10 incredibly eerie ghost towns around the world

Forget over-tourism – these destinations are so quiet even the residents have fled. Among thousands of boom-and-bust sites are dotted around the world, these are our picks of the world’s top 10 ghost towns.

Words by Dilvin Yasa for Escape.com.au

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1. Kolmanskop, Namibia

From cock of the walk to feather duster in one fell swoop – no other destination demonstrates a fall from grace quite like the southern Namibian town of Kolmanskop.

One of the world’s wealthiest diamond-mining towns in the early 20th century, Kolmanskop was abandoned in the 1930s after intensive mining depleted the area, and now, almost as though ashamed of humanity’s greed, the town is being steadily reclaimed by the Namib desert.

Today, 32 sand-filled buildings can still be seen on hour-long visits with Ghost Town Tours, providing the perfect landscape for budding photographers in particular.

2. Pyramiden, Svalbard, Norway

Taking a trip back in time to the days of the USSR is as easy as heading to the grim mining town of Pyramiden, one of the last Soviet outposts in the Arctic.

On the island of Spitsbergen in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, Pyramiden was shut down in the 1990s but revived in 2008 so that those visiting by boat in summer and snowmobile in winter can still marvel at all the Stalinist architecture, Lenin statues and infrastructure perfectly preserved by the cold.

Arctic Travel Company Grumant offers a range of one- to three-day tours from Longyearbyen.

3. Craco, Italy

Behold the southern Italian town and commune that has a recent history unluckier than most – and that’s before Mel Gibson turned up to film The Passion of the Christ (2004).

Inhabited by Ancient Greeks in the eighth century BC, the town was hit by a landslide in 1963 and a flood in 1972, but completely abandoned after the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.

Today, travellers can still see the remains – including the magnificent Norman Tower – via the four-hour guided tours from Matera offered by Martulli Viagi.

4. Bodie, California, USA

Walk down the streets of the Californian ghost town of Bodie today and it isn’t difficult to imagine the former Wild West boom town in its 1870s prime when it had more than 8000 residents and over 2000 structures (including 65 saloons and its own Chinatown).

Although abandoned in the 1940s when mining operations officially ceased, the town remains well-preserved and visitors today can still visit homes kitted out with furniture and stores stocked with goods.

Designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic Park in the 1960s, it can be visited on a self-guided tour or book a spot on one of the guided tours offered by Bodie Foundation.

5. Varosha, Cyprus

From a luxurious Mediterranean resort town for the well-heeled to a restricted military zone – few ghost towns have a story as curious as that of Varosha.

In 1974, events related to the Turkish-Greek conflict saw the destination deserted overnight and for decades it remained closed to visitors (a hail of regular bullets from both sides proved a strong deterrent).

Parts of the resort reopened to visitors in 2020, providing insight into the way people lived and holidayed in the 1970s. Today, visitors to the Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus come here independently or via one of the guided tours available through Get Your Guide.

6. Hashima Island, Japan

Home to the world’s highest population density in the 1950s to completely deserted 15 years later, Japan’s Hashima Island – also known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) – is a classic example of what happens when a coal mine is shuttered.

The World Heritage Site, 20km from Nagasaki Port, is a silver-screen favourite, having been used for the James Bond movie Skyfall (2012), as well as anime series Attack on Titan. See it in person via a three-hour tour with Gunkanjima Cruise Co.

7. Villa Epecuén, Argentina

Today the ruins of Villa Epecuén, a village by the shores of Laguna Epecuén in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province, are covered in a thick layer of salt residue, but it was once a holiday resort noted for the healing properties of its waters.

A catastrophic flood in 1985 submerged the whole village so that everything – resorts, lodges and homes – remained under water for the next 25 years.

Deemed uninhabitable after the water finally receded, Villa Epecuén was never rebuilt and today remains a tourist attraction for those keen to see a salt-caked town. You can visit solo, or book a guided tour through hotels such as Epecuén Hotel Spa Termal.

8. Fordlândia, Brazil

When it comes to Ford fever, Bathurst, NSW, has got nothing on Fordlândia, a prefabricated industrial town established by industrialist Henry Ford in – of all places – the Amazon rainforest in the late 1920s.

Originally intended to be inhabited by 10,000 Ford Motor Company minions, Ford’s quest to build the world’s largest rubber plantation failed spectacularly and Fordlândia was abandoned just a few years later.

Today, those keen to see the dilapidated remains of Ford’s Americanised town, or perhaps just enjoy the sights of the Tapajós River, can visit with Pelago, which offers an in-depth five-day Amazon Fordlandia Tour.

9. Belchite, Spain

The streets of Belchite, just south of Zaragoza in northeastern Spain, might remain eerily empty, but almost 90 years since the Spanish Civil War destroyed the city a visit still isn’t for the faint-hearted.

Kept deserted as a memorial to the war between Republican and Fascist forces, shell-scarred ruins and rubble serve as a reminder of the battles fought in Belchite’s streets, and while many of the ruins are now fenced off, guided tours are offered several times a day by the Belchite tourist office in Belchite’s new-ish village (built in 1939) nearby.

10. Lake Margaret, Tasmania

No need to head overseas – one of the world’s most picturesque ghost towns is here in Australia, only 20 minutes from Queenstown in Tasmania.

Built to service the Lake Margaret Hydropower Station, the village of Lake Margaret opened in 1914 to house its 200-odd workers but as technology took over its residents moved away.

While the hydropower station is still operational, nature has reclaimed large parts of the village, with only a handful of old houses and the village hall remaining.

Today, tours of Lake Margaret Power Station and village give visitors a sense of life during the time of hydro industrialisation. A three-hour experience can be booked through RoamWild.

This article originally appeared on Escape.com.au as 10 incredibly eerie ghost towns around the world.