In 1993, this Argentine popular spa town disappeared underwater. After 25 years, it slowly emerged from the lake

Imagine a busy holiday town filled with tourists, shops and lakeside resorts suddenly disappearing beneath a lake. That is what happened to Villa Epecuén in Argentina. Once a popular spa destination, the town was swallowed by rising water after years of heavy rainfall. It remained underwater for almost 25 years. When the water finally began to recede, it revealed a strange landscape of ruined buildings, salt-covered structures and trees frozen in time.

Villa Epecuén was once a popular tourist destination

Villa Epecuén, located around 570 km southwest of Buenos Aires, was once one of Argentina's best-known spa towns. According to information shared by Rethinking The Future, visitors travelled there to bathe in Lake Epecuén because of its unusually high salt content. Many believed its mineral-rich waters had health benefits. The lake also had a fascinating history.

As per The Independent, its valuable minerals were mined around the beginning of the 20th century for use in glass production and medicinal purposes. The lake's high salinity also attracted comparisons with the Dead Sea. It further reported that in the 1930s, Lake Epecuén was considered the second-most saline body of water in the world. By the 1960s and 1970s, the number of visitors had grown rapidly. Villa Epecuén became a thriving summer destination.


The scale of the town's tourism boom was remarkable. Rethinking The Future reported that Villa Epecuén had around 5,000 residents and 300 businesses in the 1970s. During the summer season, as many as 20,000 tourists could visit the town. Hotels, restaurants and other lakeside businesses benefited from visitors who came to experience the famous waters. But the town's fortunes changed as rainfall increased.

The flood that changed everything

According to Rethinking The Future, Villa Epecuén began facing increasing rainfall around 1980. On November 10, 1985, years of heavy rain finally pushed the lake beyond its limits. An embankment built in 1978 to protect the town was breached. The water continued rising at an alarming rate. It reported that water leves rose by around one centimetre every hour. Within just two weeks, the water had reached a depth of three metres. Residents were forced to leave.

The flooding did not stop there. By 1993, Villa Epecuén was around 10 metres underwater. The town remained submerged beneath roughly 33 feet of water for almost 25 years.

Drought slowly brought the town back

For years, there was little sign of the town that had once attracted thousands of visitors. Then the climate began to change. Rethinking The Future reported that drier seasons in the 2000s caused the floodwaters to gradually retreat. In 2009, the water had receded enough for parts of Villa Epecuén to emerge again. What appeared was far removed from the lively resort that once stood there.

The buildings had been damaged by years underwater. The highly saline water left structures and trees covered in white layers of salt. Hotels and lakeside buildings had deteriorated, while vegetation slowly spread across the ruins. The result was an eerie landscape that looked almost frozen in time. Independent reported that a museum has been built in what was once-upon-a-time train station and it covers the history of the town displaying relics and rescued items like ponchos, wool jumpers and record players.

Villa Epecuén became an Argentine ghost town

Today, Villa Epecuén remains largely abandoned. A small number of visitors travel there to see the remains of the old resort. The local government now protects the area. There has also been an effort to develop an ecological beach resort along the lake. A resort was later inaugurated with amenities powered by solar panels.

One person became closely associated with the abandoned town. Pablo Novak, who lived through the disaster, remained near his former home. At 91, he became known for welcoming curious visitors and showing them around the ruins of the town. His story was also featured in the film Pablo's Villa.

According to IMDb, the film follows Novak's experience of watching Villa Epecuén disappear underwater in 1985 as residents abandoned the town. When the modern-day Atlantis eventually re-emerged, its ruins became Novak's home and a place filled with memories.