Visiting places and learning about a culture, people and of course food is an interesting and exciting experience. But these places you will never see.
Area 51 – Nevada
Area 51 is probably one of the most secret places on earth. Also known as Groom Lake, the purpose of the base of the United States Air Force remains unknown to the rest of humanity, which of course leads to speculation and hundreds of conspiracy theories.
The use as a place of development of super-secret weapons has been the most widespread theory among the society since the base was established by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). However, there are those who think that this is where the US government hides all the remains they find of extraterrestrial life on earth.
Although Area 51 has never been declared a secret base, it was not until 2005 that the government of the United States publicly acknowledged its existence. Access to the area is controlled by motion sensors, is totally prohibited for civilians and airspace is not available for commercial aircraft.
While the area surrounding Area 51 is a popular tourist destination for alien enthusiasts, access to Area 51 itself is completely prohibited, except to intelligence and military personnel with special clearance. The airspace above the base is also a no-go area and is rumored to be protected with anti-aircraft weaponry and fighter jets.
Club 33 – Anaheim (California)
In 1967 the Club 33 opened, a place designed by Walt Disney, exclusive for the most fortunate and that remains one of the most secret, mysterious and above all demanding clubs for those who want to be part of it. Among its members, we can find artists, presidents, and billionaires.
Located at the intersection of Royal Street and Orleans Street in the New Orleans Plaza, Club 33 was intended as a place to receive dignitaries, investors, and only the most exclusive celebrities.
The waiting list for membership is several years and only after entering an initiation fee (which is rumored between $ 25,000 and $ 100,000), members pay an annual fee of $ 12,000.
In return, members have access to two dining rooms, VIP cards, valet parking, and access to the jazz room “Le Salon Nouveau” and to Room 1901 at Disney California Adventure, the only place where alcohol is served at Disneyland
Cave of Lascaux – Lascaux (France)
The famous Lascaux cave is found in all history books because it is the largest prehistoric art museum on earth.
In the more than 600 works of art that adorn the complex of caves located in the southwest of France, you can see horses, deer, and plants corresponding to Upper Palaeolithic fossil records.
This complex series of caves, located in Northwestern France, is home to one of history’s most famous examples of Paleolithic cave paintings ever discovered. The ancient artwork is believed to be over 17,000 years old and depicts mostly images of large animals that have been proven through fossil excavations to have been living in the area at that time.
Despite having been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, the caves have not been accessible since 1963. After opening them to the public after the Second World War, the presence of visitors and the constant light gave rise to different problems such as the growth of lichens and fungi, forcing their permanent closure for better conservation, with only a small handful of scientists allowed to enter for just a few days a month in order to study the paintings.
North Sentinel Island – Andaman Islands (India)
The island of North Sentinel, in the Bay of Bengal southwest of the Andaman Islands, within the Indian Ocean, is one of the few redoubts completely removed from human civilization. A fascinating place populated by natives so aggressive and hostile that the world has simply stopped caring. This small indigenous population known as the Sentinelese have been known to fire arrows and throw rocks.
Almost nothing is known about the indigenous tribe that has inhabited the island for more than 60,000 years as it is isolated from modern civilization by its own choice.
After the incessant failures to establish some contact, the Indian government has stopped all attempts and prohibited travel less than three miles from the island. In the wake of the massive 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunami, research helicopters assessing the damage in the area were attacked by the Sentinelese, who shot arrows and threw stones as the aircraft flew over the coastline. And in 2006, two fishermen were killed when they broke the rules and visited the island.
Poveglia – Veneto (Italy)
This small island is located between Venice and Lido within the Venetian Lagoon in northern Italy. Throughout its history, it has been home to a fort, used as a shipping checkpoint, been a quarantine station for the Bubonic Plague, and since the turn of the last century, there has been as an asylum.
The small island of Poveglia is described by the local inhabitants as the most “enchanted” place on earth. There is a collective cemetery of plague victims and other people with infectious diseases.
The island also housed a psychiatric hospital where it is rumored that a doctor performed experiments on patients (before committing suicide).
Very few people have set foot on the island since the 1960s. The locals themselves only take the bravest in exchange for a very high price.
It’s no wonder — Poveglia has long been considered one of the most haunted places on earth. Rumor has it that the ghosts of plague victims, war victims, and the ghost of a murderous asylum doctor roam the decaying grounds. The Italian government offered the island up for long-term lease (99 years) in 2014 in the hope that someone would redevelop the land.
Tomb of Qin Shi Huang – Xian (China)
Even to this day, the tomb of the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang remains a mystery.
