Come visit our drowned ghost town... but don't trip on the graves: Lost Argentinian city that has resurfaced after 28 years launches tourist drive



In 1985, a long period of heavy rains sent the lagoon bursting over its banks, and it swept over busy small town

Epecuen was submerged beneath 10 metres (30 feet) of water and 1,500 residents fled their homes

Even when waters receded, the country town, 550km (340 miles) south of the capital, was never rebuilt


A strange ghost town that spent a quarter of a century under water is coming up for air again in the Argentinian farmlands southwest of Buenos Aires.

Epecuen was once a bustling little lakeside resort, where 1,500 people served 20,000 tourists a season.



But disaster struck when the town was flooded without warning after a long period of heavy rains finally sent the lagoon bursting over its banks, submerging the small community in 1985.

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Epecuen was once a bustling little lakeside resort, where 1,500 people served 20,000 tourists a season

On November 10, 1985, a particularly heavy rainstorm followed a series of wet winters, and the lake overflowed its banks. Above, buildings lie in ruins in the once-bustling Argentinian town

During Argentina's golden age, the same trains that carried grain to the outside world brought visitors from the capital to relax in Epecuen's saltwater baths and spas. Above graves lie lopsided from flood damage The strange ghost town that spent a quarter of a century under water is coming up for air again in the farmlands southwest of Buenos Aires

In the floods of 1985, water burst through a retaining wall and spilled into the lakeside streets

During Argentina's golden age, the same trains that carried grain to the outside world brought visitors from the capital to relax in Epecuen's saltwater baths and spas.

The saltwater lake was particularly attractive because it has 10 times more salt than the ocean, making the water buoyant.



A local legend holds that the lake was formed by the tears of a great Chief crying for the pain of his beloved.

Tourists, especially people from Buenos Aires' large Jewish community, enjoyed floating in the water, which reminded them of the Dead Sea in Israel.

The town had 280 businesses, including lodges, guesthouses, hotels and businesses, centred around the tourist trade.



A local legend holds that the lake was formed by the tears of a great Chief crying for the pain of his beloved

Tourists, especially people from Buenos Aires' large Jewish community, enjoyed floating in the water, which reminded them of the Dead Sea in Israel

The town had 280 businesses, including lodges, guesthouses, hotels and businesses, centred around the tourist trade

Then, on November 10, 1985, a particularly heavy rainstorm followed a series of wet winters, and the lake overflowed its banks.



Water burst through a retaining wall and spilled into the lakeside streets.



People fled with what they could, and within days their homes were submerged under nearly 10 meters (33 feet) of corrosive saltwater.

'I had a bunch of cats and dogs, and they ran away a couple days before the flood and I never saw them again,' said one former resident, Norma Berg.

She lived in the town until the flood forced her fam ily to desert their home.



'I think my pets could feel that the water was coming,' she added.

Now the water has mostly receded, exposing what looks like a scene from a movie about the end of the world.



The town hasn't been rebuilt but it has become a tourist destination again, for people willing to drive at least six hours from Buenos Aires to get there, along 340 miles (550km) of narrow country roads.



People come to see the rusted hulks of automobiles and furniture, crumbled homes and broken appliances.



They climb staircases that lead nowhere and wander through a graveyard where the water toppled headstones and exposed tombs to the elements.



It's a bizarre, post-apocalyptic landscape that captures a traumatic moment in time.



One man refused to leave. Pablo Novak, now 82, still lives on the edge of the town, welcoming people who wander into the wrecked streets.



'Whoever passes nearby cannot go without coming to visit here,' Novak said.

'It's getting more people to the area, as they come to see the ruins.'

When the flood came, people fled with what they could, and within days their homes were submerged under nearly 10 metres (33 feet) of corrosive saltwater. Above, a young tourist stands on stairs protruding from the rubble of homes in Epecuen

The town hasn't been rebuilt but it has become a tourist destination again, for people willing to drive at least six hours from Buenos Aires to get there, along 340 miles (550km) of narrow country roads

People come to see the rusted hulks of automobiles and furniture, crumbled homes and broken appliances

It's a bizarre, post-apocalyptic landscape that captures a traumatic moment in time

He now spends his days riding around the ruins on his bike.

Feeding his wood kitchen at his house, Novak added: 'I am OK here. I am just alone. I read the newspaper. And I always think of the town's golden days.'



Many residents of Epecuen fled to nearby Carhue, another lakeside town, and built new hotels and spas, promising relaxing getaways featuring saltwater and mud facials.



'Not only do we have Epecuen with the ruins and its natural wealth, but we also can increasingly offer other alternatives,' said Javier Andres, the local tourism director.

The spooky town provided the perfect backdrop to 2010 film And Soon The Darkness - a thriller starring Karl Urban.



In the 1970s more rain than usual was delivered to the surrounding hills and Lago Epecuen began to swell. In 1985, the salty waters broke through the clay dam, and Villa Epecuen was flooded

A man compares a picture of Lago Epecuen village taken in the 70s with the current state of the place Bottles sit in a rusty box among the detritus

The laundry of a former building. Since 2009, the level of the water has been decreasing and therefore exposing the ruins of this once popular resort

Epecuen's therapeutic powers have been famous for centuries and the lagoon has a salinity level only topped by the Dead Sea

Rusty beds are seen under the ruins. Only one man, Pablo Novak, 81, lives in the town now and spends his days riding around the ruins on his bike

Pablo Novak feeds his wood kitchen at his house. 'I am OK here. I am just alone. I read the newspaper. And I always think of the town's golden days,' he said

Now the water has mostly receded, exposing what looks like a scene from a movie about the end of the world

Dead trees in Lago Epecuen - after the dam broke water gradually flooded the town until it reached a depth of 10 metres (33 feet) in 1993

Childhood home: Norma Berg, 48, next to the ruins of her family house. She said a few days before the flood her pets ran away - she believes they could sense the incoming water

Deserted: Even when the waters eventually receded, the country town was never rebuilt and has remained eerily deserted

The spooky town provided the perfect backdrop to 2010 film And Soon The Darkness - a thriller starring Karl Urban

The former slaughterhouse in the town - an area of about 40 square blocks was submerged

This is the town that drowned: The lagoon salt water has left its mark with everything slowly emerging from the flood covered in a silvery-white layer