Travelling

Think negligent pollution and masking the CO2 emissions of your factory are bad? This desert land in Nevada has endured more than 900 nuclear detonations at the hands of the US government. The testing ground – from which the iconic “mushroom cloud” gained prominence – was always a pretty barren wasteland; now it’s a barren wasteland with extremely high levels of radiation (above and below ground) which are carried on the wind to southern Utah. It is a point of controversy as to whether or not the testing is actually having a significant effect on the health of those in nearby areas; however it’s beyond doubt that the plains of Nevada themselves have been blasted, burned, scorched and razed beyond any hope of life. The Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) is located among 1,300 square miles of desert in the American Southwest. The NNSS is the location of decades of nuclear testing including the Yucca Flats, dubbed “the most bombed place on Earth.” Unsurprisingly, given this concent...

Asbestos used to be valuable commodity but, as we know, it also brings with it a host of dangerous illnesses. Wittenoom was once home to the only blue asbestos mines in Australia and they shipped over 150,000 tons of the toxic material across the world when productive. Eventually the health hazards became a priority and the town was abandoned; I mean properly abandoned. With six confirmed inhabitants today, even those now decades removed from the small settlement are being attacked by fatal illnesses such as mesothelioma, a brutal cancer which affects the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Asbestos was used in gardens, school and just about anywhere they could find a use for it. The end result is that everyone living there was invariably exposed to its brutal toxicity and it’s estimated that 25% of people living there will eventually die because of it sooner or later. Much like the Pennsylvania ghost town, Wittenoom was once a mining town and has been all but completely abandoned....

Want a description of what absolute pollution looks like? In Norilsk, the snowfall is literally black. As the largest heavy metal smelting city in the world, it emits almost unfathomable amounts of copper and nickel oxide as well as sulphur dioxide. What that boils down to is an inhospitable zone where the air tastes like sulphur, chronic respiratory and pulmonary diseases abound and the average life expectancy is a decade short of the national average. While death rates are reputedly on the decline, Norilsk is still a veritable death-trap; somewhat fitting for a place which originally served as a Siberian slave labour camp. Isolated and hidden north of the Arctic Circle, there isn’t a living tree within 30 miles of this Russian city.

We love apocalypse stories: ghost towns, barren streets, and that air of absolute mystery makes us feel giddy and excited. Centralia is a real-world ghost town and it’s about as close to a literal hell on Earth as you’re likely to find. A coal-mining powerhouse in its heyday, a ferocious fire tore the town apart and started a chain-reaction underground which has burned ever since. Poisonous smoke filters up through the ground to this day but has long since killed of any sign of plant life on the surface. The toxic carbon monoxide that flooded the town started an evacuation of the entire population and has left nothing but a barren wasteland in its wake. Home now only to graffiti and occasional daredevil sightseers, Centralia is one of the most deadly places on earth. To this day the ground is still warm to the touch, even in the depths of winter… Barring Chernobyl, Centralia is probably the most famous of these "waste lands," and proves just as interesting. Centralia was...

With an average life expectancy of just over 40 years old, Dzerzhinsk has gained a despicable renown as one of the most heavily polluted cities in the entire world. For over 70 years, this near cesspit was subject to the dumping of 300,000 tons of chemical waste, including some of the most dangerous neurotoxins in existence. Dioxin is effectively a highly toxic organic pollutant which, in 2007, infected some drinking water in Dzerzhinsk to such a degree that levels were found to be 17 million times above the safe limit. With landfills leaking toxic waste into nearby water supplies and a birth rate less than half the death rate in 2003, Dzerzhinsk is an abominable wasteland where, simply put, you don’t go.

Mercury poisoning is barbaric; it can cause formication, tachycardia, and even have your skin shred itself from your body. In can cause sensory impairment and the effects on younger children are even more varied. Kalimantan is a gold-mining hotspot on Borneo where most of the ore is mixed with mercury. Local smelters buy the newly-mined gold and burn off the mercury to leave the pure gold behind. However, by doing this in their own homes, therefore trapping the extremely poisonous gas inside, they invariably cause serious damage their own health. The gold mining industry here provides a livelihood for thousands of people on the island but decades of persistent mining and interaction with mercury has poisoned a great number of the population. Such a dense concentration of mercury will cause irreparable damage to the health of any who live in that area; making it a terribly hazardous environment.

