Epecuen
Villa Epecuén is the name of an Argentine tourist town in ruins, located in the district of Adolfo Alsina, province of Buenos Aires.
Located 7.3 km from the city of Carhué, it was founded in 1921 on the shores of the lake of the same name, and had nearly 1,500 inhabitants, being visited by an average of 25 thousand tourists during the summer.
In 1985, a flood caused by a rising lake submerged the town completely under water, forcing almost the entire population to evacuate. Later, in recent years, the water began to recede, revealing the ruins of the city, which have become a tourist attraction in themselves.
The sudden destruction of the city, along with its ruins, aroused the interest of journalists, anthropologists, photographers and athletes.
After the disaster caused by the flood, Villa Epecuén was turned into a ghost town, with the entire urban ejido reduced to ruins. Despite this and the fact that the overflow of the lake caused the evacuation of the population, only one resident named Pablo Novak continued to live in the ruined town, refusing to be transferred. This inhabitant remained living in the ruins of Epecuén, until his death on January 22, 2024, after which Villa Epecuén was officially declared a desert town.
