Human curiosity knows no bounds, even for places off-limits to all wanderers and adventurers. The insatiable desire to conquer new grounds drives us, but there are destinations best left unexplored. These 10 forbidden places on Earth hold untold mysteries, intrigues, and dangers that are best left to the imagination. Here are Earth’s most dreaded and off-limits locations.
1. Area 51, Nevada, United States
The first on our list of forbidden places no one will ever be allowed to visit is shrouded in mystery. Stretched far and wide in the Nevada desert, Area 51 is pegged as one of the planet’s most secretive, militarized places. Guessers have attributed the base to UFOs through the years, but people have yet to learn what happens within those heavily guarded walls.
2. Snake Island, Brazil
Breaching the perimeter of Snake Island in Brazil can land you in jail. The off-coastal jungle is home to some of the most dangerous snakes in the world, making it an incredibly difficult destination that could kill you.
3. Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway
If the world should be on the edge of an apocalyptic famine, the Svalbard Vault buried deep within the permafrost of the arctic circles is humanity’s safest library of every known seedling of food crop there is. Only a few top-tier scientists have access to this place of profound mystery.
4. North Sentinel Island, India
Nested in the Bay of Bengal, North Sentinel Island is the home of one of Earth’s remaining uncontacted people. The Sentinelese tribe, as they are known, are brutally violent and unwelcoming to strangers.
5. Vatican Secret Archives, Vatican City
The Pope’s country is accessible to adventurers, but not the vaults holding sacred church secrets for hundreds of years. The secret archive is off-limit to the public and only available to a handful of researchers under the strict supervision of the church.
6. Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China
Qin Shi Huang was China’s first emperor, clamped down in an underground mausoleum tomb guarded by the famous Terracotta Army.
Despite the potential for revenue generation through tourism if visitors were allowed near his tomb, this place remains sealed and out of bounds due to the government’s fear of tourists damaging the tomb’s delicate artifacts.
7. The Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean
Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, this place is the deepest point of all five world oceans, pegged at a depth of 36000 feet, swelling with extreme pressure and inhospitable conditions that will get you killed.
The Trench is exclusive of only a few pioneering scientific expeditions, with most parts of this Earth’s underbelly still uncharted to this day.
8. MeZhgorye, Russia
A secret military base with a rumored shoot-on-sight policy, you need a top-tier pass to access this formidable fortress. Mezhgorye attracts tens of conspiratorial standpoints, just like Area 51. The Russian government strictly controls the perimeter, and it is one of the most forbidden locations in the world.
9. Mount Weather Emergency Operations Centre, Virginia, United States
Located within the picture-perfect mountains of Blue Ridge in Virginia, many theorists believe this place is the first respondent point of operation in the case of a military crisis that threatens the existence of the United States. You cannot go to this place. It is one of the most forbidden places on Earth.
10. Poveglia Island, Italy
How can an entire island be out of bounds? The haunting reputation of this place precedes it, as it was used as a quarantine station during the Great Plague, and it’s rumored to be haunted by those who died during the pandemic. Public access is prohibited, and this only adds to the intrigues of Poveglia.
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