There are a lot of places in the world that are off-limits. There are even more places that you just do not want to go to. Some are islands full of snakes or diseases, others are government secrets that just don’t add up…
Fort Knox US Bullion Depository, Kentucky
During World War II, Fort Knox held the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and the Magna Carta. Needless to say, it was a pretty heavily guarded area as it held some of America’s most important history. This place is protected by armed guards, alarms, minefields, barbed wire, electric fences, camera, and even Apache helicopters.
Conspiracies?
Obviously, this place is off-limits to the public. Some conspiracy theorists believe that the government is hiding something top-secret behind those walls, like the proof of aliens. What’s really inside is 2.4% of all gold ever found in history, which is way more than what other countries have.
RAF Menwith Hill, England
In North Yorkshire, England, there is a bizarre plot of land that is dedicated to intelligence and communications data for the UK and US. It’s basically just a land of huge golf balls. So, what’s the true purpose?
Spying Network?
Naturally, some conspiracy theorists think this is just for spying. Apparently, the Australian government confirmed the existence of a spying network which the US and Britain are in charge of. Both countries have denied the report… But, that doesn’t make it any less true…
The Dulce Base, New Mexico
The Dulce Base in New Mexico is allegedly the home to extraterrestrials intercepted by the US. Some believe that it’s a joint human and alien facility, with the two species working together…
Secret Underground Base
UFO conspiracy theorists believe that there’s an underground part of the base that holds all of the extraterrestrial secrets. There’s no definitive proof that it exists, but has that stopped anyone from believing it?
Mezhgorye, Russia
Rumor has it that the town of Mezhgorye, Russia is the site of a secret missile launch facility. The town around the facility is off-limits, which makes it even sketchier! Who bans people from going into a town?
Secret Bunker
Of course, a secret bunker. Allegedly. Some think a bunker exists underneath the town in case of a nuclear disaster. The structure exists, as the American government has found out, but Russia never said what it is. A former Time Magazine writer claims that the town has 73 nuclear warheads.
Area 51
In the 50s, it was mainly used to test aircrafts. Naturally, the rumors began to swirl around that time since it was very secretive, and many people claimed to have seen UFOs in the area.
Even Airspace Is Restricted
Many people have their suspicions on what’s really going on in the base. If anyone is caught flying over the base, even an unauthorized military plane, they will face harsh punishment. Some think they have alien aircraft on the base, others think that the government is testing top-secret deadly weapons that they don’t want the public to know about. Either way, don’t even try to get near this place: They’re always watching.
Pine Gap, Australia
This is a huge facility is actually just a computer complex with a little more than 1,000 employees. It’s kind of like a ground control station for satellites. But, why is it so secretive?
All About Strategy
This base is actually in the perfect location to control US spy satellites from across the globe. It can even infiltrate US drone strikes in the Middle East.
Chapel of the Ark of the Covenant, Ethiopia
This extremely significant and biblical structure with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Many believe that the Chapel contains the wooden chest with gold inside. Although that fence looks small and unintimidating, it’s supervised for good reason…
The Ten Commandments
Allegedly, inside of the chest is the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. Because of this, no one is allowed into the small church. There is a single monk that watches over the ark and never leaves the grounds.
Jiangsu National Security Education Museum, China
Only Chinese citizens are allowed inside of this museum. It showcases classified documents and equipment used for Chinese spying. No cameras allowed! There’s some sensitive information on display here…
Top-Secret Stuff
The museum has classified documents, secret guns, and old-school uniforms. There’s also sensitive spy information that dates back all the way to 1927!
Mormon Church Secret Fault, Utah
The Mormon Church purchased part of the Cottonwood Canyon and dug a vault 600 feet into it. The purpose was to have a safe haven for storing records, but there are also offices and even a lab for microfilm.
Tons of Storage
They have around 2.4 million rolls of microfilm with 3.5 billion images of family history and genealogical records. Each year, they get about 40,000 new rolls. That’s some hardcore record keeping.
Yanomami Village, Near Brazil
This remote village is far from civilization and has never made contact with the outside world. There are around 100 members who live within that circular structure.
Remote Peoples
It’s recommended that people do not seek out these people as the outsiders could bring in diseases their bodies can’t handle. Plus, they’re living their life happily in solitude. Don’t ruin that.
Zone Rogue, France
This is an area in northeastern France that the French government has deemed off-limits. It was damaged in World War I and hasn’t been safe to enter since…
Human Remains
Another huge reason why the French government doesn’t want to reopen the area is because of the massive amounts of human and animal remains that still lie there from the war. It would be unsafe to let the public roam the area. Their plan is to just let nature take its course.
