There are many hidden secrets that Earth holds. However, in this blog, we have tried to cover the facts you would not be aware of even as an avid traveler.
Here are 10 secret places on our beautiful planet that are impossible for even travelers to explore.
Travel is a peaceful experience. Traveling the world means exploring the frontiers of human nature and nature itself. When you travel, you come out of the confines of the typical cultural bubble. How could anyone be uninterested in that? Instead, you meet new people, try fresh foods, listen to fascinating lectures, and see incredible vistas.
However, we do not have access to every part of our world. Some are secret, concealed, and restricted zones that no human hand can enter unless they have the necessary credentials.
Continue reading to learn what secrets may be hidden behind the metaphorical locked doors of the world’s most exclusive locations. Here are ten hidden gems on the planet that are nearly impossible to explore.
The White’s Gentlemen Club, UK
London’s White’s is often regarded as the world’s most elite private club, as well as the city’s oldest. An Italian immigrant opened it in 1693 as a hot chocolate store. However, it quickly became a popular gambling site and gentlemen’s club, eventually settling as exclusive. Since then, White’s has worked hard to maintain its exclusivity.
Only a small number of people are permitted to join. Though the name (ideally) does not imply any racial bias, the type is essentially sexist: as is pretty evident, no women are permitted to join. There are no impoverished people here, either: the signup price is among the highest in the world. Male members of the British Royal Family have traditionally been members of the club, but even the Queen is only permitted to enter the premises on infrequent occasions. She’s only been inside the building twice in her whole life.
But why would you want to go there with such blatant and unapologetic elitism? I suppose exclusivity’s allure is alluring—but it’s also alluringly superficial.
Disney Club 33, USA
Talking about exclusivity, Club 33, a once-secret hideaway deep under Disney’s hidden halls, is an exclusive site only a few select members and their guests get to see. The Club 33 restaurant, a private jazz lounge called Le Salon Nouveau, and the enigmatic salon 1901 are the top-tier resort experiences available only to them. It’s also the only location in town that serves alcohol during regular business hours—talk about a unique selling point!
If you want to join, you’ll need two things: a lot of money and a lot of patience. Since 2011, there has been a 14-year waitlist to join Club 33, and each Corporate member must pay a $40,000 initiation fee (or $25,000 if you only want the basic individual membership) plus about $10,000 in annual fees. That’s a hefty fee to pay only to consume alcoholic beverages within Disney Parks.
Area 51, USA
Area 51 in Lincoln County, Nevada, has long been shrouded in mystery as one of the world’s most famous non-secret secrets. This US Air Force base has sparked a slew of conspiracy and disguise stories that have captivated audiences all across the globe. Is it UFOs and aliens? Is this some top-secret technology? Only a few people are aware, and it’s unlikely that anyone you know is one of them.
If you’re just a regular traveler, don’t bother: you won’t be allowed to visit. There may be no fences around the perimeter, but any human intruders will be greeted with fatal force by the military, so don’t even attempt.
Poveglia, Italy
Poveglia is a small island off Venice, Italy, with a strange—and creepy—history. This site was used as a quarantine island for diseased people, particularly plague victims, during the 18th century. When the plague was discovered on two ships around that period, the crews were brought to Poveglia, where most of them died alone.
A psychiatric hospital was erected on the island in the early 1900s, centuries later. According to reports, a doctor experimented on his victims with anything from lobotomies to electroshock. Finally, he ascended the hospital’s highest tower and jumped after being driven insane by what he believed were ghosts tormenting him and the entire town of Poveglia. His spirit is reported to be still haunted by the other phantoms around the island’s coast.
As a result, there appears to be excellent cause to avoid the area. Even if you were insane enough to want to go, access to the Poveglia is limited. We’re not sure why.
North Sentinel Island, India
Have you ever heard of those fascinating tribes that have never had any touch with the outside world? They do not know today’s scientific, technological developments, international history, or the world’s leaders’ wars, nations, or petty brawls—like a real-life time capsule, forever frozen in a timeless moment, or, rather, in their private history. One such tribe is the people of India’s North Sentinel Island. But, unfortunately, we don’t have the authority to change it.
The Indian government has declared that no outsiders are allowed to visit the island for two reasons: first, outsiders are likely at a major risk of spreading diseases to which the island’s residents are immune. So it may end up killing the tribe—much like the Spanish did with the plague that killed a large section of Mesoamerica’s population. Second, for the sheer importance of keeping one of the world’s most endangered tribes alone and unaffected. So, while the island itself isn’t hidden, what is within it is. So the simple answer is, NO, you won’t be able to visit, but you can admire what the island represents from afar.
Snake Island, Brazil
Snake Island, commonly known as Ilha do Queimada Grande, is a terrible location to visit. But you can’t, for better or worse. Because the island is teeming with very venomous snakes, a single bite from one may kill an adult human within an hour. To give you an idea of the overwhelming quantity of deadly reptiles on the island, some estimates put the amount at one snake per square meter.
Ilha da Queimada Grande is also the only place in the world where the critically endangered Bothrops Insularis can be found (the golden lancehead pit viper). Any unauthorized visit to the island is therefore strictly prohibited for the sake of both humans and snakes. And why would you want to visit a snake-infested area in the first place?
Ise Grand Shrine, Japan
There is a shrine in Japan, and what lies within it is a secret that only members of the Imperial Family are allowed to see. The shrine was erected for Amaterasu-omikami, the sun goddess, and it is considered so sacred that only a member of the holy lineage can serve as its custodian. As a result, it is Japan’s most sacred location. Isn’t it intriguing?
Heard Island, Australia
A mystery Australian territory is two-thirds of the way between Madagascar and Antarctica in a remote part of the ocean. Heard Island is a pure (nearly) unspoiled piece of land. Yet, the Australian government seeks to maintain this status quo.
This island is one of the world’s most isolated locales, meaning it is much removed from civilization than practically anywhere else. Only a select few are permitted to visit, and those who do must have compelling scientific reasons for doing so.
Surtsey Island, Iceland
Countless islands have evolved throughout Earth’s history due to massive underwater volcanic eruptions that pushed sediment above sea level. Surtsey Island, named after a Norse fire giant, is one. Surtsey was formed over four years by an explosion. It happened in the 1960s, and scientists have been fascinated by its developments and processes, ranging from erosion to bio-colonization.
Surtsey is off-limits to non-scientists, mostly because scientists want to know what happens when no humans are there. What kinds of species live there, how long it takes them to get there, and how they manage to colonize it are all issues that can’t be answered if some young boys try to plant potato plants on its surface—yes, it occurred.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway
A safe vault in the heart of Spitsbergen Island, Norway, houses something priceless—so valuable that no one is allowed to interfere with it. Seeds.
That’s correct. The Svalbard Worldwide Seed Vault houses a diverse collection of seeds from around the world in the event of a global disaster—a sort of pips-only Noah’s ark. As a result, the vault is well-protected to prevent contamination or interference with our world’s priceless history. Indeed, that is a noble purpose.
Many more destinations are off-limits to the average traveler, but these should give us a good idea of what we’re missing out on out there. What are your thoughts? Which one do you want to go to?
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