THE LOST CITY OF ACEREDO

Spanish ‘Ghost Village’ Aceredo Rises from a Dried Out Reservoir Amid Drought

Aceredo has been submerged for 30 years. Now tourists are flocking to see the remains exposed by ongoing drought and alleged “aggressive exploitation” by Portugal’s power utility.

Aceredo, a small village in the Spanish region of Galicia near the Portuguese border, has not seen the light of day since 1992—at least, not without peering up through a body of water. As Reuters reports, Spain flooded the city to create the Alto Lindoso reservoir 30 years ago. Now, its remains have risen from a watery grave—exposed by an ongoing drought as well as alleged “aggressive exploitation” from Portuguese power utility and reservoir manager EDP. (The company blamed the drought for the reservoir drying up to 15 percent capacity and told Reuters that it was managing the reservoir “efficiently.”) Tourists have naturally flocked to the area to observe the remains, which include a still functional water fountain. “It’s as if I'm watching a movie,” Maximino Perez Romero, a resident of Galician port city A Coruña, told Reuters. “I have a feeling of sadness. My feeling is that this is what will happen over the years due to drought and all that, with climate change.”