Renowned for its health resort, Hazaribagh is also notorious as a colossal pollutant of the Buriganga River, into which its 270 tanneries unceremoniously dump thousands of tons of horrifically toxic waste every single day. Most workers in these outdated, crude factories have their homes constructed close to water sources (streams, canals, etc.) which are now immutably infested with hexavalent chromium, a powerful carcinogenic: an agent directly involved with causing cancer. The extreme disregard for safe waste-disposal/working practice – like leather recyclers who simply burn leather scraps and release the toxic fumes into the atmosphere – are contaminating the air and water of Hazaribagh and risking the livelihood of every single person who calls that wasteland home.

Literally translated as “Slaughter River,” the Matanza basin is a 40-mile stretch of effective landfill carrying disease and toxic water south of the Argentinian capital. Some 20,000 people are forced to live on its grimy banks; shared with thousands of industrial sites which infect the basin with dangerous contaminants – like heavy metals and literally tonnes of oil and petrochemicals – until very few areas contain anything even resembling safe drinking water. The local children are known for the extraordinarily high levels of lead and chrome in their blood, inducing a long list of malignant health issues. Nearly two-thirds of those living by the Matanza banks are in a squalor deemed “unsuitable for human habitation.”

The Devil’s Kettle, Minnesota The Devil‘s Kettle waterfallWHERE DOES IT GO??? Yet another attraction with a name that doesn’t correlate to its beauty, the Devil’s Kettle is a waterfall found in Minnesota’s Judge C.R. Magney State Park. It looks like any other normal waterfall, right? Wrong. The two-pronged falls have been baffling geologists, visitors and just about every other person who reads about it, for generations. What makes this natural wonder so weirdly mysterious is that, while one part of the Brule River drops down a stone shelf like your average waterfall, nobody knows where the water from the other half actually goes. It simply flows into a hole in the rocks and vanishes. People have tossed items into the pothole and searched the lake far and wide for their whereabouts but to no avail. Maybe the devil’s lair is down there somewhere, kitted out with all the free gifts thrown in (although we’re not about to jump in and find out).

Racing rock in death valley Here’s a spooky mystery that needs solving. For years there has been a number of theories that have tried to explain why large rocks move across flat dirt in one of the driest, hottest places on earth. Over the decades, people have been amazed by the trails left behind by rocks that appear to have moved on their own. Despite several people claiming terrestrial forces play a part, the most feasible theory comes from brothers Richard and James Norris, who state that ice forms under the stones overnight causing them to move and leave a trail. We’ll stick with the alien theory though (it’s a lot more fun).

Danger Feature – Extreme temperatures and storms Situated near the border of Nevada and California, Death Valley derives its name from a very terrible reason. Extremes of temperatures prevail in this valley, causing great uneasiness to people living here and to those who come unprepared for the harsh weather conditions. Summers are uncomfortably hot here, with temperatures reaching up to 56.7 °C (134 °F). Winters in this area reach dangerously low temperatures, threatening the lives of humans and animals here. Also, storms in the mountains surrounding Death Valley can easily cause sudden flooding.

Danger Feature: Mysterious disappearances One of the most popular and dangerous places around the world, the Bermuda Triangle is a much-feared area. It is a very vaguely defined stretch of the Atlantic Ocean roughly triangulated between Florida, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. For several years, the Bermuda Triangle has become famous for many mysterious disappearances. These disappearances have been justified with many possible reasons ranging from magnetic force to aliens. Although most of these cases have been given logical and rational explanations, some of them still remain a mystery. One of the most dangerous places to travel to, the Bermuda Triangle is for those who are built of curiosity and adventure.

Danger Feature: Deprivation of essential human rights Considered to be a totalitarian dictatorship, North Korea is a country in Eastern Asia. It is known to have the worst provisions for human rights. Locals and tourists, both can be arrested for matters that those living in democratic countries consider normal. This country can be particularly dangerous for American tourists due to the worsening relations between North Korea and The United States. With only 15 approved haircuts and 3 television channels, North Korea is a place where human faeces are used as a fertilizer. Also, punishment for crime goes on for three generations here. Intimidating, this country is a difficult place to live in and travel to.

