Five places that were inhabited by humans, but that nature reclaimed

The ruins are proof that there was life and are the marks of human passage. From the beginning, people have paved the way to settle in mountains, rivers, seas, jungles and desertsamong many more places.

However, they have always had to coexist and adapt with something much more important and permanent: nature. When people leave, wildlife returns and much stronger. Vines grow, flowers bloom, trees spread their roots and branches, animals return, new ecosystems can be created, and the air is cleaned.

Even a 2022 report by the organization ‘Rewilding Europe’ found that many European bird and mammal species were returning to their natural habitats and taking over once-damaged landscapes. The experts’ research highlighted “the propensity of wildlife to recover and recolonize when given the opportunity”.

On planet Earth, There are several places that nature has recovered in different ways when humans left. Ancient temples have been turned into gardens full of trees and flowers, war zones have been inhabited by new species and many ghost towns have become the home of animals. Here are five of them:

1. Hutuwan, China: the abandoned fishing village

In 1980, almost 3,000 fishermen lived there, but they began to move in the following decade because it was too far away. The inhabitants of Hutuwan had to travel frequently, their days became exhausting and their lifestyle worsened. In 2002, the town was completely abandoned.since its residents decided to go to another nearby place.

After decades, The empty houses were invaded by a blanket of exuberant climbing plants. Vines infiltrated desolate homes, piercing windows and taking over every room.

Abundant green layers of vegetation They claimed the roofs, roads and any other man-made infrastructure. Now, visiting tourists walk on the vibrant green grass that has taken over the rooftops.

The abandoned town was consumed by nature.

Photo:iStock

2. Vallone dei Mulini, Italy: a valley of ruined mills on the Sorrento Coast

This historic valley was designed by a violent eruption of the Phlegraean Fields that, ago 37,000 years, covered the area from Punta Scutolo to Capo di Sorrento with rubble. The catastrophe caused it to sink inside the mountain and create a huge furrow.

At the time, they were installed flour mills, built of stone, in the 13th century and took advantage of the stream that was at the bottom of the valley. They stopped working in the early 1900s and were abandoned.

Over time, nature emerged and was responsible for creating a humid microclimate that allowed the spontaneous birth of unique plantsseveral of the fern family.

It arose after the eruption of the Phlegraean Fields.

Photo:iStock

3. Kolmanskop, Namibia: the town that was abandoned when the diamonds ran out

Now, it is succumbed to the sand, but before Kolmanskop used to be a german mining town in the 20th century. According to the story ‘National Geographic’, one afternoon 1908a railway worker named Zacherias Lewala He was cleaning the train tracks from the dunes when he saw some stones shining in the darkness. Their European employer immediately knew they were diamonds. Lewala He received nothing for his discovery.

Over time many more people arrived. By 1912, the town produced more than a million caratsequivalent to 11.7 percent of the total world production of this precious mineral.

Its stones shone, but the history of Kolmaskop was dark, It had been built with the blood and sweat of the locals. “Four years before the discovery of diamonds at Kolmanskop, the Herero people of Namibia rebelled against the German colonizers, who retaliated with genocidal ferocity and killed more than 60,000 people,” the outlet explained.

In 1930, intensive mining did its thing and destroyed the entire area. Furthermore, two years earlier, the discovery of fields in the south with many more diamonds was reported. People left little by little and left their homes and belongings.

The sand took over the spaces.

Photo:iStock

Kolmanskop was completely abandoned in 1956 and The sand dunes took over the entire place. They broke windows and filled all the houses with soft blankets of delicate natural granules.

4. The demilitarized zone between the Koreas: from a theater of war to a sanctuary for wildlife

Wide plains, lush vegetation and rare species of flora and fauna have thrived in the demilitarized zone of the Korean Peninsula. More of 70 years after the war which divided Korea in two, this site has been established as no man’s land

“According to the National Institute of Ecology of South Korea, Nearly 6,200 species of wildlife now inhabit the demilitarized zone. In particular, in the area 38 percent of endangered species live of the Korean peninsula. These include golden eagles, musk deer and mountain goats, among others,” explained a BBC article.

Since people cannot access areas beyond the civilian control area, animals and plants have found a way to re-emerge and claim the habitat as their own.

5. Quemada Grande Island, Brazil: home of cobras

It is a place surrounded by cliffs and a green tropical forest. Despite its beauty, it is the home of more than 2,000 golden lancehead snakesa species endemic to the island.

“In addition to snakes, the island’s fauna includes bats, lizards, two resident passerine birdsas well as numerous migratory and sea birdslike the brown booby, that visit the island,” ‘CNN’ indicated.

In an interview with the media outlet, Marcio Martins, an ecology professor at the University of São Paulo, said the island had once been part of the Brazilian continental shelf, but The fall and rise of sea level caused it to be completely isolated approximately 11,000 years ago.

The snakes were trapped and had to get used to the conditions of La Isla de la Quemada Grande. Since no mammals lived, these reptiles had no predators and no prey. Therefore, They became experts at catching the birds that visited the place during their annual migrations.

“The venom of the golden lancehead snakes acts quickly and causes a range of horrific symptoms, from kidney failure to internal bleeding and tissue death,” the BBC said.

At the beginning of the 20th century, three or four fishermen lived there, but It has been abandoned since 1920. Now, it is a biological treasure protected by the country’s government to ensure that the ecosystem is maintained. It is illegal to visit without prior authorization.