It’s probably safe to say that most people long to vacation in places like Hawaii or Paris, but then there are those of us who yearn for the bizarre and the unknown. If you’re part of the latter group, then you’ve clicked into the right place! Unfortunately you can’t actually visit the little-known places on this list, but we think you’ll find some enjoyment in reading about them nonetheless!
Ilha da Queimada Grande, otherwise known as “Snake Island,” would be Indiana Jones’ worst nightmare. The island, which is located off the coast of Brazil, is positively crawling (or should we say, slithering) with endangered snakes. It’s closed to the public to protect both people and the snakes that inhabit it.
Situated in the Bay of Bengal is North Sentinel Island, home to the Sentinelese indigenous people. They are one of the last populations on earth who have yet to come into contact with the modern world and have been known to meet outsiders with violence. For this reason, it is strongly suggested that no one visits there.
Lascaux Caves in Montignac, France contain a stunning collection of cave paintings that were created over generations of early humans. Unfortunately everyone but researchers are forbidden from entering the cave, but you can visit Lascaux II, which is an exact replica located about 600 feet away from the original. Surely not quite as exhilarating as visiting the real thing, but it’s a very close second!
Svalbard Global Seed (or “Doomsday”) Vault is scientists’ answer to a potential future apocalypse. The purpose of the vault, which is located in Norway, is to store millions of seeds in case the human race ever needs to restore any vegetation. The vault is ready for practically any kind of apocalypse: it’s tucked away in the mountains above sea level, can withstand earthquakes and explosions, and is built to last about 200 years. It’s pretty clear why no one beside authorized people are allowed in the vault.
Iceland’s Surtsey Island formed during a volcanic eruption that lasted from 1963 to 1967, making it one of the youngest islands in the world. It is currently used for scientific research only with the goal of observing how ecosystems develop without human interference.
Italy’s Poveglia Island is the perfect place for those who love creepy stories – only, you can’t actually go there, so you’ll just have to settle for hearing about it. The island has been home to tens of thousands of quarantined plague victims throughout history, and was later converted to a mental hospital. It has since been closed off to the public, clearly for good reason.
This peculiar-looking sandstone monolith was once available for climbing on, but since October 2019, the people of the Anangu tribe have asked tourists not to do so anymore due to the erosion it was causing. And while you can’t climb on Uluru any longer, you can certainly still go see it!
The tomb of Qin Shi Huang is inarguably one of the greatest historical finds to date. It was discovered during the unearthing of the Terracotta Army (which you can visit) in 1974 and has yet to be excavated out of respect for Chinese history and culture. Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of imperial China and the founder of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC.
Along the Bering Strait are two islands that separate the US from Russia: Big Diomede and Little Diomede. Little Diomede on the American side is home to just over 100 people, while Big Diomede is not suitable for habitation and is used as a Russian weather station.
North Brother Island is located in The Bronx in New York City and was once refuge to a thousand people after a passenger ship sank nearby. Later it became a hospital for people with infectious diseases, but nowadays it’s abandoned and functions as a bird sanctuary.
While Bhangarh Fort is open during the day, the general public is forbidden from entering from sunset to sunrise. No one knows what happens if you do try to visit after dark, because according to the locals, anyone who’s ever attempted has mysteriously disappeared.
Pravcicka Brana is Europe’s largest natural sandstone arch, and the Czech Republic’s biggest attraction. But unfortunately no one has been allowed to visit since 1982 due to the constant foot traffic causing too much erosion, so we’ll all just have to settle for ogling at this beautiful landmark from afar.
This Hawaiian island, aptly nicknamed “Forbidden Island,” was purchased by Elizabeth Sinclair in 1864 and has been privately owned by her descendants ever since. Only 170 people inhabit the island presently.
Legend has it that the Ark of the Covenant – which supposedly holds the written Ten Commandments – lies inside of an Ethiopian church called The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. Unfortunately none of us laypeople are allowed into the chapel – not even historians or researchers – so no one knows whether this is true or not. That privilege is reserved for the “guardian” of the ark.
Robins Island in Long Island, New York, was originally purchased by Louis Moore Bacon with the intent of becoming a private escape of vacation homes for his family. While it does operate as that, it also turned into a nature preserve to protect the endangered species of the region.
There are few things creepier than Paris’s catacombs, which operate as underground, interconnected tunnels beneath the city. And while there are guided tours of the catacombs, most of them are off-limits to the public because the risk of getting lost or having something collapse on you is terrifying – and very real.
In 1986, the world’s biggest nuclear disaster to date occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Powerplant in Ukraine. Residents were evacuated from nearby towns for about 1,000 square miles around the site. Nowadays, there are tours that go into the Exclusion Zone, but living there or spending a prolonged amount of time in it is still prohibited.
