In spite of globalization, technology, and advances in transportation, there are still places in the world you simply can't visit. While some of us are fixated on space exploration and colonizing Mars, the truth is that some parts of our planet are still practically untouched or have even been forgotten. Other areas are home to military bases, espionage secrets, or have even forbidden to the public on the grounds that they're 'legally haunted'. Continue to view fascinating places that are totally forbidden to visit.
This Forbidden city lies beneath the surface of water. It is believed to be 1341 years old. Schicheng means Lion City and it is located in the East of China. The archaeological site got submerged under water when the Xin'an River Power Station was built in 1959. The condition of the Lion City is still good because the water protects it from environmental erosion.
Cave of the crystals is located at a depth of three hundred meters in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico. It contains one of the most massive jewels ever found, around 12 meters long. They can weigh up to 55 tons. Probably not precisely what we believe while we pay attention the phrase gem.
The cave is famous for the extremely excessive temperatures reaching -58 stages Celsius and 136 Fahrenheit. The cave may also seem sincerely beautiful. However, it is claimed to be dangerous for human health. What could happen if you discover yourself within the cave, first of all, you'll not be capable of undergoing the heat. Then you may be probably squeezed by one of the large crystals.
Off the coast of Brazil is a tiny but incredibly dangerous island called Ilha da Queimada Grande which is fondly known as Snake Island. Snake Island is home to thousands of lethal venomous golden lancehead snakes (Bothrops insularis).
The golden lancehead is a species of pit viper which has an incredibly deadly venom known to cause more human mortalities than any other group of snakes in either North or South America. Its venom can cause swelling, kidney failure, intestinal bleeding, haemorrhaging of the brain, and can kill a human within one hour. There are estimated to be anywhere between 2,000 and 4,000 lancehead snakes on Snake Island.
The golden lancehead snake is not even the only snake species on the island, only the most dangerous. There are many varieties of snake on the island and only a small amount of non-venomous snakes. There is estimated to now be between one and five snakes per square meter.
The reason thousands of snakes are thought to have collected here due to rising sea levels containing them on the small island measuring no more than 43 hectares. The island was once was inhabited until the late 1920’s but now, for human protection, Snake Island is completely off limits to the public and it’s actually illegal to visit the island.
Behind barbed wire fences a watchtower looks down over an eerie scene; an airport stands, thick with dust, old aircraft decaying on the landing strips, nearby abandoned homes, businesses, cars and buildings lay idle as they have done for decades.
This is the UN Buffer Zone which cuts through Cyprus, dividing the independent Republic of Cyprus from the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island. In 1974, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus, escalating the civil war between the Greeks and the Turks. The U.N. then took control of this ‘buffer zone’ in the capital Nicosia after the ceasefire was declared.
In an attempt to prevent future clashes between the populations of the two halves of the island, peacekeepers from the United Nations have patrolled the buffer zone for years. As a result this area has remained frozen in time, and no one is allowed into this zone and if you even tried you probably wouldn’t make it out alive.
You’ll no doubt be familiar with the iconic faces of the underground army of terracotta warriors at Xi’an; one of the most incredible archaeological discoveries of all time.
Though this ancient site sees thousands of tourists descend in their droves, not many are aware that buried deep beneath them, lies an emperor in his mausoleum, surrounded by a river of poisonous mercury, who’s been undisturbed for more than 2000 years.
The tomb holds the body and the secrets of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died on Sept. 10, 210 B.C. No human being has ever stepped inside these sacred walls and it will likely stay that way for the foreseeable future. We can only ever imagine what treasures lie within…
Less than a mile from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan lies a secret island that has been abandoned for almost 60 years.
North Brother Island is home to the Riverside Hospital which has seen its fair share of death, decay and ruin over the years. Once used as a place to quarantine sufferers of tuberculosis, yellow fever and small pox in the 19th century; later it was used after World War II to house veterans, and then as a treatment centre for heroin addicts. Now sadly left to crumble, it lies in ruins covered by weeds and overgrown plants.
Today it is a haven for birds and only with very strict written permission from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation can you gain access to the island, otherwise it is strictly forbidden.
Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s official London residence, and home of the British monarchy since 1837. It is of course one of the top attractions for anyone visiting London; often the state rooms and the gardens will be opened to the public and tours are conducted around the palace and grounds, but of course one room remains strictly off limits.
It is of course the Queen’s Bedroom, unless of course you happen to be the Queen, or maybe her husband Phillip. Although we are sure even he has to ask Her Royal Highness nicely.
Or maybe your name is Michael Fagan, and then you would have committed one of the greatest feats of all time by scaling a 20ft wall and hoisting yourself up a drainpipe to stand proudly within the Queen’s bedroom. Just to win a bet with some friends; now that’s what we call drinking games gone a step too far. However, part of us is also intrigued to have a look ourselves!
It transpires that Russia has its very own Area 51, only it’s a whole town. Mezhgorye is situated deep within the Ural Mountains and is said to be 400 square miles large but its still completely off the radar.
The Kremlin claims it is merely a mining site but that doesn’t explain why its surrounded by two battalions of armed guards who will use lethal force to prevent anyone going anywhere within the vicinity.
It is believed that Mezhgorye could be a nuclear missile site containing automatic missiles that can be activated remotely, complete with a large fully equipped emergency bunker to house Russia’s oligarchy if nuclear war became a reality.
Nothing beats an ice cold Coca-Cola on a hot day, and millions around the world agree. The recipe for our favourite fizzy drink is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world. There are claims that only two people know it at any given time and they can never travel on the same plane in case it crashes.
As a back up plan, just in case disaster did strike, the legendary mystery formula is secured in a vault in Atlanta. And you’d need more than a lock and key to get into it. The protected secret recipe is kept in a solid metal box inside a metal vault which is in a room protected by a security barrier. The area has high tech surveillance cameras throughout with 24 hour armed guards, and the door can only be opened via a hand scanner and secret code.
Whilst we may all love to know what makes Coca Cola taste so darn good we can be pretty certain it no longer contains the ingredient that everyone couldn’t get enough of pre 1903. Yes that’s right, before then each bottle of Coca-Cola would contain a hefty dose of cocaine! No wonder it perked you up.
The Lascaux Caves in Southwestern France is home to 600+ Paleolithic cave paintings which are predicted to be over 20,000 years old. The rare paintings are exceptional in quality and scale, they cover the walls and ceilings of the cave illustrating local fuana and large animals such as stags, cattle, felines, bison and some mythical creatures.
Archaeologists believe the caves were extensively used for ancient hunting and religious rites. The caves in Lascaux were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and from 1948 the incredible paintings were opened to the public and received 1,200 visitors every day. However, the opening of the caves to visitors ultimately damaged the caves too much.
The exposure of the cave paintings to artificial light and changes in air circulation resulted in a severe infestation of microbial and fungal growths. To protect the site and stop the vividly coloured designs from fading, they were forced to stop people visiting and closed the Lascaux Caves for good in 1969.
If you’d still like to see these special Paleolithic designs, they’ve now opened a replica of the Lascaux Caves close to Montignac village and next to the original site.
There’s no way you won’t have heard the conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51, the highly restricted remote military base deep in the middle of the hostile Nevada Desert. Area 51 is completely off limits from the public with reports of helicopters patrolling if you even get close to the heavily guarded base.
Conspiracy theorists passionately claim that the real purpose of Area 51 is for the storage and examination of alien spacecraft, or for secret meetings with extra terrestrials. Famously, Area 51 was linked with the Roswell Incident of 1947, where an unidentified flying disc was seen by hundreds crashing in a ranch in Nevada. The UFO was swiftly recovered and transported away by government officials. Controversially, many believe that the Roswell Incident was in fact a government cover up of an alien spacecraft crash and the UFO was hidden in Area 51.
The real reason Area 51 exists is still a mystery and remains highly classified. Trying to enter would be irresponsible though since it is surrounded by signs warning that security is authorized to use deadly force on people who insist on trespassing. Whether you believe in aliens or not, the question still remains: What secrets are they hiding in there?
