By: Joshua Chiedu …….
The world is filled with so many awe-inspiring attractions, many of which will make travelers pause and scratch their heads and then look again in bewilderment. Some are not just strange but outright morbid and creepy. Such attractions are worth visiting as they reveal a different part of the earth many people do not get to see.
From the upside-down house in Poland to the bizarre sea of bones under the streets of Paris, here are some of the strangest attractions in the world that will leave one’s jaws literally dropped.
Lake Hillier, Australia
Ever since it was discovered by Matthew Finders in January 1802, Lake Hillier has been known as one of the strangest places in the world. This is because of its bizarre bubble gum pink color that just makes it look so edible, even though it would be dangerous to drink it due to its incredibly high salt content.
The lake’s pink color is said to be caused by the presence of bacteria and microorganisms in the water, which makes it retain the pink color even when transferred into another vessel. The lake is located beside the deep blue Indian Ocean, which even adds to its beauty and makes it incredibly mesmerizing, especially when viewed from a helicopter.
- Location: Middle Island, Western Australia
For those wondering how to see Lake Hillier, the best way is via a scenic flightseeing tour.
Easter Island, Chile
Of all the things to know before visiting Easter Island, one is that it’s super remote and not that easy to reach (but it is possible). Far away in the Valparaiso Region of Chile lies Easter Island – a place inhabited by Rapa Nui people for hundreds of years. While inhabiting the island, they created approximately a thousand monuments known as Moai to honor their ancestors.
What makes this island particularly strange is that no one really knows why the society that occupied it collapsed mysteriously. Some claim the population was destroyed by starvation and cannibalism, while others claim it was because of the introduction of western diseases and slave raids.
Regardless of whether one knows the true story or not, the island remains one of the strangest spots in the world, and its remote location far away from the rest of the world makes it even more confusing.
- Location: Southeastern Pacific Ocean, Polynesian Triangle, Oceania
Related: 8 Things To Do On Easter Island: Complete Guide To Chile’s Mysterious Ancient Land
Upside Down House, Poland
Houses are usually built with roofs facing the sky, but the upside-down house in Poland totally dumps this idea in the trash can by turning its head upside down. Everything from the roof of the house to the ceiling and the furniture also follows this weird pattern, so instead of walking on a floor, visitors will be walking on a ceiling.
The house was completed in 2007, and it was built to be a statement about the instability of the communist era in Poland. Today, it’s one of the weirdest attractions in the world (but still undeniably cool).
- Location: Szymbarkich Zakladnikow 12, Szymbark 83-323, Poland
Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
Danakil Depression is not just strange but also extremely dangerous. This area in the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia is a place of fierce geothermal activity and extreme heat. It is known as the hottest place on earth in terms of year-round average temperatures, and it also features a kind of landscape that makes it look like a completely otherworldly place.
Visiting a location like this will make travelers feel like they are on Mars, but before visiting, however, it is also worth noting that this is one of the most extreme places in the world to visit.
- Location: Afar Triangle, Ethiopia
Serpent d’Océan, France
France is known for many impressive works of art, but none is as bewildering as Serpent d’Océan on the coast of Saint-Brevin-les-pins. Built in 2012, this attraction is a depiction of the skeleton of a giant twisting sea serpent.
The skeleton is 130 meters in length, and even though it is not a real serpent, just a look at such an attraction is enough to leave one mesmerized.
- Location: Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, Loire-Atlantique, France
- Admission: Free
The Catacombs, France
No one stacks bones of dead people inside a tunnel, right? The Catacombs of Paris have come to prove that thought wrong. This attraction, located under the streets of the city, is the final resting place of about six million Parisians. And it’s not that these remains (which are mostly bones) were buried inside the ground; they were instead stacked up on the walls inside the tunnel.
Walking through the tunnel really feels like walking through the city of the dead, where one can touch skulls and other body parts of unknown people. The bones are even beautifully arranged, and from afar, it almost looks like the well-arranged stall of an Arabian trader.
“It’s almost like a warehouse of human bones.”
Now that’s just incredibly spooky, especially with the sign on the main entrance that’s translated to ” Stop! This is the empire of the Dead.”
- Address: 1 av. du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, 75014 Paris, France
- Admission: €29 for adults ($32.60), €10 for children ($11.25)
Vinicunca, Peru
Although more beautiful than strange, Vinicunca is a mountain in Peru decorated with several beautiful colors. Some parts of the mountain even feature secondary colors that can only be derived from a mixture of two primary colors.
It almost looks like the mountain was deliberately painted by an artist, but the colors are actually the results of geological activity that have occurred on the mountain over time. While visiting this mountain may not evoke the kind of uneasy feeling that the serpent skeleton and the catacombs evoke, it will definitely leave one mesmerized.
- Location: Near Cusco, Peru
Blood Falls, Antarctica
Spoiler alert! The blood falls is one of the most morbid attractions in the world that one will ever set eyes on. It could take weeks to get over the uneasy feeling that the mysterious flow brings.
While the red color of the water is said to be caused by iron salts, those who are not aware may think there is a massive ritual going on at the top of the rock from where the water gushes out from. The Mayan blood rituals come to mind. Yikes.
- Location: Antarctica
The Gates Of Hell, Turkmenistan
The Gates of Hell is among the strangest places on earth; it’s a massive crater near Darvaza, Turkmenistan, that looks like a gate to the underworld. Officially known as the Darvaza gas crater, this site is basically a burning crater that has been burning since 1971. The crater was first ignited by a group of Soviet scientists in order to control the leaking of natural gases.
More than 50 years later, the fire is still burning, and even though one may not see flying creatures with pitchforks there, it remains one of the weirdest attractions in the world. In 2022, the government of Turkmenistan began researching how to put out the fire, but at the moment, the attraction remains open and might even still be open several years from now.
- Location: Karakum Desert, near Darvaza, Turkmenistan
Nazca Lines, Peru
Deep in the desert of Southern Peru are mysterious artworks known as the Nazca Lines. These lines are a collection of geoglyphs that depict several things, from animals like cats and monkeys to plants, flowers, and trees. The lines were discovered in the 1920s, and their origins and significance still remain unknown to the world.
In other words, no one knows who created them or why they were created; hence, it’s one of the most mysterious places in the world. Some claim aliens were involved in the creation of the geoglyphs, while others say the Nazca people created them for ritual purposes, and that mystery is what makes this attraction so strange and worth visiting.
- Location: Nazca Desert, Southern Peru
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