Edinburgh Underground City of the Dead Tour: Exploring Damnation Alley's Haunted Tunnels

Uncover the secrets of Edinburgh’s haunted underground city on this award-winning guided tour. Explore Damnation Alley’s haunted tunnels and hear chilling stories of the city’s dark past.

Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • City of the Dead Tours - This tour ventures into the most haunted section of Edinburgh’s legendary Underground City, where a population once lived in utter misery. Black as Satan’s jammies, with a fascinating history to match, these vaults were forgotten for centuries and only recently unsealed.

This part of the South Bridge Vaults is known as Damnation Alley. With good reason. These dark tunnels and are stalked by a malevolent presence known as the South Bridge Entity.

What's Included
  • Local, expert guide
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information

Join us on this award-winning guided stroll through the spookiest section of the historical Underground City in Edinburgh, often referred to as ‘Damnation Alley’. For centuries, this place lay forgotten, once acting as a ‘home’ to men, women, and children subjected to unbearable living conditions.

Delve into the grim history of Edinburgh below its city streets, hearing tales about the actual occurrences and entities that might still reside there…

• A comprehensive 80-minute walk through Edinburgh’s subterranean city, supervised by a knowledgeable local guide.

• Options for participating in the tour during the day or at night.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW

During peak periods throughout the year, tours may be displayed as SOLD OUT even when spaces might still be unoccupied, to prevent overbooking. If the tour you are interested in is listed as SOLD OUT, please reach out to us to check potential availability.

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Language: English only
  • Age: Minimum 12
Location
St Giles' Cathedral
High Street
All tours leave from the "Tree of the Dead" outside St Giles Cathedral on the pavement facing the Royal Mile. Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes prior to departure.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(205 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
228adindat
Jul 7, 2024
Very good! - We had a nice experience. The guide was very friendly. We learned a lot about the history of Edinburgh. Definitely recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Venture54736993612
Jul 7, 2024
Recommended! - This tour was very interesting and scary. Shout out to our amazing tour guide Fiona. She really made the stories come alive. Not for the faint of heart. A must if you want to learn about Edinburgh's forgotten history!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Splicerkitty
Jun 28, 2024
Great tour - Ben was an absolute star! Very informative and very funny. Lovely tour into the spooky underground vaults. Would absolutely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
237fernandaf
Jun 23, 2024
Very interesting and educational! - Interesting, curious and educational. The guide Fiona told me mastery and a lot of knowledge about history from the beginnings to the present day. I loved it! Super recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zequem2024
Jun 9, 2024
Amazing tour with Lafayette - Very funny experience with Lafayette. Our ghost guide who added humor and suspense to the entire story and historical data. Great way to get to know a little bit of the secrets of this beautiful city.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Safari09019212120
May 29, 2024
Beth gave us an incredible historically educational and entertaining tour!!! - We had a great evening with our tour guide Beth! She set the stage for the vaults and the underground city by educating us on the history of Edinburgh, what led to the building of the vaults and how they were used over time. She was excellent at explaining what life was like in the vaults by delivering entertaining stories and setting the stage for the spooky finales. I believe no matter where you fall on the spectrum of believing in ghosts, not believing, unsure/skeptical or whatever, you will find this experience to be worth your time! We had a blast, we learned a lot, we were a bit frightened (not sure I would take kids younger than 14), and left thrilled with our experience and time with Beth!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Staceycleghon
May 29, 2024
Fantastic tour - Natalie was great! Very entertaining and lots of great stories and history of the city and its ghosts! Would definitely recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
373jerusham
May 27, 2024
Sarah best guide - We had a tour guide Sarah on saturday in Edinburgh at 1.30 and she was utterly brilliant!! She was witty and engaging and everything you would want from a tour guide. Made the whole tour really Amazing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kelly
May 25, 2024
Double Dead Tour - Our guide, Ryan, was EXCELLENT! He has a remarkable gift for storytelling and engaging his audience! We spent time in both the Underground Vaults and the Graveyard. Although we didn’t have any poltergeist or spirit encounters, the trip was well worth both our time and money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
O0etwilliamf
Jul 11, 2024
Terrible - not worth the money - The tour did no more than take you through several underground chambers that had nothing in them. You went in one door and came out another door only about 30 metres apart. For a total tour time of approximately 90 minutes no more than about 40 minutes was spent underground. It could hardly be considered a form of ghost tour. The guide told a number of stories some of which were really not of any great interest. Was far too melodramatic. Not worth the money at all.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 4 guests
1
Adult
September 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today