There is nothing more interesting than a forbidden place on Earth. The fact that you aren't allowed to go somewhere can make you want to visit this place even more. Well, if this is your kind of thing, get ready for a joyful ride as we present the world's most mysterious and forbidden places around the globe, many of which are even impossible to visit. In this list, you'll discover everything from dangerous islands to secret societies. These places are like magnets for the curious minds. While you probably shouldn't try to go there, you definitely should want to, as there is nothing more intriguing than the unknown.
Scroll down to learn more, and let us know if you know other exciting, forbidden places!
#1 Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway
Deep in the Arctic circle, on the remote Norwegian island Spitsbergen, the Global Seed vault is hidden deep inside a mountain. It's sometimes called 'The Doomsday Vault”, as even in the worst scenario of a disaster to humanity it'd preserve the diversity of the world's food crops and restore the plant kingdom. It was built to last about two hundred years and withstand earthquakes and explosions. It used to be placed on the side of a mountain; therefore, even if all the ice on earth melts, it'll still be above sea level. The vault contains a hundred million seeds, a complete ‘backup’ of Earth's food-crop seed in the present.
The policy is invalid here – even North Korea has frozen its seeds there. The first withdrawal from the vault has been recently made by Syria to recreate an International Research Centre in Aleppo that was lost to warfare. It was utilized to store all the genetic material of crops. These lost stores have today become of vital significance in war-torn and drought-affected Syria.
#2 North Sentinel Island, India
North Sentinel Island is actually home to the Sentinelese, one of the world's few tribes which have zero contact with modern civilization. It's thought that the tribe survives by fishing, hunting, and collecting wild plants, though there are no signs of agriculture or fire. The first successful expedition was in 1967, led by T.N. Pandit. To this day, however, the tribe refuses to have any contact with the contemporary world, as they violently drive away anybody who attempts to enter their premises. In 2006 the tribe killed two fishers that accidentally entered their territory. However, no attempt was made by the Indian government to prosecute the murders. It is now strictly forbidden to enter the island, and entering it might result in death.
#3 Ploutonion At Hierapolis Or Pluto’s Gate, Turkey
Situated in the ancient city of Hierapolis in Turkey, it was once a place dedicated to the Roman god of death, Pluto. Ancient historian Strabo had visited the area and had said that “Any animal that passes inside meets instant death. I threw in sparrows, and they immediately breathed their last and fell”. After the discovery in 1965, Pluto’s Gate’s dangers were proven to be more than merely a myth. Scientists measured the CO2 concentration and found that during the day the sun evaporates the gas, at evening, when the air temperature drops and CO2 becomes heavier than air, it pools at the bottom forming a deadly “lake.” At dawn, the CO2 concentration forty centimeters above the arena floor reaches 35 percent, which is enough to kill animals and even people within minutes. Fortunately, the concentration drops significantly with height and, therefore, standing by the “gates” would only pose a threat to smaller animals.
#4 Poveglia Island, Italy
Poveglia is an island which is known as one of the world's most mysterious and creepy places. It all began during the Roman Empire when the island was used to home victims of the plague. Then, when the plague returned during the medieval era, the island once again became home to thousands of deadly sick people. A shocking amount of people were dumped into the ground, buried in the same graves and even burned. It's claimed that the land became so affected by the burned and rotten human corpses that its soil is now 50 percent composed of human ash. Then, in 1922, they opened a mental hospital there. It's safe to say that it didn't affect the patients positively, as the island already had a creepy vibe to it. You can still find washed up human bones on the island’s shore today due to the horrific amount of humans that were killed there. With many people believing this place is haunted, it's no wonder the island is illegal to visit, and we are not sure anybody would want to go there.
#5 The Catacombs, Paris
One of the most known mysterious and creepy places from all around the globe are the Catacombs of Paris. It was first built as a tunnel network to consolidate Paris’ stone mines and then became storage for six million dead bodies at the end of XVIIIth century. Although a tiny part of those tunnels is open to the public, where one can see 1000s of bones and skulls stacked together, 99 percent of the 170-mile long maze is forbidden to enter because getting lost there is almost guaranteed. Yet that doesn't stop people and mysterious secret society members from finding their ways into those places and making issues for the special Catacomb Police Force, the Cataflics.