Svalbard Seed Vault, Norway
A Seed Vault doesn’t sound too crazy, but this exists just in case the world falls into catastrophic chaos and we would need to begin rebuilding our society starting with the seeds in this vault. Hopefully, we won’t ever need to use this thing.
Scary Amount of Seeds
There are 864,000 different types of seeds in here. It can eventually hold up to 4.5 million and houses 1/3 of the world’s most important food crop. These seeds are kept under intense supervision and lock and key. There isn’t one person who knows all of the codes here, so don’t even try getting in.
Ise Grand Shrine, Japan
There are over 100 shrines dedicated to Amaterasu-Omikami, a goddess. There are multiple sacred spiritual objects within the shrines, making this area very valuable.
Heavily Guarded
The only people allowed inside are priests and priestesses of the royal family. The rest of the area is heavily guided by Japanese military and a large fence.
Surtsey, Iceland
This island was formed by volcanic eruptions and has been top priority of scientists for years. It’s evolved from a volcanic landscape to a place thriving with plants and animals, which is very unusual.
Scientific Research
There are 12 species of birds, grey seals, orcas, and multiple types of plants living on the island. This area is closed off to the public so that it can remain completely natural and untouched by humans. Scientists want to continue to study its rhythm.
North Sentinel Island, Andaman Islands
This is a place is extreme controversy. The people who live on this island are referred to as the Sentinelese people. They have been living here, untouched, for thousands of years. They’re known to be hostile…
Hostility Towards Outsiders
For years, researchers have tried to make contact. Each time, they are met with anger, yelling, and spears. The Sentinelese people have killed many outsiders, most recently of missionary John Chau, who decided to try and enter the island on a mission trip. As usual, the tribe attacked and murdered him on the spot.
RAF Menwith Hill
In North Yorkshire, England, there is a bizarre plot of land that is dedicated to intelligence and communications data for the UK and US. It’s basically just a land of huge golf balls.
The Dulce Base
The Dulce Base in New Mexico is allegedly the home to extraterrestrials intercepted by the US. Some believe that it’s a joint human and alien facility, with the two working together.
Mezhgorye, Russia
Rumor has it that the town of Mezhgorye, Russia is the site of a secret missile launch facility. The town around the facility is off limits, which makes it even sketchier!
Area 51
At this point, who doesn’t know about Area 51? It’s by far the most famous military base as many believe that this place is an alien hot spot. In the 50s, it was mainly used to test aircraft’s. Naturally, the rumors began to swirl around that time since it was very secretive, and many people claimed to have seen UFOs in the area.
Disney’s Club 33, Florida
The initiation fee for this Disney club is nearly $40,000. So, what’s so special about it? There are fabulous five-course menus and unlimited alcohol. There are also exclusive resort experiences… Once, there was a 14-year waiting list.
Top Secret
The requirements to get into this club is basically just to be super rich. It’s so top-notch that many people don’t even know about it, even those Disney fanatics.
Lascaux Caves, France
These caves are in Southern France. They’re about 17,500 years old and were formed in the Palaeolithic era. Inside the cave, there are around 2,000 figures of animals, humans, and conceptual art… It’s an incredible find.
Closed To The Public
The cave was opened to the public in WWII but was quickly closed as people didn’t respect the caves. This is why we can’t have nice things.
Moscow Metro-2, Russia
Metro-2 is an apparent underground metro system that runs parallel to the public Moscow Metro. It was built during Stalin’s ruling. The Russian government has never given an official comment on the railway…
Secret Operations
Stalin had this built for secret services and heads of state to use. Allegedly, there are four lines connecting a central location to KGB outposts. Putin has followed in Stalin’s footsteps and kept this pretty secret…
Room 39, North Korea
Room 39 is a secret operation in North Korea. It was established by Kim Il-Sun in the 70s, but no one knows the true origin or what really goes on within the confines of the organization… Of course, there are theories.
Lots of Money
Some think that they produce controlled substances, others think they do counterfeiting. Supposedly, they contain over a dozen bank accounts in China and Switzerland… And, they someone bring it between $500 million and $1 billion a year.
Snake Island, Brazil
This is an island off the coast of Brazil that has tons of rare and native snakes, for some reason. They are extremely endangered, so anyone without clearance that enters the island is trespassing and can face some serious legal consequences.
Protecting the Snakes
It’s mainly protected so that humans won’t disrupt the harmony of these snakes. Also, if they let just anyone onto the island, they would probably get hurt, too. There are between 2,000 and 4,000 snakes on this little island.
Chernobyl, Ukraine
COn April 2nd, 1988, a nuclear reactor exploded and spewed out radioactive particles everywhere. Many died in the town of Chernobyl. The surrounding area is extremely toxic and off-limits.
Health Risks
There are no secrets to this (supposedly). The government simply wants people to stay away from the ultimate radiation poisoning that they will get if they enter the premise. It’ll be about 20,000 years for this to return to normal.
