Random Most Dangerous Locations That People Have Actually Tried To Visit (12 items)

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  (#1) Chris McCandless

  • Fictional Character

  An abandoned bus located around Alaska's Denali National Park might be considered a strange tourist destination, but because the vehicle once served as Chris McCandless's home, many hikers and people who consider him an inspiration trek there every year. Local hunters often used the bus as shelter, and McCandless found it in 1992 while adventuring through the Alaskan wilderness. After he was trapped in the area due to rising water in a nearby river, the bus also became the place where he perished. 

  Jon Krakauer turned McCandless's story into the 1996 book Into the Wild, and Hollywood adapted it into a movie in 2007. Since then, many people have ventured into the wilderness to find the bus and subsequently find themselves in the same dangerous situation as McCandless. Crossing the rapid, cold waters of the river is difficult, and several hikers have lost their lives during their attempt. Making the journey to find McCandless's bus can be so perilous, members of the Denali Borough Assembly voted to remove it in March 2020. By June, the bus was gone. 

  Commissioner Corri Feige of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources said, "After studying the issue closely, prioritizing public safety and considering a variety of alternatives, we decided it was best to remove the bus from its location on the Stampede Trail."
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  (#2) Russia's Valley Of Death Is A Toxic Wasteland

  According to stories, two hunters came across a plantless area filled with animal remains while walking through the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia. They ran away after beginning to feel sick, and though other people entered the area attempting to discover the reason for the animals' deaths, no one found an answer. Worse yet, legends claim as many as 80 people never returned.

  In 1975, volcanologist Vladimir Leonov began studying the area because although the region suffers from cold, harsh winters, it is also filled with active volcanoes. Both Leonov and ranger Vladimir Kalyaev encountered numerous animal remains, including a single ravine that held five bear carcasses. Testing revealed the animals suffocated, and researchers have since reasoned carbon dioxide leaking from the volcanoes is what ended them. They named the remote location the "Valley of Death."
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  (#3) Ilha da Queimada Grande

  • Island

  Ilha da Queimada Grande lies around 25 miles from the coast of Brazil and, due to its amount of slithery residents, is nicknamed Snake Island. Researchers estimated there are as many as 4,000 snakes living there, meaning anyone visiting could potentially encounter one every square meter they traveled. Luckily, this isn't a problem since Brazil bans people from setting foot on the island because of the danger posed by the snakes. The country will even send their navy after anyone who tries.

  Golden lanceheads, an extremely toxic kind of pit viper, are the primary dangerous serpents on Snake Island, and their venom can end a person within minutes. Although legends claim pirates set the snakes free on the island to dissuade anyone from stealing their buried treasure, science proves rising water created the island as it separated it from the mainland. Because this trapped the snakes, they evolved to grow bigger and create more powerful venom in order to capture birds before they could fly away. People lived on the island up until the 1920s, but after snakes allegedly ended a lighthouse operator and his family, residents wisely decided to move elsewhere.
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  (#4) Madidi National Park

  • Protected Site

  According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, Bolivia's Madidi National Park may be the Earth's most biologically diverse location. Unfortunately, that means there are also a lot of things there that can harm people. Located in the upper basin of the Amazon River, Madidi spans 7,335 square miles and is home to 12,000 species of plants, over 200 mammals species, and 1,088 species of birds. While there are plenty of potentially dangerous jaguars, snakes, and spiders in its jungles, even creatures like wild pigs can be life threatening.

  Fungi in Madidi can cause welts if someone happens to come into contact with it, and there are a variety of toxic insects like moths which can make visitors extremely ill. A variety of poisonous plants also call Madidi home and can cause severe rashes and itching if touched. The flora and fauna of Madidi can be so dangerous, even if one survives a rashes or bite, flesh-eating parasites living in the jungle could potentially enter the wound and cause even more damage. Despite these dangers, the ecological diversity and beauty of the park attracts visitors every year. 
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  (#5) Strong Winds Help Make Mount Washington One Of The Coldest Spots On Earth

  Despite standing at only around 6,288 feet, New Hampshire's Mount Washington can be a dangerous place to visit. Colliding weather patterns change weather rapidly and often not for the better. Temperatures can quickly plummet to below freezing, and freak snowstorms often occur. According to the Mount Washington Observatory which sits at the summit, the top of the mountain can be as cold as -36 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of 94 degrees below zero, making it among Earth's coldest places.

  Dangerously strong winds also work against anyone on the mountain, and gusts up to 60 miles per hour can knock people down or push them off trails where they may get lost or enter dangerous areas. In 1934, Mount Washington became famous for its winds as a weather station recorded a wind velocity of 231 miles per hour, higher than any other recorded from Earth's surface not involving a tropical storm. Since nearly 150 people have lost their life on the mountain since 1849, most dying from hypothermia, it's best to travel prepared.
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  (#6) Bikini Atoll

  • Atoll

  In 1945, shortly after the end of WWII, President Harry Truman ordered the US military to continue testing nuclear weapons in case they would be needed in the future. The military chose Bikini in the Marshall Islands to conduct tests since planes and ships traveled on routes far from the area. At the time, 167 islanders lived on Bikini, and the US government asked them to vacate for "the good of mankind and to end all world wars." The islanders accepted, believing the move would be temporary and that they'd eventually be able to return home.