#6 Ilha Da Queimada Grande (Snake Island), Atlantic Ocean
Ilha da Queimada Grande island is situated off the coast of Brazil in the Atlantic Ocean. It's the only home to now critically endangered venomous golden lancehead pit viper. The island is totally closed off to the public to protect this snake population and protect the visitors, as by some estimates there's one snake to every square meter of the island.
#7 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine
1986 was the year of the tragic nuclear accident known as the Chernobyl disaster. Because of high radiation levels, every local had to immediately leave the premises, and the territory became abandoned very quickly. You can now still find abandoned shoes, toys as well as other possessions left behind due to the rapid evacuation. Although there are excursions which allow you to check certain parts of the town, there's a 19-mile zone, known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone or The Zone. The territory is strictly forbidden for any access as it'll result in radioactive contamination.
#8 Mausoleum Of The First Qin Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, China
Located in Lintong District, Xi’an, Shaanxi (China), Qin Shi Huang’s tomb is a place where entry is forbidden. Even though discovered when the Terracotta army was unearthed in 1974, the tomb hasn’t been excavated yet. Opponents of excavation believe that current technology couldn’t preserve anything that the tomb holds; therefore access to it is forbidden.
#9 Area 51, USA
Area 51 is a U.S. military installation, located 100 miles north of Las Vegas. It's thought to be among the world's most mysterious places since the U.S. government denied its existence until 2013. Now, it's mostly known for its many UFO conspiracy theories. CIA and the U.S. Air Force mostly use the area as a testing territory due to its remote location. Although it is a military installation, many people think that it may be the place where scientists research a crashed alien spacecraft. Several conspiracy theory enthusiasts visit the nearby territory to Area 51, though the entrance is completely prohibited.
#10 Surtsey, An Island In Iceland
Surtsey is a piece of land which formed in 1963, after a massive volcanic eruption which lasted for three years. Now, the area is used only for scientific research. The primary focus of the work is to understand better how an ecosystem forms with no human impact. There are only some scientists allowed on the island’s premises, which makes it one of a few forbidden places in the world. One of the primary rules for scientists is to not bring any seeds with you. Well, somebody didn't pay close enough attention to that rule and pooped on some lava. After they did, a tomato plant sprouted up on the island leaving the scientists mystified entirely. When they realized the origin of the plant, it was immediately destroyed, as it'd disturb their scientific research.
#11 Metro-2, Line D6, Russia
During the reign of Stalin, a secret system of underground transport was built known as Metro-2. The mysterious metro system supposedly connects governmental institutions like the Kremlin, Vnukovo-2 airport and General Staff Academy. It's reported that the tunnels also include apartments and technical rooms. Since the system wasn't available for outsiders, it is thought to be a secret escape tunnel for high-level officials during the war. The Moscow metro administration denies the existence of these tunnels, though in 1994 an urban exploration group claims to have discovered the entrance to the underground system. Only one out of four lines is now confirmed to exist, and that's the line D6. Access to this territory is strictly forbidden for outsiders; it can only be entered with a special pass.
#12 Niihau Island, Hawaii
Niihau is an island located in Hawaii which is often called ‘The Forbidden Island.’ In 1864, it was bought by Elizabeth Sinclair, and it's been privately owned ever since. It first got its name in 1952 when, during the polio epidemic on the Hawaiian islands, it used to be forbidden to leave and enter the island to avoid the disease. Fortunately, this way no one on the island got sick. With a population of 170 people, the island remains one of the world's most coveted travel destinations today, although only a few receive permission to visit it. Some say even royalty or extremely rich people have to request entry. For instance, music legend Mick Jagger was once denied clearance to land his helicopters on the island's premises.
#13 The Lascaux Caves
The Lascaux Caves is a complex of caves close to the village of Montignac. The ceilings and walls of this cave are covered with parietal wall paintings, representing primarily large animals. It's thought that the age of the paintings is estimated at around 17,000 years. Back in 1940, the caves were found by 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat, leaving many people wondering about their origin and meaning. Anthropologists think that these paintings may symbolize past hunting success, or a mystical ritual to improve hunting in the future. Opening the caves during WWII changed the cave environment. The 1,200 visitors a day, changes in air circulation, and the presence of light caused irreparable damage to the paintings, leading to a closure of these caves in 1963.