Off the coast of Myanmar is a tiny forested island where indigenous Sentinelese people reside in voluntary isolation from the rest of the world. The tribal Sentinelese have lived on North Sentinel Island for over 60,000 years and are extremely opposed to outside influences and remain entirely disconnected from the modern world.
The Sentinelese are known to fiercely protect their independence, sometimes violently, and for this reason, very little is known about their island. Reportedly, an Indian Coast Guard helicopter made the mistake of flying nearby on reconnaissance and was shot at with arrows by the island’s natives.
There are estimated to be anywhere between 50 and 400 natives living on the island. Indian Authorities respect their right to complete isolation and prohibits any one to travel to the island or even approach within five nautical miles.
The Sentinelese are so untouched from the real world that they are even exempt from any laws. This means that the indigenous people are allowed to legitimately kill outsiders who trespass on their island without prosecution. Natives will frequently attack boats that reach too close to their shores and actually killed two fishermen in 2006 and a US Missionary in 2018.
The Vatican Secret Archives are officially said to contain historical artefacts dating back more than 12 centuries. The vast 53 mile archive houses an impressive collection of relics including letters penned by Michelangelo, and the pleas for help that Mary Queen of Scots sent to Pope Sixtus V before her execution.
This could be the greatest collection of historical objects in the world, yet only a handful of people have ever been allowed inside.
As a result the Secret Archives are shrouded in mystery and subject to wild conspiracy theories. Speculation of what lies within these forbidden walls include evidence of magic, demons, extraterrestrials and details of the predicted apocalypse…or even the missing Chronovisor, a nifty device that allows its users to view past or future events and was purportedly built by an Italian priest and scientist, Father Pellegrino Maria Ernetti, so he could witness Christ’s crucifixion first hand.
Fascinating… yet unless you are an incredibly select scholar who is approved by the Vatican and you have specifically asked to view a particular relic then your chances of gaining access are next to none!
Surtsey Island is a small volcanic island off the coast of Iceland, and a natural haven for various flora and fauna which makes it a destination favoured by scientists who gather information on plant and animal life.
Pre 1960’s the rules about visiting the island of Surtsey were a little more lax than they are now. All of that changed because of a tomato. Yes, a tomato. One scientist who visited the island answered a call of nature upon a lava rock, weeks later a tomato plant began sprouting on that very spot leaving fellow scientists completely baffled.
After much thought they finally realised what must have been the origin of the mysterious tomato plant and it was immediately destroyed as it would have disturbed their scientific research.
As a result visitors are now strictly limited in their numbers to avoid disrupting the eco-system of this natural laboratory. And those who do manage to make it onto the island are thoroughly searched for seeds before they step foot on land.
This barren, volatile island somewhere between Madagascar and Antarctica technically belongs to Australia. Though we suspect most Australians would prefer to stay on their own golden beaches than attempt to visit this bleak and desolate rock in the middle of nowhere.
Considered one of the most remote places on earth, this 368-square-mile landmass is mountainous, has a staggering 41 glaciers and two volcanoes. Active ones at that; in the year 2000 a 2 kilometre long lava flow poured out from the southwest side of one of the volcanoes. If that wasn’t enough to deter you from trying to visit, the weather is also notoriously poor with high speed rough winds and heavy rainfall.
If you are still keen to visit the islands, bear in mind its a minimum of a two-week sail to any other major land mass making it one of the most treacherous places to try and reach in the world. Only penguins, seals and marine birds are brave enough to call this place home. Even if you defeated the elements and made it to the shores of Heard Island you would be likely be breaking the law as humans are strictly prohibited from visiting unless you have “compelling scientific reasons.”
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So imagine the scene, post nuclear fallout as the survivors attempt to rebuild and sustain human life upon planet Earth. The powers that be have got you covered.
At least in terms of seedlings; 400 feet into a mountainside on the remote island of Spitsbergen, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, lies a subterranean seed storage facility. The Global Seed Vault as its known, houses approximately 890,000 samples of 4,000 different species of seeds from all over the world. The vault is designed as an insurance policy in the event of a global disaster that could wipe out certain species of plants, and more importantly major food supplies.
