Travellers seeking a quiet place need look no further than the numerous towns around the world that have been abandoned for one reason or another.

Travel review website IgoUgo.com (http:\www.igougo.com) has compiled a list of the top 10 ghost towns around the world based on recommendations from its readers. Reuters has not endorsed this list.

1. Kolmanskop, Namibia

Before you enter this abandoned mining town in the Namib desert, you'll need to stop in nearby Luderitz for a permit -- a holdover from the days when Kolmanskop was a free-for-all for diamond hunters. The town was at its heyday in the 1920s but abandoned in 1956. It has since been partly restored.

2. Fatehpur Sikri, India

Built by Emperor Akbar to be the most beautiful city in the world, it was widely thought this goal was achieved -- until people realised the city lacked access to water. It was abandoned as the capital of the Mughal Empire after just 10 years and is today a perfectly preserved 16th-century town.

3. Oatman, Arizona, United States

Of the Arizona ghost towns, quirky Oatman has to be among IgoUgo members' favourite. It's here where wild burros roam the streets and $60,000 bills decorate the walls of the local hotel, where, incidentally, Clark Gable and Carol Lombard spent their wedding night.

4. Deception Island, Antarctica

A regular stop on Antarctic sailings, Deception Island was a popular place for scientific outposts until several volcanic eruptions destroyed the bases in the 1960s. Today you can see their remains, plus swim in hot springs.

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