-black tunnels with flashlights, carefully avoiding holes in the ground, while some drive through parts of the base.

“It’s crazy that it’s frozen in time,” said Angelo Virag, a photographer visiting from the Croatian capital Zagreb, who was impressed by the “absolute ingenuity of the technique.”

His cousin Mario Garbin, from Perth, Australia, raved about the “raw, authentic character of the infrastructure that has remained untouched for the past thirty years.”

Aviation fanatic Hamdija Mesic from the nearby Bosnian town of Bihac said he hopes the two runaways in Bosnia will soon reopen to fellow pilots.

“Such a huge facility, abandoned by the ravages of time, cannot be found anywhere else in the world,” he told AFP.

Others, however, hoped the site would remain as it is.

“You don’t have signs where to go and what to see, it’s more of a discovery place,” Maria Moreno, a 33-year-old interior designer from Spain, told AFP. ‘That’s why I liked it.

“If you turned it into a tourist attraction, it would lose its charm.”

A man has revealed how he bought a 1980s nuclear bunker for a ‘good price’ and converted it into a beautiful home in the mountains of Montana.

Dean Anderson stars in one YouTube video made by documentary maker Kirsten Dirksen in which he talks about his unique real estate project.

He explains that he fell in love with Paradise Valley, Montana, while fishing in the area five years ago, but all the real estate was too expensive.

However, after a thorough search, he came across a man selling a sleeping bunker for a reasonable price and picked him up.

Dean said the sale price included £45,000 worth of food stored in the basement and also included enough medicine and oxygen supplies “to last for a number of years.”

He said these bonus items helped close the deal.

The outdoorsman explained, “For me, it was basically a million or a million and a half dollars worth of cement stuck underground with all this old food and all this old stuff that made my mouth water.

“I thought, ‘Wow, all that leftover stuff is gone, they’re going to bury it so I can buy it for next to nothing and make something nice out of it.’

In the YouTube video, footage filmed by Dean shows how his house was slowly built over the years.

In an effort to turn the bunker into a livable space, he cut doors and windows into the reinforced concrete.

He also attached an exterior structure, which serves as the home’s entryway, with oversized windows that provide fantastic mountain views.

During his tour, Dean explains how he converted a room in the bunker into an open dining area and kitchen.

Because of the curved ceilings, he had to install horizontal freezing and cooling units.

Other features of the kitchen include a central island with a six-burner stove and three sinks, which he says makes washing dishes easier when large numbers are present.

As for the aesthetics of the design, Dean says, “We wanted to keep the place… a kind of bunker, a fallout shelter or a nuclear fallout shelter, so we went with a lot of aluminum… a lot of grays.”

In an effort to be as sustainable as possible and keep costs down, Dean made a lot of the furniture himself or reused items.

In one clip he demonstrates how he uses an old flamethrower he found in the bunker as a door stop.

Since there are no windows in the living space, Dean installed bright white lights “with a little blue tint” in the ceiling and added blue paint.

He says at one point: ‘[It’s] to try to get the feeling that you’re outside… It’s almost like the sky.”

Other living spaces he shows to viewers include a bedroom in a former medical centre, a shower room in an old storage space and an office in the new extension.

The underground shelter was built to house 250 people, but Dean shows in one video that conditions would have been quite cramped.

In one of the narrow bedroom spaces, he explains that the plan was to equip each of the slim compartments with multiple bunk beds, so that everyone would live on top of each other.

Heading down to the basement – which Dean says is about twenty feet deep – the homeowner reveals how it took a lot of effort to get rid of all the wheat and other food supplies stored in sealed barrels.

He made use of some of the goods he found, with plentiful supplies of olive oil, sesame oil, mung beans, margarine powder, and peanut butter powder.

There are two more floors to be built, but so far Dean has created two apartment spaces in his sprawling bunker.

In the video he explains how he did all the work with a team of young men in recovery.

He believes that physical labor can serve as therapy, as he managed to give up alcohol in the same way.

All men, who are often just off the streets or from prison, receive training and payment for working on the construction project.

Dean says of his rehabilitation concept: “We’ve had forty kids here. The majority of them are clean and healthy and doing well.’

It is estimated that there are more than 50 bunkers in Paradise Valley that were built in the 1980s in preparation for nuclear fallout.

According to Dean, all homeowners in the area were required to have a place in a shelter and “this was actually in the homeowners association (HOA) documents.”

Dean summarizes his unusual bunker conversion project and concludes, “It’s been a hell of a ride with this thing.”