Villa Epecuen: Visit The Lost Town That Spent 25 Years Underwater

The real-life Atlantis City has emerged. For 25 years, the lost town of Epecuen in Argentina was submerged in water. The flood receded over the years, allowing journalists and tourists to visit the remnants of the lost town that was formerly underwater.

Epecuen is a village built in a salt lake near Buenos Aires. During the 1970s, the Epecuen is home to as much as 5,000 people with infrastructure like roads and railroad stations. The place was known for their saltwater baths and spa services. According to NBC, as much as 20,000 tourists per season visited the village before the flood.

The lake started overflowing into the village in 1985 despite the man-made breakwater to prevent flooding. The water reached 10 meters, forcing the residents to vacate the village. Epecuen Village was completely submerged underwater for 25 years. Everything there was ruined including houses, cars and even their cemetery.

But puzzling as it is, the flood water started receding in 2009. In 2011, the whole Epecuen Village, although ruined, fully emerged.

Photographers shared photos from their visit to the town of Epecuen. Remnants of ruined houses, buildings and roads are still visible.

Although the lost town of Epecuen is now considered a ghost town, an elderly resident chose to go back and live his life in the village he calls home. Pablo Novak is Epecuen's lone resident.

Dead trees and ruins are the only thing a person can see in Villa Epecuen but it has attracted a good number of tourists who wanted to see the lost town that spent 25 years underwater.

Today, tourist started going back to the town. The reason may no longer be to experience their one-of-a-kind salt baths, but the influx of visitors is a good sign that the re-emergence of Epecuen might also mean the rebirth of the life in the once lost town.