Abandoned Canary Islands waterpark once loved by British tourists is taken over by squatters

A set of eerie photographs reveal how a former major Spanish holiday attraction is now a decaying complex covered in graffiti.

The haunting images show empty pools where sharks once swam, crumbling buildings and vandalised enclosures at the former Parque Europa Baku in Corralejo, Fuerteventura.

The sprawling tourist complex, built in the 2000s, once boasted an extraordinary range of attractions.

Visitors could see sharks, seals, reptiles and birds, while the site also featured a replica of Christopher Columbus's famous ship, La Santa María.

The ambitious development occupied more than 159,000 square metres of public land and was intended to become a major family entertainment destination.

However, it was plagued by financial difficulties and many of its attractions closed after only a few years.

An urban explorer and photographer, known online as SeanUrbex, visited the abandoned section and was stunned to discover people living amid the ruins.

'Gaining access to the site was too easy, simply walking off the main street into the complex,' Sean, from Kent, said.

'The first thing we see is the striking shark statue still remaining, overlooking the once busy park.'

'I originally thought the park was a zoo, but actually I have been corrected by locals that it was a water park with other attractions such as a live shark in a water tank below the old statue.'

Sean said he managed to explore only around a third of the site. 

'Sadly, we only managed to see about a third of the site, as many homeless locals have made the place home, living in old pools and display water features, with no roofs but clothes hanging up drying and makeshift beds with blankets.

'Homelessness is a real problem on the island, and many of them make use of disused places.

'The most shocking thing was the amount of homeless squatters who now called the old park home.'

By the end of 2019, operator Ociopark Corralejo had accumulated losses of almost €31.2million (£27million), according to company accounts cited by Spanish newspaper Diario de Fuerteventura.

In July 2026, La Oliva council moved to terminate the concession covering the former complex.