Ruins
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Old Palapye Ruins
Old Palapye (known locally as Phalatswe) is a historic ghost town and national monument located near Malaka village at the foot of the Tswapong Hills in Central District, Botswana. Established in 1889 by Kgosi Khama III as the capital of the Bangwato nation, the settlement once housed over 30,000 residents before being abandoned in 1902 due to acute water shortages. Today, towering burnt-red brick ruins of a 1892 London Missionary Society church stand amidst overgrown acacia trees, renowned for ghost sightings, disembodied church bell tolls, and phantom Victorian hymn singing.