Poveglia, Italy
Poveglia is a small island located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. The last time residents lived on the island was in 1379. They all fled because of an impending war. In 1776, the island became a place to quarantine sick victims…
Mental Hospital
After it was a quarantine island, it became a mental hospital in 1876. The hospital closed in 1968, and the island lays abandoned. The Italian government does not keep up with the island and has deemed it unsafe. They’d rather you not visit it, but sometimes people can’t help it… Oh, and it’s probably haunted.
The Negev Nuclear Research Center, Isreal
The Negev Nuclear Research Center is in Isreal, about 13 km from Dimona. It was constructed in 1958 with the assistance of France. The info about this place is really hard to get…
Research?
Israel has said that this is just for simple research, but many don’t believe it. The nuclear reactor could possibly produce nuclear materials for weapons. A former technician who fled from the country to the UK relayed top-secret information on each building on the site and that there was even more underneath… There’s no way to prove it, but many suspect that Israel are probably up to no good here.
Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China
This place is home to the famous Terracotta Army. The army guards the tomb of China’s first emperor. The Chinese government has done an incredible job of keeping it safe from the public…
How Many?
The army has about 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 calvary horses. China wants to keep this safe so that the public doesn’t harm the work.
Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, Virginia
This is FEMA’s center of operations. Dick Cheney and members of Congress were held here during 9/11. There offices, dorms, and a dining room in a location safely outside the city of D.C. Naturally, this is a pretty top-secret area where civilians are not. allowed to enter…
National Disasters
It’s basically designed to keep top officials safe during times of crises, mainly natural disasters. The center was brought to light when a plane crashed near the base and the Washington Post found it.
Aokigahara – Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
“Suicide Forest” os near Mount Fuji, situated in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It’s known for being a huge and dense forest that many sad souls come to in order to end their life. It’s noted that between 50-100 people commit suicide here annually.
Capuchin Catacombs – Palermo, Sicily, Italy
These Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo are burial crypts in Sicily, Italy. This is a pretty gruesome tourist attraction! There are about 8,000 mummies within those walls.
Coca-Cola Vault, Georgia
Coca-Cola kept their recipe locked behind this vault in Atlanta. Tourists used to be able to tour the area, but that isn’t the case anymore. Other than this vault, They have a 4-D theater with moving seats and a 7-foot-tall animatronic Polar Bear to pose with!
Why So Secret?
Simply put, they don’t want anyone near this top-secret recipe. Even though the patent is under lock and key, Coke manufacturers just don’t want to risk it. Plus, it looks kinda cool.
The Google Data Centers
The Google Data Center sounds pretty terrifying, right? There are tons of rooms with CPUs containing trillions of bits of data. Naturally, Google does not release these rooms to the public. Honestly, who would want to see this in person? Sounds kinda overwhelming! It’s a lot of information just at your fingertips…
This Can’t Get Into Bad Hands
If you want to get near this data, you’ll have to get through fences, checkpoints, biometric iris scans, and have the absolutely correct badges. In other words, you’re not getting in, don’t even try.
The Bank of England Vaults, England
This is the second oldest central bank in the world and it is completely off-limits to the public. There are hundreds of thousands of gold bars inside, and they aren’t messing around! The keys to open the vault are three feet long, for some reason. An estimated 156 billion pounds reside within this vault.
Under Lock and Key
Not many people can get past these vault walls. Even the Queen herself has to make impressive accommodations to get in! It would make sense since they’re housing billions of dollars in this single vault…
Vatican Secret Archives, Italy
Naturally, Vatican City will have some off-limits parts. A lot of the documents that the Vatican holds have significant importance to Catholic and Italian history. Galileo’s trial transcripts, letters from Abraham Lincoln, and even letters from King Henry VIII are held here.
Unfavorable History
It’s extremely hard to get access to these records. Usually, only specific scholars will get a strict six-month member access to this for their research. Tourists and journalists are strictly off limits… Probably to hide some unfavorable things.
Bohemian Grove, California
Bohemian Grove hosts a two-week excursion every year with some very prominent and wealthy men. This encampment is located on 3,000 acres of land in Monte Rio, California. After 40 years of membership, they earn “Old Guard” status, which means they are in charge. Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and Edwin W. Pauley were members. So, what was the controversy?
Invite Only
Most people would call this a secret society (looks pretty evident by that photo!) This was basically a bunch of adult men doing rituals in order to make sure they are “worthy” of being in the club… Yeah, like hazing. There are deep secrets within the grounds of the club, so no outsiders is allowed near it.
