The World's Largest Indoor Ferris Wheel

By Geoffrey Migiro on August 22 2019 in Travel







The Alem Center in Turkmenistan, the site of the world's largest indoor ferris wheel. Editorial credit: Atosan / Shutterstock.com.

The history of Ferris wheels possibly dates back to the seventeenth century in Bulgaria, where individuals rode pleasure wheels that were rotated by strong men. The pleasure wheel had seats that were suspended from wooden-rings. Similar wheels appeared in the United Kingdom during the seventeenth century and all in other parts of the world including Siberia, Romania, and India.

The original "modern-day" Ferris wheel, by George Ferris, was 264ft high and the tallest attraction in the Chicago World’s Fair. The Chicago wheel was intended to compete with the 1,063 ft Eiffel Tower of the Paris Exposition of 1889.

Tallest Indoor Ferris Wheel

The tallest indoor Ferris wheel on the planet is situated in the Alem-entertainment center in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The wheel is over 156 feet tall and has a diameter of about 187 feet. There are 24 6-seater cabins on the wheel. The $90 million indoor Ferris wheel was opened on May 18, 2012. The Alem-entertainment center also has a planetarium, restaurant, cinema screens, and a bowling alley. The Ferris wheel weighs approximately 150 tons.

The World’s Largest Ferris Wheels

The High Roller has been the biggest Ferris wheel on earth since 2014 when it surpassed the 541 foot Singapore Flyer. The High Roller has a diameter of 520 feet and is situated in Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. The second-largest Ferris wheel is the Singapore Flyer. The Singapore Flyer was opened to the public in 2008, and it held the title of the world’s biggest Ferris wheel for about 6 years. The Ain Dubai in the UAE, which was announced in 2013, is a 689 foot Ferris wheel which will be opened by 2020 and will be the next biggest Ferris wheel. Construction of the Ain Dubai Ferris wheel began in 2015.