An eerie ghost town is all that is left of a former thriving lakeside resort which became a modern Atlantis after it was submerged underwater for 30 years. Villa Epecuén, in Argentina, today sits silently despite being located only four miles from the city of Carhué in the Province of Buenos Aires.
Developed in the early 1920s, the century-old settlement was connected to the Argentine capital by train. The town and its delightful salt lake, which was marketed as having healing properties, were a popular tourist retreat for Buenos Aires vacationers. It provided a peaceful lifestyle for its residents for over 60 years but that changed one day in 1985. On November 6 of that year, a seiche — or standing wave — caused by a rare weather pattern, broke a nearby dam. The dike which protected the village was then overcome and the water rose to a peak of 10m or 33ft in 1993. After the place was submerged, it became uninhabitable and was never rebuilt.
Many of the ruins are covered by a layer of white and grey salt from the area. At the time of the flooding, there were up to 280 businesses in Epecuén, including lodges, guesthouses, hotels, and other commercial enterprises that 25,000 tourists visited between the months of November and March, from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The wet weather later reversed, and the waters began to recede in 2009 leaving an eerie landscape rarely seen. Pablo Novak, born in 1930, was a former resident of the town who returned after the waters receded in a nostalgic move back to his house. A 2013 documentary called ‘Pablo’s Villa’ documented the elderly man living there and he remained amongst the ruins until his death on January 22, 2024. He was the only original resident who made the trek back to the village to live out his days amongst the dilapidated settlement.
Pablo’s passing saw the town again deserted and its only visitors are the inquisitive and photographers looking for uncommon vistas. A football club in Buenos Aires was reportedly raised in honour of the village’s last native, named ‘Villa Pablo Fc’.
Photographs of the town during its heyday paint a picture of a small but vibrant place of residence which featured nice wide roads, plenty of classic cars and people going about their day.
The reminders are a stark contrast to the current landscape which features rusty bed frames, dead trees, flattened houses and eerie lone structures that tower over the area like vacant monsters.