The Mariana Trench is forbidden mainly because it is the deepest oceanic trench on earth and is therefore nearly impossible for anyone to access – including researchers. The trench is more than 36,000 feet deep and only four manned expeditions have made it to the bottom (including James Cameron). For those who have had the opportunity to make it to the bottom, there’s some pretty remarkable and bizarre creatures that lurk down there!
Discovery Island was once open to the public at Walt Disney World in Florida from 1974 to 1999. Its purpose was to give patrons a look at some of the animal and bird species there. It is currently abandoned, but anyone can see it by boat in Bay Lake.
It’s not difficult to see why people in ancient times believed Ploutonion at Hierapolis, or Pluto’s Gate, to be a dangerous place that would bring about death. It was created as a religious site dedicated to the god Pluto and used as a ritual passage to the underworld – this seems fitting because scientists in 1965 confirmed that it was built on top of a cave that emits toxic gasses, including high levels of carbon dioxide.
Morgan Island in South Carolina is also known as “Monkey Island” because of its population of four-thousand rhesus monkeys. The monkeys aren’t native, but were brought over from Puerto Rico during an outbreak of herpes virus B. Nowadays people are prohibited from visiting Morgan Island – both for their safety, and for the safety of the monkeys.
On the border between Bolivia and Brazil is the 1,750 square kilometers of designated territory that the Brazilian government has set aside for uncontacted indigenous people. This territory is totally off-limits to the general public.
Tucked away inside of the beautiful English Alnwick Garden is something a little more sinister – a smaller garden full of plants that can kill you. You can’t enter the garden at all unless accompanied by a highly trained tour guide, and the rules are very strict. (Seven people fainted in just one summer after inhaling too many of the toxic fumes during tours.)
The Grand Shrine of Ise in Japan is one of the most important sites of Shintoism. It was constructed around the third century to honor Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and universe, but by tradition is reconstructed every 20 years to follow the Shinto ideas of death and rebirth. No one is allowed inside except for members of the Japanese imperial family.
Diego Garcia is a small island located in the Indian Ocean and was once home to 2,000 residents, but in 1973 the British government evicted all of the residents in order to make room for the US to build a military base there during the Cold War. To this day no one outside of the military is allowed to go there.
Heard Island is a pint-sized territory owned by Australia, but located out in the middle of nowhere smack dab between Antarctica, Australia, and the southernmost tip of Africa. Apart from being incredibly difficult to get to, its sole tenant is a currently active volcano that makes it quite inhospitable to humans.
Mezhgorye is a small, closed-off town located in the Ural Mountains in Russia. It is rumored to be used as a nuclear missile site and is guarded by battalions to keep trespassers out, but as long as Russian authorities keep quiet about the town’s actual purpose, we’ll never know what it’s for.
Up until 1974, Varosha was once a happening beach resort town in Cyprus that brought in the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Elizabeth Taylor. But in 1974, Turkish troops invaded after tensions with Greece came to a climax. Today the town is still completely abandoned, and trespassers risk being shot by the Turkish military.
You can hike around much of this park on your own, but certain parts are off-limits to the general public due to its nature and dangerous conditions, including treacherous waters. It’s located at the remote western tip of the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria and is home to many rare species of animals.
Navassa Island is uninhabited and disputed between the United States and Haiti. Anyone who desires to visit must obtain a special permit, and those are rarely given out. Either way, the island is home to many species of rare wildlife that have certainly benefited from the lack of human visitors!
You’re not hallucinating, that really does say “Coca Cola Vault.” So why is something do with Coca Cola one of the world’s most forbidden places? Well, it all comes down to formula. The real, handwritten original recipe and formula for Coca Cola is housed in a multimillion dollar vault at the company’s Atlanta museum. The vault is viewable from the outside, but cannot be accessed by the general public.
The Vatican may be one of the world’s best known tourist attractions, but there’s one area that’s off-limits to nearly everyone. The Vatican Apostolic Archive was established in 1612to house the private papers of the popes and Catholic Church. Originally, the archives were completely private. Since 1881, the archives have been opened to a select group of pre-arpproved scholars.
The residents of the town of Plymouth lived a quiet life on the Caribbean island of Montserrat up until 1995. That year, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active, leading to the total evacuation of the town. The inevitable eruption turned the town into a ash-covered wasteland, leaving half the island as a designated exclusion zone to this day.
According too many in the UFO community, Area 51 is a secret military installation in Nevada where the United States stockpiles alien technology. The military say the facility is simply a “flight testing facility.” What’s the truth? Well, it’s impossible to find out, since no civilian is even allowed to approach Area 51.