#14 Vatican Secret Archives, Vatican City
The Vatican and the Catholic Church already seem to be mysterious as it is. However, did you know that they had a secret archive where they store documents relating to the Catholic Church and that some of them can date as far back as the eighth century? The archive is so huge that it has 53 miles of shelves. Entrance is strictly forbidden for anybody who isn't a researcher with special permission for access. The place includes such documents as information of Martin Luther’s excommunication and a letter from Michelangelo to Pope Julius II.
#15 North Brother Island, USA
North Brother Island is a thirteen-acre piece of land situated in the East River, a couple of miles away from Manhattan, NY. It's a place where more than 1.000 people died after a passenger ship sank in the island’s waters. Later it was a Riverside Hospital where they treated contagious diseases. The most notorious resident was Mary Mallon, also known as Typhoid Mary. Mary was the very first documented person in the US to be identified as an asymptomatic carrier of the bacteria which causes typhoid fever. It's believed that she infected over 50 people with the disease, three of whom died. While she always denied being a carrier, she rarely washed her hands while she was making desserts and apparently spread the bacteria to anybody who ate them. The island was later abandoned until the 1950’s when a center opened to treat drug addicts. It is now a bird sanctuary for herons and other wading shorebirds. The island is currently abandoned and off-limits to the public.
#16 Fukushima Exclusion Zone, Japan
Back in 2011, the Fukushima nuclear disaster struck Japan, residents within eighteen miles of the plant were urged to evacuate. It's the second disaster to be given the Level 7 event classification of the International Nuclear Event Scale, next to Chernobyl. Because of its extreme radiation, nobody is allowed to enter these premises, yet one man was brave (or foolish?) enough to go there, without any proper equipment. Keow Wee Loong, a 27 -year-old Malaysian photographer, chose to sneak into Fukushima’s exclusion zone illegally and said that it felt like a real-life version of Fallout.
#17 Grand Shrine Of Ise, Japan
The Grand Shrine of Ise is a holy or sacred place where they worship Amaterasu, a goddess of the sun and the universe of the Shinto religion. The temple was built without using any nails, but merely joining wood instead. The most exciting part is that the temple is rebuilt every twenty years, honoring the Shinto concept of death and rebirth. It's also a way to continue the long ongoing tradition of building the temple by merely interlocking the joints. Despite the holiness and the beauty of the temple, only the priests and the representatives of the imperial family are allowed to enter the territory. So, the only opportunity to catch a glimpse of this unbelievably holy place is through wooden fences, and you cannot take any photos either.
#18 Morgan Island (Monkey Island), South Carolina
Morgan Island, situated north of Beaufort in South Carolina, is also known as Monkey Island. It got its nickname from the colony of approximately 4,000 rhesus monkeys living there. However, the population is not native as the monkeys were relocated there from La Parguera, Puerto Rico. As monkeys infected with the herpes B virus started escaping and La Parguera was overpopulated with monkeys, South Carolina offered to relocate the colony to their uninhabitated Morgan Island. Currently, the law prohibits anyone from visiting the island for their own (as well as the monkey’s) safety. The very only people permitted on the island are researchers working for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), who own the monkeys living there.
#19 Bohemian Grove, USA
Bohemian Grove is an annual ‘camp’ located in Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California. Each year approximately 2,500 elite men participate in this event, that first started in 1872. The event invites only the world's most significant figures, such as high-ranking politicians, various military officials, Nobel prize winners, as well as the presidents of elite universities like Harvard or Yale. It's said that during the event, the Bohemian Club performs plays and rituals as a part of the tradition. The Club’s motto is “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here,” which implies that outside concerns are not to be discussed during the event. The event is strictly male-only to this day as women can only work as employees there. Journalist Jon Ronson described the club as merely immature: “My lasting impression was of an all-pervading sense of immaturity: the Elvis impersonators, the pseudo-pagan spooky rituals, the heavy drinking. These people might have reached the apex of their professions, but emotionally they seemed trapped in their college years.”
Reference: Bored Panda
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