The African 'ghost town' that was once the 'world's richest town' but is now abandoned

Once a thriving diamond mining settlement deep within the Namib Desert, in southern is now a hauntingly beautiful ghost town, slowly being reclaimed by the sand. With wallpaper peeling off the walls and forgotten houses now inundated in rolling banks of sand, Kolmanskop now stands as an eerie testament to the fleeting nature of prosperity.

The Namib Desert is believed to be one of the world's oldest stretching an impressive 2,000km, and is one of the driest and most inhospitable places on earth. Kolmanskop's story begins on 14 April 1908, when a railway worker discovered a diamond while clearing sand from the tracks. After reporting to his German supervisor, August Stauch, this barren corner of Namibia transformed into a bustling town, flush with wealth and German influence.

Now a haven for dark tourism, Kolmanskop was once one of the world's richest towns, with luxuries and diamonds in the extreme conditions of the desert.

"The ground itself was a treasure chest with diamonds lying close to the surface waiting to be discovered", says Meghan Jones on BBC Sounds.

She added: "By 1912 Kolmanskop had one million carats of gold, nearly 12% of the world's total."

However, after the diamond mine dried up, it was abandoned and has been slowly consumed by sand ever since.

Megan said: "It turns out diamonds aren't forever just 48 years after it began the once thriving town was abandoned with the last families packing up and leaving in 1956.

"The buildings are still there though the same colour as the sand it is surrendering too."

Those who through this desert ghost town are met with eerie scenes of dilapidated buildings that are filled up with sand dunes, some even reaching halfway up the walls and beyond.

Entire rooms are filled with smooth, wind-sculpted sand, blending natural beauty with human decay.

In the decades since its abandonment, Kolmanskop has become a magnet for photographers, history enthusiasts, and paranormal seekers. The ghost town's eerie stillness, coupled with its remote desert location, fuels its reputation as a haunted destination.

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.