According to many, North Korea has it’s own version of Area 51 known as Room 39. Defectors from the regime claim that Room 39 handles activities including “counterfeiting, insurance scams, and drug production, along with some legal endeavors, are estimated to make the country between $500 million and $2 billion USD.” of course, given the nature of the North Korean government, nothing can be confirmed.
Heart Reef is a small part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef that – as the name implies – is shaped like a heart. Thanks to its shape, the piece has become a popular photo destination. However, Heart Reef actually became too popular, as the hordes of tourists were doing serious damage. In response, divers and snorkelers have been banned from the immediate area.
Maya Bay, located in Thailand, became a massive tourist destination after it was featured in the Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach. Over the next 18 years, the island was so inundated with visitors that the environment and ecosystem began suffering irreparable damage. In response, the government of Thailand temporarily closed the area in an attempt to allow the ecosystem to heal. So far it hasn’t reopened.
According to urban legend, the Bohemian Grove Men’s Club is a 2,700-acre campground in Monte, Rio, California that serves as a massive playground for grown men. Supposedly every July a large group of member VIPs – including US Presidents, government officials, business leaders, artists, musicians, and celebrities – gather for a massive party.
Located in Virginia, the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center is one of the safest places in the world. The massive bunker was built during the Cold War to safeguard members of the United States government in the event of a nuclear attack to other disaster. Sadly, it’s totally off-limits to normal civilians though.
The name Fort Knox has come to represent implantable fortress in American pop culture vernacular. The well-fortified military base, which protects the country’s gold reserves, is guarded by minefields, barbed wire, electric fences, armed guards and cameras. the vault has only been opened once 1974 for members of the news media and members of Congress in 1974.
In 1956, the Mormon Church built a massive vault in Granite Mountain in Utah. The massive houses and preserves the church’s records, including 3.5 billion images on microfilm and digital media. The facility is off limits to all members of the public.
It’s long been whispered among some circles that there’s a massive underground government base in Dulce, New Mexico. Allegedly, the Dulce Base is home to everything from alien technology to human-animal experimental hybrids. It’s tough to find out for sure since the whole area is off-limits.
Yes, it’s true. One of America’s most exclusive places that’s forbidden to nearly every citizen is right on the middle of one of the world’s most visited theme parks: Disneyland. In the late 1960s, a decade after opening the Happiest Place on Earth, Walt Disney desired a fancy lounge in his park to wine and dine corporate sponsors. Eventually the concept evolved into Club 33, a secret club and lounge only open to members. The cost of membership? Allegedly a $25,000 initiation fee and $10,000 annual dues, and even if someone has the money, the waiting list is literally decade long.
This may sound like something out of a spy movie, but it’s quite true. The NSA (National Security Agency) has eight fortified, window-less skyscrapers dotted around the United States. What really goes on in them? Who knows. They’re not exactly approachable to the common citizen.
From 1946-1962, the United States used several areas in the Marshall Islands as a testing ground for 67 nuclear detonation tests. The area was so devastated by nuclear fallout that some areas have been deemed unfit for any human, including the natives of the islands who’ve been forbidden from returning to their homeland.
Menwith Hill Air Force Base is probably the closest equivalent to Area 51 for the United Kingdom. The goings-on inside the mysterious 550 acre base with its numerous domes have mystified local residents so much that they’ve launched legal complaints against the government to try and learn what’s going on inside the base… to no avail so far.
Mercury, Nevada was a bustling town in the 1950s full of shops, restaurants, and… and a ton of nuclear scientists. Yes, Mercury is another forbidden area whose status was brought on by U.S. nuclear testing. These days the town is rumored to still have several hundred residents, though no one can know since the only outsiders allowed in the town are credentialed federal researchers.
During the 1950s, Grossinger’s was the crown jewel of New York’s Catskills resort area, to the point where it was the main inspiration for the film Dirty Dancing. At its height, the resort featured artificial snow for skiing, an on-site airstrip, lavish ballrooms, golf courses, auditoriums and extensive sporting facilities. However, by the 1980s, Grossinger’s was in disrepair and closed. In the nearly four decades since, the entire complex has become a forbidden dilapidated relic of a time gone by.
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a massive U.S. Military complex in Colorado that is built into a mountain. Over the course of its lifespan, the base hash used facilities for NORAD, U.S. Space Command, Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM), Air Force Systems Command, Air Weather Service, and Federal Emergency Management (FEMA), and Space Force. In addition, the complex is prepared to house high level U.S. officials in the event of nuclear war.
