Kolmanskop is found in Namibia and was once a bustling diamond mining town before being abandoned (Image: Getty)
Located in the Namib in southern in , you will find the once bustling town of Kolmanskop.
The region was once home to one of the wealthiest communities in the country
This is a far cry from what Kolmanskop resembles today with faded wallpaper stripped away by nature and many of its buildings reclaimed by the desert sand.
A walk through this desert ghost town and you’re met with eerie scenes of dilapidated buildings that are filled up with sand dunes, some even reaching halfway up the walls and beyond.
The town of Kolmanskop has been left to rot with only the memory of what once was lingering in the air.
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The site brings thousands of tourists each year wanting to visit this eerie desert ghost town (Image: Getty)
The discovery of diamonds in 1908 brought with it hordes of prospectors who descended on the area of Kolmanskop.
Back then, the region became a well of luxury in the harsh desert lands with those moving to the town finding riches seemingly overnight.
However, this boom did not last long as intensive mining began heavily depleting the region by the 1930s.
As the diamond supply dwindled, so the townspeople left in droves with possessions and homes completely abandoned.
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All that remains of this once busy town is crumbling wall paper and mountains of sand (Image: Getty)
By 1956, Kolmanskop was officially a ghost town as sand dunes moved into the empty buildings and over Lewala’s railway tracks.
As nature tightened its grip on this land, doorways were knocked off their hinges with the dunes swallowing raised bathtubs and bed frames.
Despite the eerie scenes, roughly 35,000 tourists visit this site each year in a trend that’s gathered popularity over the years known as dark tourism.
Dark tourism, or “ruin-gazing”, sees intrepid travellers going off the beaten track when it comes to holiday destinations.
Instead, these new types of wanderers opt for visits to regions with a darker past including broken cities, warfare ruins or toppled mountains with Kolmanskop being no exception.
The African site remains a historical monument and a nod to its dark times of colonial oppression.
“Wow. this place. The rooms can almost all be explored and it’s such a unique experience,” wrote one review on TripAdvisor.
Another added: “Kolmanskop Ghost Town was an educational and fascinating place to visit. The sands taking over the town make it a photographer’s dream.”