Diavik Diamond Mine
This region produces 3,100 pounds of diamonds a year. Since they are constantly digging in the Earth’s crust, there is a huge hole that is constantly open up in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
Mirrny Diamond Mine
This mine is 1,700 feet deep and 3,900 feet wide in the middle of Russia. Underground mining here has been active since 2009, but it’s extremely restricted.
Island of the Dolls, Mexico
The Island of Dolls is ticked away deeply south of Mexico City. It’s a popular tourist attraction because of all of the creepy dolls.
Bran Castle, Romania
Dracula’s Castle is a national monument in Romania. Vlad the Impaler lived here hundreds of years ago. He was best known for his barbaric way of living, including impaling the heads of his enemies and displaying them outside of the castle.
The North Yungas Road, Bolivia
This is a TWO-WAY road in Bolivia. Yes, two-way. Somehow. There’s pretty much no room for error on this 12-foot-wide path. It’s about a 2,000-foot drop down that hill.
The Village of Nagoro, Japan
This village is facing a drop in population over the years. The young people who grew up here are moving out, leaving the elders behind. Artist Ayano Tsukimi moved back one year to find it a desolate ghost town. She decided to create life-size dolls to place around the village to give it more “life.” Not sure if that’s the most fun idea, but it seems to work!
The Door to Hell ,Turkmenistan
This is a natural gas crater in Turkmenistan. It’s a direct result of a natural gas field that collapsed back in 1971.
Hanging Coffins of Sagada, Philippines
These hanging coffins are actually a part of cliffside burials that were pretty common hundreds of years ago. The placement of the coffins corresponded with status. The placement also prevented animals from getting the bodies.
Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital, Germany
This place used to be a sanatorium to house people ill with tuberculosis. Later, it was made into a military hospital during WWI. Rumor has it that Hitler had even been treated here at one point.
Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic
There are about 40,000 skeletons residing in this chapel. Their bones have been arranged as if they were ornate decorations. It’s a very popular tourist attraction in the Czech Republic.
Centralia, Pennsylvania
Centralia is a mining town in Pennsylvania that is nearly completely abandoned. There are about seven people that still live there, although government officials don’t believe it is safe. It was evacuated in 1962 because of underground fires in the mines. They’ve been burning ever since.
Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland
This Nazi concentration camp is where about 1.1 million Jewish prisoners died. It’s one of the most famous of WWII because of all of the horror stories that came out of it. It was also one of the biggest.
Beelitz Sanatorium, Germany
The Beelitz Sanatorium is a huge campus of 60-buildings that housed tons of patients. Since it was abandoned, a lot of people have broken in and made it a graffiti haven.
Hill of Crosses, Lithuania
No one knows the true reason for this bizarre crucifix graveyard. There are about 250,000 crosses.
Freeman Ranch, Texas
This is a plot of land in Texas that is designated solely for forensic anthropology. Officials place real human remains to rot so students can see the decomposition process.
Oradour-sur-Glane, France
This used to be a small and quiet village before the Nazi Germans came through and massacred it to the ground. This site now serves as a memorial to the victims lost in the Holocaust.
Akodessewa Fetish Market, Togo
This is one of the biggest voodoo markets in the world. They even offer human skulls…
Kolmanskop, Namibia
After WWI, this diamond-field was exhausted of its resources. The town started to decline and was officially abandoned in 1954.
Tugboat Graveyard, New York
These tugboats have been neglected at a port in Staten Island. It’s pretty much a rusty wasteland and looks straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie.
Lier Sykehus, Norway
Yet another creepy abandoned hospital! This campus is mainly abandoned, but some buildings still have living occupants. Squatters tend to call this home… Those the ones who can stand the ghosts!
Niihau, Hawaii
Although this is technically Hawaii, this island is very desolate. They have no phone wires, paved roads, stores, or restaurants. It’s run off of solar power and the water is simply from rainwater catching. Elizabeth Sinclair, plantation owner in New Zealand and Hawaii, purchased the island for $10,000 in 1864…
Conservation Purposes
Anyone who lives on the island has had family there for centuries. The owners descendants have decided that it should remain as natural as it can be. It’s closed off to the public. Government officials, the Robinson family, and invited guests are the only ones allowed to enter and explore.
Woomera Prohibited Area, Australia
The WRC is a spot for the Australian military and aerospace facility. Here, they test war material. This is known as the largest land-based test range in the West.
Why So Secret?
Basically, Australia just wants to be left alone, especially in their warfare testing. They are also testing aerospace travel, which means that the airspace has to be restricted.
Marianas Trench, Pacific Ocean
Honestly, getting here is just difficult. It’s the deepest known place in the ocean… Only three people have successfully made it to the bottom.
National Monument
Weirdly enough, the US declared this a National Monument. It’s so deep, that if you dropped Mount Everest into the trench, it would be completely submerged with 1.2 miles to spare.