10 Ghost Towns Reclaimed by Nature: Eerie Reminders of Vanished Lives

2. Kolmanskop, Namibia: Desert's Diamond-Dusted Tomb

Deep in the Namib Desert, Kolmanskop is an eerie testament to a diamond rush that boomed and busted. Founded in 1908 by German miners, it was a luxurious oasis with a hospital, ballroom, and ice factory. But by the 1950s, the diamonds were gone, and the town was abandoned. Today, the desert wind has filled its opulent homes with towering drifts of sand, creating surreal indoor dunes. Sunlight filters through broken windows, illuminating dust motes and the slow, inevitable creep of the desert, burying prosperity one grain at a time.