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

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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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  (#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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  (#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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  (#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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  (#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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  (#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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