The Top 10 Legendary Lost Cities of the World

From ancient times, human settlements have transformed into cities serving as economic, cultural, administrative, and religious centers. However, some cities have faced decline, disappearing completely or becoming long-forgotten due to various factors like wars, natural disasters, and economic decline. Not all lost cities remain concealed forever; some have been rediscovered thanks to archaeological surveys. Below are 10 such legendary lost cities:

Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu is an ancient city of the Incas located at 2430 meters atop a mountain crest above the Urubamba Sacred Valley in Peru. It was built in the 1450s for Pachacuti, an Inca Emperor, and existed for around 80 years before being abandoned in the 16th century after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. Although the city was not entirely lost to the locals, its ruins were discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian, while searching for the legendary Vilcabamba.

Petra, Jordan

Petra is a magnificent city intricately carved into the stony hills of the Jordanian desert. This ancient city, possibly constructed around the 6th century BC, was the capital city for the Nabataeans and a commercial hub for over 2000 years. It hosted 30,000 people at its peak and featured gardens, theaters, temples, villas, and tombs. In 363, Petra was partially destroyed by an earthquake and abandoned 300 years later when the Arabs conquered it. It was rediscovered in 1812 by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii, one of Italy’s most famous ancient cities, suffered a catastrophic event in 79 AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted violently, burying the city and its inhabitants under ash and pumice stones believed to be at least 6 meters deep. The city was forgotten for over a thousand years until Domenico Fontana rediscovered it in 1592 while digging a canal. However, no major excavation was done until 1860. Up to one-third of Pompeii remains buried, providing unparalleled insights into Roman life and culture.

Ciudad Perdida, Colombia

Ciudad Perdida, a Spanish translation for “Lost City,” was once a magnificent city founded around 800 AD in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. It existed for about 650 years before the Inca-built Machu Picchu. The city featured a network of tiled roads over 160 terraces carved into the side of the mountain and several circular plazas. Although its exact abandonment date is unclear, it may have been due to the Spanish conquest. It was rediscovered in 1972 by treasure looters, who named it “Green Hell.”

Memphis, Egypt

Memphis is the legendary city of Menes, the pharaoh who managed to unite Lower and Upper Egypt, established around 3000 BC. Located 20 kilometers south of Giza, Memphis was likely founded by Menes as a fortress to control the trade route between the Delta and Upper Egypt. Despite its strategic location, the city’s growth was undermined by the rise of Christianity, leading to its official abandonment in the 7th century following the Arab conquest of Egypt. Some of its ruins include royal palaces, Ptah’s temple, and Rameses II's statues.

Taxila, Pakistan

Taxila, also known as the “City of Cut Stone,” is an ancient city in northwestern Pakistan, located in modern-day Taxila City in Punjab Province. The city was at the junction of Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent and was likely founded in 3500 BCE with some of its ruins dating back to the period of the Achaemenid Empire. Due to its strategic location, the city changed hands over the centuries, becoming insignificant following a decline in trade and destruction by the Kidarites, Alchon Huns, and White Huns.

Hedeby, Germany

Hedeby, an important city for the Vikings between the 8th and 11th centuries, occupied the Jutland Peninsula’s southern end in present-day Schleswig-Flensburg District, Germany. Established around 770, Hedeby became a trading center near Schlel, a narrow inlet connecting to the Baltic Sea, and grew significantly after 40 years when Godfred, a Danish King, moved merchants from Reric to Hedeby. However, the city was destroyed in the 11th century during a fight between the Danish King Sweyn II and Norwegian King Harald Hardrada.

Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe, the capital of one of the great kingdoms, is located in Zimbabwe’s southeastern hills near Masvingo Town and Lake Mutirikwe. The city covers about 7.22 square kilometers and hosted up to 18,000 people at its peak, built by the Bantu people between the 11th and 15th centuries. The name "Great" is used to distinguish the ancient city from other small Zimbabwe ruins spread across the country. Great Zimbabwe may have been abandoned due to political instability, decline in trade, and water and food shortage.

Karakorum, Mongolia

Karakorum, an ancient town in Ovorkhangai Province, Mongolia, existed between the 13th and 15th centuries as the capital of the Mongolian Empire and Northern Yuan. The ruins of this once-vibrant city lie near Kharkhorin, with its construction beginning in 1220. Under Ogedei Khan and his successor, the city became a major political site after the construction of “Tumen Amgalan Ord” and featured a stupa temple and silver tree. The city’s decline began in 1388 following an attack by the Ming troops and was completely abandoned in the 16th century. The site was positively identified as that of Karakorum by Nikolai Yadrintsev in 1889.

Angkor, Cambodia

Angkor was the capital city of the mighty Khmer Empire, which once ruled over large parts of Southeast Asia. After the empire’s fall, Angkor was abandoned and forgotten, falling into ruins. Today, the ruins of this ancient city are located amid forests and farmlands to the north of the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia. It is a top tourist destination, hosting one of the world’s most impressive religious structures, including the Angkor Wat, the world’s biggest temple complex.