The Argentine tourist resort turned into ghost town | World | News

A once thriving tourist resort in Argentina was abandoned for 30 years following a devastating event but has since re-emerged, inviting visitors to explore its ruins.

Villa Epecuen disappeared underwater in 1985 when a wave from nearby Lake Epecuen breached its barriers, drowning the entire town for the next quarter of a century.

However, in 2010, the resort town resurfaced as water levels receded, revealing the remnants of the former town.

Now presenting a starkly different sight, the town draws visitors for entirely different reasons than it did in its heyday.

Located approximately 500 miles west of Buenos Aires, the deserted resort now attracts tourists intrigued by its unusual history, who describe it as a place of both historical significance and inspiration.

Among the most chilling ruins in Villa Epecuen is the former slaughterhouse, built in the 1930s, with a tower that has remained intact.

The nearby cemetery, with tombs reclaimed by nature, also adds to the eerie allure of the place.

Epecuen was once a bustling tourist hotspot in Argentina, famed for its spa town status due to the lake’s high salt content, believed to cure various ailments and skin conditions.

However, when the town submerged, a petrification process preserved the trees and buildings, leaving them eerily white from the salt. 

In 2011, after nearly a quarter of a century, a former resident returned to live in Epecuen. Pablo Novak, who passed away on January 21, 2024, was the town’s sole inhabitant and was often referred to as the world’s loneliest man.

Novak, who grew up in Epecuen, moved back into an abandoned house with a garden when the town re-emerged. He described his existence as being “totally alone. All day, every day.”

Back in 1980, the town boasted a population of 2,000 and was a popular lakeside holiday resort, drawing in 20,000 tourists annually.

Pictures from the town’s heyday, when it was home to 280 businesses and bustling with visitors in swimsuits enjoying the blue waters of Laguna Epecuen, paint a stark contrast.

In a 2015 interview, Novak shared that his wife didn’t return to the town with him and his family resides in a nearby settlement. His humble abode was small, dusty, filled with rusted chairs and old newspapers, and devoid of electricity.

Visitors can even tour Pablo’s house, which has been opened to the public by his family. Left just as he abandoned it, guests are guided around his modest dwelling and told his story by one of his granddaughters.

This unique experience is only available on weekends, at 2pm each day, and must be booked by texting the family on WhatsApp.

For a mere $2,000 Argentine Pesos (£1.60), you can sample a drink made by Pablo Novak with peach cane. For an additional $2,500 (£2.00), you can try the ‘cane with rue’ that Pablo used to enjoy during the winters.