Danger Feature: Poverty and ensuing conditions Having one of the African continent’s worst slums, the West Point, Monrovia is the capital of the country of Liberia. Regardless of the rough living conditions, about 75,000 people crowd this slum. Infested with epidemics of cholera, crime, drug abuse, teenage prostitution, and severe deprivation of sanitation facilities, the West Point is an uncontrolled, merciless slum. Monrovia suffers from severe environmental hazards such as floods and pollution. Almost every breath taken here can be a very tiring struggle. Truly one of the most dangerous places in the world to live in and travel to, Monrovia needs to be handled with care.

Danger Feature: Extremely low temperatures Thousands of miles towards the east of Moscow, located in the heart of Siberia is the Russian village of Oymyakon. Having scarily low temperatures for a permanently inhabited place, it is one of the coldest places in the world. The lowest temperature to be recorded here was -71.2 °C (-96.2 °F). Only 500 people live here with great difficulty and barely manage to survive the harsh weather conditions. They live on the edge, unsure of whether their bodies will sustain them until the next morning. Mobiles phones do not function in such cold climates, and hardly any crops grow here.

Danger Feature: Drought Bordering the famous Sahara Desert of Africa is the region of Sahel. Several decades before, this region was nowhere close to the word ‘danger’. The recent times have converted it to an extremely uninhabitable place. Humans have exploited the area’s limited water resources. Instead of making fair use of their resources, they have been very careless exploiting it. This has resulted in continued large-scale desertification of the land. No form of life can thrive here for long due to the unavoidable risk of drought and famine. For 12 years, between 1972 and 1984, more than one lakh people had to breathe their last because of drought. The Sahel is a classic example of the kind of damage people do to themselves in the long run so that they can experience momentary satisfaction.

Danger Feature: Kidnapping, Volcanoes, and Geysers Spread across northeastern Ethiopia, southern Eritrea, and northwestern Djibouti is the Danakil Desert of East Africa. Known far and wide for its volcanoes and geysers that give out many toxic gases and unbearable heat, this dessert is one of the most adverse and most dangerous places around the world. Daytime temperatures often surpass the extremes of 50 °C (122 °F), making it a gruesome place to visit or live in. Also, Eritrea is very prone to many inhuman conflicts, elevating the levels of danger here. These conflicts even increase the risk of getting kidnapped. Either natural or humanmade, hazards and disasters abound in the Danakil Desert.

Ranked first among the world’s most dangerous places around the world, Syria is a country in Western Asia. Known to be a consistent target for wars and the chaos that follows, the inhabitants always live in fear of encountering death. Ongoing violent conflicts cause severe destruction to life and property. Even if the country attempts to recover from the damage, it will again be reduced to bits and pieces very soon. Syria has experienced bombardments of residential areas, lengthy sieges, chemical weapon attacks, starvation, and medical care deprivation. Completely war-torn, this country is a very dangerous place to live in. Despite being an important historical site of the Middle East, it is not entirely safe for visitors either.

The last one in our list is the palace where the mysterious massacre of the Royal Family took place. The gruesome story of the beloved Nepal prince killing his father and other 7 members by shooting them as he was drunk, or it is said so. This ghastly incident took place at the ancient Narayanhity Royal Palace which is considered as one of the haunted places in Nepal. An eminent tourist spot, the Royal Palace is still haunted, and many tourists have agreed to it. Though many religious rituals were performed but the locals still hear gunshots, people crying and shouting at the Royal Palace. Ready to meet the Royal Palace prince and ask him why he killed his family? Location: Narayanhiti Palace Museum North Gate Rd, Kathmandu

Let’s start our gut-churning list of the haunted places in Nepal with stunning Raniban, located at the Achham District in Nepal. Once the place was visited for witnessing splendid sunrise and sunsets but now it is more of a spot where people are scared to even go. Locals have reported hearing voices of a woman crying and some have even felt an evil but powerful spirit trying to connect with them. Ask the locals and they will tell you about the story of a woman who was raped and murdered at this spot. Call it nature’s justice or done by the woman’s spirit, but the obnoxious man who did the disgraceful act was found hanging from the tree. Till today the locals are terrified to even go near the tree as they believe it is haunted. Wanna see the deadly sunrise and sunset now? Location: Achham District, Nepal

