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All Spain Abades Abandoned Leper Colony of Arico

Abandoned Leper Colony of Arico

An unexpected ghost village lurks on the southeast coast of Tenerife.

Abades, Spain

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MarikaLagarese
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church areal   rechtorisf / Atlas Obscura User
The church   Trogfoot / Atlas Obscura User
Accomodation blocks and the church   Trogfoot / Atlas Obscura User
Graffiti in the sanatorio   Trogfoot / Atlas Obscura User
From inside the sanitorio   Trogfoot / Atlas Obscura User
The Sanitorio   Trogfoot / Atlas Obscura User
Abandoned Leper Colony of Arico   Trogfoot / Atlas Obscura User
Entry to the village   Trogfoot / Atlas Obscura User
Abandoned building   Trogfoot / Atlas Obscura User
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About

For those driving on the Autopista del Sur on the island of Tenerife, a huge cross can be spotted in the distance near the ocean. Those who venture closer will realize that the cross belongs to a skeleton of a church surrounded by decrepit buildings in an unnamed and abandoned village by the Atlantic Ocean.

An eerie and macabre vibe can be felt as the ghost town extends beyond the empty church, with structures where broken beds, bathrooms, and ceramic tiles mingle with trash and graffiti. The abandoned site was originally supposed to be a quarantine colony for lepers, built in the 1940s by Franco’s military to address the rising number of leprosy cases. The planned colony was to include a residential area, a church, a hospital, a school, and offices.

But the colony never hosted a single patient, as a cure was discovered before the site was finished. Though the military briefly used the site for training, it was eventually abandoned and slowly turned into a dream spot for graffiti artists and ravers.

Related Tags

Abandoned Quarantine Disease Leprosy

Community Contributors

Added By

MarikaLagarese

Edited By

rechtorisf, daynix, Trogfoot, stephansulser...

  • rechtorisf
  • daynix
  • Trogfoot
  • stephansulser
  • Buzzcola

Published

September 29, 2020

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Sources
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNHo9NNUXxs
  • http://loscuartos-laorotava.blogspot.com/2012/09/proyecto-de-leproseria-de-abades-arico.html
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZcy6YoyQrQ
Abandoned Leper Colony of Arico
Calle Mirador, 12
Abades, 38588
Spain
28.14452, -16.44103
Get Directions

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