Villa Epecuén and the sole resident of Argentina’s ruined city – Far Out Magazine

The idea of living alone in a post-apocalyptic wasteland is something we see in cinema, but for one Argentinian man, it became his life.

For nearly 20 years, Villa Epecuén didn’t exist, at least not in the conventional sense, as it was submerged deep below seawater. Then, with water finally retreating, the ghost town came up for air and returned once again to the land of the living and brought with it the story of one man, Pablo Novak, and how he returned to his town of Villa Epecuén, and lived amongst its ruins.

The story started over a century ago when Villa Epecuén was founded in 1921 on the shores of Lago Epecuén. The lake was well known across the country and often compared with the Dead Sea, due to its salty, mineral-rich water, and had a higher salinity than the ocean itself. The unique water inspired both awe in people but also curiosity, with many people claiming that it could help cure arthritis, as well as skin issues and other health problems.

Half a century later, Villa Epecuén had grown to become one of the country’s most popular spa resorts. It may have only had 1,500 residents, but it was packed with visitors year-round, and in the summer months, as many as 25,000 visitors visit this small town.

The town was flourishing, with luxury hotels on the waterfront, busy cafes and even a railway that linked Villa Epecuén with the capital, Buenos Aires, over 300 miles away. As the decade came and went, it continued its rise, being glamorous, fashionable and also known for the benefits of floating in its water.

In the early 1980s, the country experienced heavy rain, forcing water levels higher and higher. This was a particular issue for Villa Epecuén, but with engineers building embankments and flood defences, everything was stable, and the town was safe, allowing the party to continue.

Then, in November 1985, the party stopped for good.

The town’s water defences failed, with a seiche breaking a dam, and water rushed into Villa Epecuén. Families gathered what they could and were evacuated, with the expectation that they could return home within weeks after the flooding was contained. Sadly, they never got the chance. The water kept pouring in, and within months, the entire town disappeared beneath the surface. At its peak, the water level had risen so much that the town was ten metres underwater.

Over the following 25 years, nothing but photographs and memories were left to commemorate the location. Then in 2009, the weather played its hand once again, except this time, it was a drought that was so prolonged that Lago Epecuén began to recede.

Slowly, rooftops began to emerge from the lake, followed by chimneys, streets and eventually entire neighbourhoods. The water, with its high salinity, had transformed Villa Epecuén, and what emerged was covered in layers of white and grey salt. The trees were frozen and white like statutes and parts of buildings had been destroyed, with only the strongest materials seen standing. The water of Lago Epecuén had stripped the town and redecorated it with salt.

Villa Epecuén was still uninhabited, and then Pablo Novak decided to return to his hometown. While everybody else had moved on and rebuilt their lives elsewhere, he wanted to reclaim his.

He moved back, the sole inhabitant of a ghost town. Around him stood empty hotels, decimated churches and businesses that had long died. He lived in the ruins until his death in January 2024, often greeting curious tourists and telling them about the life and laughter that had been in the town before the events of 1985. His resilience, almost as compelling as the ghost town itself, fascinated people, so much so that in 2013, he was the subject of a documentary, Pablo’s Villa, that details both his life and that of the town.

In the years following Villa Epecuén’s emergence, it has become one of South America’s most extraordinary dark tourism destinations. While there are plenty of abandoned towns, this one is unique in that its saline-covered landscape makes it hard for life to grow. That’s led to the place being suspended in time, living its life as a monochromatic memorial of the town it used to be, with its ruins unable to be reclaimed by nature, as seen elsewhere.

This alien landscape has been a huge part of its appeal, with photographers flocking to the area to capture those salt-covered ruins as the sun rises and sets, while others come to understand the town’s history and the events that led to its rise and fall.

A place that was famed for healing has now become almost meditative, its silence cast across the remnants of Villa Epecuén.

Villa Epecuén and Pablo Novak are so intertwined that it’s impossible to talk about one without the other. While the town’s story is one of destruction, Novak’s is one of resilience, determination, humanity and a reminder that people, not landmarks, make places.