The burial complex consists of a complicated network of underground caverns that were filled with all the things the emperor would need in the afterlife, including clay reproductions of his armies, family, servants, horses, and staff, widely known as the Terracotta Army. Since its initial discovery in 1974, over 2,000 statues have been excavated, each of them completely unique, and experts believe that there may be more that 8,000 in total surrounding the central tomb, still yet to be uncovered. However, the Chinese government might never allow the excavation of the emperor’s tomb, choosing to respect the ancient burial rites. So while tourists can catch a glimpse of the emperor’s clay army during a site tour, the ancient warrior’s main tomb may remain undiscovered indefinitely, neither for scientists nor for tourists. It seems that no current technology is ready to deal safely with the excavation.
Isla de las Serpientes – São Paulo, Brazil
What could be a beautiful tropical island is actually one of the most lethal places on earth. Ilha da Queimada Grande, also nicknamed Isla de las Serpientes, is home to thousands of highly poisonous vipers
Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, as it is more affectionately known, is a 43-hectare island located off the Brazilian coastline, approximately 20 miles from the Sao Paulo shore.
The island is about 90 kilometers from the coast and access is strictly controlled by the Brazilian government. Some estimates hold that in some areas there is one snake for every 30 square cm.
The annual visits of the navy to take care of the lighthouse are always carried out in the presence of a doctor since the bites can cause internal bleeding, kidney failure, and death.
Although snakes are dangerous, the real reason why the island is closed to the public is to protect the snakes from poaching.
Whatever the case, the Brazilian government has prohibited any visitors from setting foot there with one exception: every few years the government grants a handful of scientists a permit to study the snakes.
World Bank of Seeds of Svalbard – Spitsbergen (Norway)
Although it is unlikely that you will reach the small Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, some 1,300 kilometers from the North Pole, in case you do, the World Bank of Seeds will definitely be out of your reach.
Hidden inside a mountain with an earthquake-proof structure, the most precious crops in the world are stored. It was built to store seeds that would be retrieved in the event of a huge environmental disaster.
Since 2008, almost all the countries of the world have filled this international warehouse with their own specimens, adding more than 865,000 different samples, of which 150,000 are rice-only.
The installation in Spitsbergen serves as a backup for the more than 1,700 gene banks located throughout the world, ensuring the survival of the species in the face of any natural disaster or any disaster caused by man. As the seed vault in Norway acts as a copy, no access is granted to researchers, scientists or breeders.
Very few are even allowed access to the secure vault.
Even countries that lend seeds aren’t allowed to enter.
Secret Archives of the Vatican – Rome (Italy)
A visit to the secret archives of the Vatican would surely head the list of “places I have to go before I die” of any lover of history, however, regretfully that it will only become an unattainable dream.
Only a very small number of scholars can lay their hands on unique documents such as the papal bull of 1493 that divided the New World between Spain and Portugal, immense history of the acts of the Holy See, along with historic documents, state papers, papal account books, and other official correspondence, some of which dates back to the eighth century. Items include letters from Michelangelo, a letter from Mary Queen of Scots written while she was awaiting her execution, and King Henry VIII’s request for a marriage annulment.
The archives, which are the official property of the current pope, have been estimated to span over 52 miles of shelving with more than 35,000 items. Other than a very small staff who take care of the archives, access is strictly limited to qualified scholars from very select higher education and research institutions, all of whom have to undergo a rigorous access application process to be granted entry.
White’s – London (United Kingdom)
Gentleman’s clubs have been an institution of British culture for centuries and none is older or more exclusive than White’s in London.
Founded in 1693, it remains an establishment for gentlemen only, although some exceptions were made for Queen Elizabeth II on two occasions. Membership is restricted to 500 men and the waiting list is several years.
Members include royals, aristocrats, politicians, and businessmen.
Ise Grand Shrine, Japan
Isa Shrine, located in the town of Uji-tachi in the Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine complex dedicated to the goddess Amaterasu-omikami, which consists of two main shrines and about 125 secondary shrines.
While the location of the shrine is said to date back to the third century, the standing structures have been dismantled and replaced every 20 years — most recently in 2013 — consistent with Shinto beliefs regarding death and renewal. One of the main shrines is believed to house the ‘Sacred Mirror,’ called Yata no Kagami, part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Over the years it has been stolen, burnt, lost and even thrown into the sea. But weirdly is always recovered.
From outside, little can be seen except a fence and the buildings’ thatched roofs. Access is restricted to just the high priestess or priest, who has to be a member of the Japanese Imperial Family.
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