From its churning, sometimes stormy atmosphere to its shifting tectonic plates, Earth can be a dangerous place. Earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters killed more than 780,000 people between 2009 and 2009, according to the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat. Millions more were injured or displaced. No one knows how the next decade will shape out, but some areas have more reason to worry than others. A silent killer lurks beneath the surface of this West African lake. A pocket of magma deep below the lake bed leaks carbon dioxide into the lake above. Under the pressure of 650 feet (200 meters) of water, this carbon dioxide stays dissolved, much like the carbonation in a bottle of soda. But on the night of August 21, 1986, the water in the lake abruptly turned over, and the now-depressurized carbon dioxide exploded upward like a shaken soft drink. The resulting carbon dioxide cloud rushed downhill, asphyxiating 1,700 people and thousands mor...

North Yungas Road is known as the “Death Road” for all the right reasons that you can guess. Driving up or down this 43-mile (69-kilometer) switchback is extremely dangerous because of fog, landslides, waterfalls and cliffs falling 2,000 feet (610 meters) in each turn. Until 1994, almost 300 drivers were killed every year, justifying its nickname and putting it in the list of the most dangerous places to visit in the world. The road extends far enough to connect the Amazon rainforest to the capital city, surrounded by mountainous terrain. This means that merchants were not unusual to cram into trucks and buses trying to sell their wood and crops in the area. The hairpin turns, however, were not wide enough for each vehicle — further leading many trucks to go down with people and their livelihoods. In hindi, उत्तरी युंगस रोड को उन सभी सही कारणों के लिए "डेथ रोड" के रूप में जाना जाता है जिन्हें आप अनुमान लगा सकते हैं। कोहरे, भूस्खलन, जलभराव और चट्टानों के...

Situated in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati is known for Lord Venkateshwara Temple, one of the most visited pilgrimage centres in the country. Tirumala is one of the seven hills in Tirupati, where the main temple is located. The temple is believed to be place where Lord Venkateshwara took the form of an idol and is hence. Home to the diety also known as Balaji and Govinda, Tirupati is one of the oldest cities of India and finds mention in plenty of ancient Vedas and Puranas.  The non-stop chanting of ‘Om Namo Venkatesaya’, the mad pilgrim rush and the 8-feet tall idol of Lord Venkateshwara – everything about the Sri Venkateshwara Temple is majestic. Spread over an area of 26 kilometres and visited by nearly 50,000 pilgrims every day, the temple is also commonly referred to as the Temple of Seven Hills. There are other temples in Tirupati too that you can visit, including the Sri Kalahasti temple, Sri Govindarajaswami Temple, the Kondan...

Not everyone who travels to the Salt Lake City Temple is allowed inside the walls, but that doesn't mean they can't enjoy its splendor. Only temple recommended Mormons may step foot inside the structure, which is used for special instruction and ordinances, such as celestial marriages. But the view from outside the temple is inspirational enough. The Neo-Gothic building, which was dedicated in 1893, took 40 years to construct. Except for some of its hardware and glass, the temple was built completely of native materials. With five floors, six spires -- the tallest standing at 210 feet -- and a granite facade, the structure is definitely imposing. Salt Lake Temple is at the heart of Temple Square, three blocks containing nearly 20 attractions significant to Latter-day Saints' life and history, such as Assembly Hall and the Salt Lake City Tabernacle. In 2011, Temple Square saw about 2,750,000 visitors from all over the world. And for those not allowed inside the ...

Although it is a modern mosque in Michigan, inspiration for the  Islamic Center of America  came from venerable houses of worship in Turkey, India and other countries. With a stone-carved edifice and fiberglass dome, the mosque's design is distinct. Inside, visitors will find crystal chandeliers, imported granite and a prayer room decorated with Islamic motifs and calligraphy of Quranic verses created by a Lebanese artist. The 65,000-square-foot facility services nearly 5,000 families in a city with one of the largest Arab-Muslim populations in the United States. This site has only been open since 2005, but the Islamic Center of America has been serving America's Muslims since 1962. Guests often are impressed with the mosque's beauty, but what they are most awed by is the center's openness, said Kassem Allie, the center's executive administrator. "What people are kind of surprised about is we are so open to visitation and dialogue and collaboration,...