Buried rooftops
In a sea of ash.
giggel — CC BY 3.0 · Edgar El — CC BY 3.0 · Wailunip at English Wikipedia — CC BY-SA 2.5 · giggel — CC BY 3.0
Plymouth is an abandoned town on the south-west coast of Montserrat, about 9 km in a straight line south of Brades, and it is still officially the island's capital. It is the only capital in the world that has become a ghost town. The town was built in the Georgian era on old lava deposits near the Soufrière Hills volcano, which had been dormant for centuries. For centuries it was the island's only port of entry, until it was evacuated in 1995 when the volcano resumed erupting, and it was abandoned for good in 1997 after volcanic flows and mudflows buried it. Today it looks like a scene frozen in time: rooftops poke out of a grey sea of hardened ash, lower floors are buried completely, and green plants push through between them. From the surrounding hills visitors see the whole town with the sea behind it; a new capital is being built in the north, with Brades serving in the meantime. Plymouth lies inside the Exclusion Zone, so it can only be visited on authorised tours with a guide. It can also be seen from lookouts outside the zone; check the official hazard level before visiting.
In a sea of ash.
On the hills.
Authorised only.
South-west Montserrat
Only on authorised tours with a guide.
Volcanic eruptions buried it between 1995 and 1997.