  On March 1, 1954, the military detonated America's most powerful incendiary: Castle Bravo. At 15 megatons, the hydrogen device was equal to 1,000 of those dropped on Hiroshima. The military also dropped 22 more before 1958, creating enough radiation that the island residents couldn't return home until the 1970s. They had to leave a few years later when researchers realized the area wasn't as safe as they thought, and Bikini remains uninhabited today aside from those brave enough to try diving in the surrounding waters.
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  (#7) Danakil Desert

  • Location

  Considered by many to be Earth's most inhospitable area, the Danakil desert lies between Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti in Africa. With temperatures often rising higher than 122 degrees Fahrenheit, the desert is one of the hottest spots on the planet. Because it is also hundreds of feet below sea level and receives very little rainfall, vegetation is sparse. Danakil is located at the intersection of three tectonic plates which create hydrothermal fields in a variety of colors, wide salt flats, and lakes filled with lava.

  Although the temperature alone can cause heat stroke and death in a matter of hours, the Afar people continue to live there. For many years, they were wary of tourists entering their land and occasionally perpetrated acts of aggression against them. This led to rules about visitors being required to travel with armed escorts, although these restrictions may have been relaxed in the past several years. Considering the heat, however, one probably doesn't want to travel alone here regardless.
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  (#8) Lake Natron

  • Salt lake

  Like Great Salt Lake in Utah and the Dead Sea, Tanzania's Lake Natron is an enclosed body of water with a high concentration of salt. Anyone who tries to take a swim in its waters, however, will find it to be a painful, potentially life threatening decision. The waters of Lake Natron are alkaline and with pH levels that sometimes rival the strength of ammonia, it burns any people or animals who enter. 

  Because the water temperature can also be as high as 140 degrees, only algae and one species of fish can survive living there. Not only is entering the water dangerous, but the lake's surface is often so glassy, it can be disorientating. A combination of dense chemicals in the water often causes the surface to be extremely reflective, and many birds accidentally fly into it as well as one helicopter pilot who became disoriented, flew too low to the water, and crashed.
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  (#9) Mount Sinabung

  • Volcano

  The Indonesian island of Sumatra often attracts tourists drawn to the beautiful landscape and views from Mount Sinabung. Despite the scenery, the more than 8,000-foot-tall mountain is also an active volcano and ever since it erupted in 2010 after nearly 400 years of dormancy, the volcano's four craters have become some of the most active in Indonesia. Two people died in the 2010 eruption and many more when Mount Sinabung erupted in 2014 and again in 2018. In 2019, the volcano spewed ash five miles into the air for nine minutes, and although no one was injured, many residents panicked.

  While traveling to Mount Sinabung is allowed, Sumatra urges visitors to hike with guides since the weather often changes rapidly, and one could easily become lost in the jungles of Mount Leuser National Park which lies near the volcano. Although residents also set up three safe zones in which to view the volcano from a more protective distance of about five miles, the less adventurous may want to view Mount Sinabung through pictures.
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  (#10) Erta Ale

  • Volcano

  Located within Ethiopia's Danakil desert, Erta Ale volcano shares many of the dangers present with the desert including dangerously high temperatures and potentially dangerous residents nearby. Since it's an active volcano, however, Erta Ale presents additional perils; it's not known as the "gateway to hell" for nothing. It is one of five of the world's volcanoes with lava lakes, and Etra Ale is even more unique since it has two.

  This means liquid lava can be seen within the volcano's craters, and those brave enough can approach for a closer view when Etra Ale isn't erupting. People still need to look out for spurts of lava, however, as the volcano can shoot these as high as 13 feet into the air without warning. Erta Ale has erupted six times since 1873 and forced people nearby to flee while taking livestock. In 2007, two people were presumed to have died after coming in contact with lava flow. 
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  (#11) Trying To Reach The Underwater Rummu Prison Has Proven Dangerous

  More than 80 years after the Soviet Union built Rummu prison in Estonia, it's become an unlikely tourist destination. Used as a detention center where inmates labored in the quarry in which it was built, Rummu was in use until 1991 when Estonia became independent. While the prison was in use, people pumped out the natural groundwater, but it quickly returned and flooded the area once the prison shut down. The building is now crumbling and half hidden by the quarry's water, making the area enticing to beach goers, swimmers, and divers.

  Swimming and diving in the area isn't without danger, however, and posted signs warn entering the water is not allowed. Although many ignore these warnings, diving can be deadly as people have to deal with extremely cold water temperatures, poor visibility, razor sharp clams attached to underwater objects, and a jungle of abandoned structures including light posts, barbed wire, and cramped spaces. Conditions can be so hazardous, a few visitors have lost their lives.
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  (#12) Many Incidents Took Place At The 'Tiger Temple' Before It Closed Down

  Since the Thai government claims ownership of all tigers in the country, organizations need to apply for zoo licenses if they want to use the cats for commercial purposes. Tiger Temple, AKA Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno, was once located in the country's Kanchanaburi province and obtained one of these licenses after becoming a Buddhist temple in 1992 and taking in its first tiger cubs in 1999. Like other tiger parks, the temple used the cats to make money by attracting tourists. The 60 acre grounds contained several enclosures for tigers and a larger area where visitors could take pictures next to the cats.

  The monks claimed they trained the cats and the tigers were safe to be around, but there were several dangerous incidents between tigers and guests. In 2013, a tiger knocked down a student and targeted her leg. In 2015, a monk was seriously injured after being mauled. In 2016, Thailand's Department of National Parks raided the park after discovering the owners were also involved with trafficking and illegally breeding tigers. 

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