Cinco Saltos — Argentina's 'city of witches' on the banks of the Negro River

Cinco Saltos, a small city in the Río Negro province of Patagonia, Argentina, has earned the nickname 'the city of witches' for its concentration of supernatural legends and reported hauntings. The city sits along the Negro River in the arid steppe of northern Patagonia, and its paranormal reputation dates back decades. Residents have reported a range of ghostly phenomena including apparitions of children near the river, spectral figures in abandoned buildings, and poltergeist activity in private homes. One of the most famous legends involves the discovery of a mummified child's body during construction work, which was said to have been the victim of a ritual sacrifice. Since the discovery, workers and visitors to the area have reported seeing the ghost of a small child near the site. The city's desolate Patagonian landscape — windswept plateaus, eroded badlands, and the dark waters of the Negro River — provides a natural backdrop for its supernatural reputation. Local folklore also includes stories of witchcraft practices in the surrounding countryside, lending the hauntings an additional dimension of dark mysticism. Cinco Saltos has become a destination for paranormal tourists from across Argentina.