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From Bodie in California to Kolmanskop in Namibia, Abandoned Cities from Gold, Diamonds, and Economic Crises Now Attract Curious Tourists
Stalled in Time, ghost towns emerged due to wars, natural tragedies, or economic crises.
Places that once had thousands of residents ended up being emptied and today remain as reminders of the past.
Despite the abandonment, many of them have become tourist attractions precisely because of their unique atmosphere that they preserve.
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Who is the owner of the 10,000 m² island in Bahia valued at R$ 20 million, which draws attention with a private beach, pool, sauna, court, area for shows, and even a helipad?
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For 160 million years, scientists searched for the first animal on Earth and found no trace — until a 550-million-year-old fossil revealed that it was too soft to leave a mark.
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One thousand-ton stones were stacked with millimeter precision thousands of years ago in Lebanon, and to this day, no engineer in the world can explain how an ancient civilization did this without modern technology.
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A house owner in Minas Gerais built a 14-meter wall that blocks the view of three floors of a neighboring building, and the architect responsible for the project explains why there was no other option.
Bodie, The Gold Rush That Ended in an Abandoned Town
Bodie was born in 1859 as a simple mining camp. With the discovery of large deposits, it became a vibrant town, reaching about 8,000 residents and over 2,000 buildings.
The peak, however, did not last. When mining began to decline, the population quickly dwindled.
During World War II, the place was completely abandoned. Today, Bodie is a California state park and preserves around 200 original buildings in ruins, keeping alive the memory of a time of sudden prosperity.
Kalaupapa, Isolation Between Mountains and Sea
On the island of Molokai in Hawaii, the small community of Kalaupapa holds a history marked by leprosy.
In 1866, authorities designated the area to receive people diagnosed with the disease, which was then called leprosy.
The 600-meter-high cliffs around transformed the place into a true forced isolation.
For a hundred years, residents lived separated from the rest of the archipelago. Currently, Kalaupapa is a National Historical Park, where churches, schools, a hospital, and farms still stand as symbols of a painful period.
Abandoned City of Forest City, The Real Estate Dream
In Malaysia, near the border with Singapore, a gigantic project emerged: Forest City.
Primarily financed by the Chinese company Country Garden in partnership with the local government of Johor, the venture envisioned four artificial islands.
The city promised to be ecological, technological, and luxurious, with capacity for up to 700,000 residents. Properties were sold to Chinese investors, but the enthusiasm waned.
Currency restrictions in China, political instability in Malaysia, and the Covid-19 pandemic led to a collapse in sales.
According to the BBC, today only 1% of the properties are occupied. What was supposed to be a futuristic metropolis has ultimately become an almost empty city.
Pyramiden, A Portrait of a Soviet Past
Located in Svalbard, in the far north of Norway, Pyramiden began in 1910 as a coal mining town. By the 1960s, it reached its peak, with about 2,500 inhabitants.
But the decline in production and financial difficulties led to its definitive closure in 1998. The residents were forced to leave, abandoning buildings, schools, and even a bust of Lenin.
Today, Pyramiden remains virtually intact, attracting tourists during the Arctic summer. Researchers and caretakers maintain the site with minimal operation, turning it into an open-air museum.
Kolmanskop, The Brilliance of Diamonds Buried by the Desert
In Namibia, Kolmanskop emerged in 1908 during German colonization, driven by the discovery of diamonds.
The money generated by mining built a modern city for its time, with a hospital, school, community hall, bowling alley, and even a clinic equipped with X-ray machines.
However, the exhaustion of the deposits changed the course. Starting in the 1930s, residents began to leave, and by the mid-20th century, the area was completely empty.
Today, the dunes advance over the abandoned houses, creating impressive scenes that attract tourists and filmmakers. Kolmanskop has become one of the most visited tourist spots in the African country.
These ghost towns, each in its way, reveal how abrupt changes can transform vibrant places into silent ruins.
At the same time, these ghost towns show how abandonment can generate curiosity and even new forms of tourism, preserving the memory of times that will never return.
With information from Casa e Jardim.
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