Exotic Locations In The World That Are Off-Limits To The Public

The world is full of interesting places to visit, but some are forbidden. Travelers dream of seeing these sites—but what about those places that are off-limits? 

The Doomsday Vault is a frozen, underground vault on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near the North Pole. It’s a vault for 102 million+ seeds from around the world in case of a natural disaster or any other catastrophic event should all plant life be destroyed.

Monkey-see, monkey-do! Well, maybe not quite. But rhesus monkeys are indeed in the United States—and if you’re surprised, so are most Americans! Appropriately enough, they call Morgan Island home. These primates were removed from Puerto Rico to protect them from an outbreak of the herpes B virus.

The Lascaux Caves, a UNESCO patrimony site, are not open to the public. In 1963, France banned visits to the caves because of a fungal invasion damaging the cave paintings. However, caves are an important part of history because they give insight into how humans first lived.

As the Vatican continues to keep its archives closed off from the public, historians will have to wait to see what treasures might be contained in the documents that were written as far back as the 8th century.

As the birthplace of many civilizations, Turkey has some of the best places to visit in the world. There are a few off-limits areas, though. One such area is Pluto’s Gate, which dates back to ancient times. Many have claimed to have gone there and never returned.

It sounds like an idyllic place to live, but the island has a dark side. In the early 1900s, 1,000 passengers drowned when their ship sank. Later, the island was used as a quarantine for people with communicable diseases like Typhoid Mary.

For centuries, North Sentinel Island’s turquoise blue waters and white sandy beaches have captivated dreamers. But the island’s native inhabitants—the Sentinelese—have repelled outsiders with their violent hostility.

Curious why this one is on the list? Although a lot of tourists come to visit the Pyramids of Chichen Itza every year, the area is forbidden to enter. People are only allowed to visit this area since you cannot climb to the pyramid’s top – this wasn’t the case until 2006. Unfortunately, a tragic accident occurred here, and it caused them to ban people from climbing to the top of the pyramid.

We all know the famous Area 51 in the United States. It is believed that this mysterious location is used to harbor alien spaceships and other mysterious objects Also, there are rumors that authorities are using this area to examine a spacecraft that crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, which is another mysterious location.

I bet you have never heard a terrifying history more than that of Poveglia, Italy, and you would never dare go there even if you were allowed. Poveglia is located between Venice and Lido. It was used in the early 1700s as a quarantine facility for people with Bubonic plague. Most of those people who had this plague came here to die.

Russia is one of the largest countries, with hundreds of ghost towns and mysterious sites, and special places you can visit. Mezhgorye is one of the small hidden cities in the southern Ural mountains forbidden to visitors.

Surtsey, Iceland is the world’s youngest island after a volcanic eruption from 1963 to 1967. The area was closed to the public simply because researchers wanted to learn how the ecosystem forms without human interference.

Hawaii is among the world’s top destinations, but there exists a Hawaiian island where no visitor is allowed. You cannot visit Niihau Island because Elizabeth Sinclair purchased the land back in 1864. Since then, it has been privately owned by her family.

Heard Island Volcano is located between Antarctica and Madagascar, but it is within Australian territory. Although it looks like a good place to tour in this image, it is dangerous for the public to visit as it has an active volcano. In 2000, scientists noticed a huge lava flow from the volcano.

Most of us have heard about Fort Knox, but only a few have managed to go inside. This place is one of the most heavily guarded locations in the world since it stores the largest portion of US gold reserves. It is also famous for its insane security measures, and none of the staff members are allowed to access the vault.

Bhangarh Fort, Rajasthan, is not 100 percent forbidden. Visitors are not allowed to enter this place from sunset to sunrise. During the day, tourists can take photos of the beautiful Rajasthani architecture, but, as the sun sets, you will need to clear as fast as possible, especially if you are scared of ghosts.

There are over 80,000 shrines in Japan, but none of them are as important as the Grand Shrine of Ise. This shrine is the most expensive because of its architecture. Interestingly, the architect did not use any nails.

The tomb of the emperor Qin Shi Huang was discovered by luck when they found the terracotta army in 1974. To date, the tomb remains unexcavated. This was the most significant discovery of all time, but the Chinese are afraid to excavate it since modern technology could ruin the tomb. As a result, the Chinese government forbids people from accessing it.

Pravcicka Brana was the most famous attraction in the Czech Republic until 1982. After that, it was forbidden to the public.

If you want to enter the 2,700 acre camping ground in Monte Rio, California, you will have to be a member of the Bohemian groove club. This club is an exclusive all-gentleman’s club. Every year in July, the Bohemian grove hosts some of the world’s most prominent men for a two-week retreat.

The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Israel, is one of the holiest places in the world for a few religions, dating back to the first century. The Temple Mount, which is located in the golden-topped shrine, is a significant feature in the Jerusalem skyline.

Since the 1800s, the iconic Coca-Cola soda has been a beloved soft drink. The beverage is known all around the world with many flavors unique to particular countries, but the United States is the one that has the secret Coke formula.

You may find it weird to think about someone’s bedroom being a tourist attraction to visit. However, when you are the Queen of England, people are curious about every aspect of your life. People are allowed to take tours to the Queen’s primary Buckingham residence, but her bedroom is off-limits.

If you are a Disney fan, this might bother you a little bit. Disney’s Club 33 is the most exclusive club in the Disney empire, and Walt Disney created it to entertain his business associates. Sadly, Walt never got a chance to use the club since he passed away before the project was completed.

Although there is no clear information on what the Royal Air Force facility is used for today, we know it was once used as an intelligence-gathering facility and for espionage during the Cold War.

The U.N. created the “Buffer Zone” during the rise of the civil war between the Turkish and the Greeks. This zone in the capital was meant to separate the two communities after they agreed to the ceasefire.

Many rumors surround the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, like the Ten Commandments are hidden here within the Ark of the Covenant. Another rumor is that only one person was allowed to see the Ark of the Covenant. For this reason, most of us will never know if this is true.

Unless you want to suffer from cancer or radiation burns, we wouldn’t say Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone is a great place to visit. In 1986, after Chernobyl’s nuclear disaster, evacuations began, but it was too late. The damage had already spread to an 18 mile radius, turning the area into a ghost town.

Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center is the safest place in the world for any event. It would be the first place government officials would choose to hide in case of an apocalypse.