The Doomsday Vault is ominously described as ‘the final back up’ and has recently had its first withdrawal to retrieve vital seeds for Syria in the wake of the ongoing bloody conflict.
Dating back to the 4th Century AD, the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion claims to contain the Ark of the Covenant, the ornate gold chest that houses the Ten Commandments.
Though some doubt the authenticity of these claims, there are many more who believe it to be true. Kept tightly under wraps, there is only one person allowed to view the Ark; a special guardian monk appointed by a predecessor.
No one else in the world is allowed access to this most holy of relics, though many have tried to bribe the guardian monk to no avail…
If you fancy getting your hands on America’s hoards of gold then you will have your work cut out. This Kentucky military base has been used for many purposes over the years but is currently used to house the US’s gold.
As you can imagine security here is pretty tight. You know the saying ‘harder to get into than Fort Knox’? Well it’s true.
Hurdles you’d have to overcome to get your hands on piles of the shiny stuff include barbed wire, minefields, electric fences, armed guards and security cameras. If you manage to get that far bear in mind there are Apache helicopters poised and waiting for the signal to fire. Good luck!
It’s perhaps the most exclusive campground on Earth, a 2,700 acre site in Monte Rio, California, where some of the world’s most prominent men gather and visitors are warned to keep out.
Belonging to the Bohemian Club, a private gentleman’s establishment in San Francisco, this secretive site has played host to more than one former US President down the years, as well as artists, musicians, business leaders and politicians, and such is the guest list, it’s no surprise that the campground is kept on constant lockdown.
The main gathering tends to take place among the magnificent redwoods in the summer months, but those thinking about trying to infiltrate Bohemian Grove should think again. Former military personnel patrol the site all year round, whilst the most sophisticated security systems — including motion sensors and night vision cameras — are used to ensure intruders are kept away. Expect the roads to be closed, the Secret Service to be in attendance and go and explore somewhere else.
Few and select people have managed to enter the office. In the words of journalist Kelly Olsen, "Room 39 is one of the most secret organisations in arguably the world's most secretive state."
Created in the late 1970s, Room 39 is said to be located inside the Workers' Party building in Pyongyang, taking its name, according to some sources, from the office it occupied at the party headquarters in its early days.
Although there isn't much official data on the room due to the secrecy of its activities, it's believed that it raises funds through commercial enterprises — both legal and illegal — with activities ranging from counterfeiting to the sale of gold, drugs, or weapons.
This network of companies present in various parts of the world is estimated to have been able to contribute up to $2 billion a year to North Korea. It's speculated that Room 39 could be behind the sophisticated counterfeiting of $100 "supernote" bills that were issued over decades.
Japan is the homeland of shrines. With more than 80,000 national shrines you could say they are a very important part of Japanese culture. But one shrine tops them all; the Ise Grand Shrine, an ornate temple that is also the most expensive in Japan due to its intricate architecture.
And with that level of detail comes some pretty hefty maintenance too. Every 20 years the shrine is rebuilt at a cool million dollar price tag, in order to appease the Shinto tradition of death and renewal.
With all of this hard work you may fancy taking a look at this beautiful icon of Japanese culture yourself, but let us stop you there, unless of course you are a member of the Japanese imperial family. They are the only people on Earth who are granted special permission to this grand shrine.
Visitors aren’t allowed to enter or take photographs. You may only sneak a peek of the shrine’s rooftops over tall wooden fences making this spiritual place even more mysterious and majestic.
Both Jews and Muslims flock to Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which is considered to be one of the holiest sites in the world. This ornate temple dates back to the first century BC.
Deep within the inner sanctum of the temple walls is an even more exclusive site which is off limits and fiercely forbidden to all but a very select group.
Welcome to The Dome of The Rock; this ornately beautiful cobalt blue, gold topped iconic Islamic shrine is a truly sacred site. Only those who practice Islam are allowed beyond the holy walls. According to Islamic scripture this holy site contains the Foundation Stone and was where the prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel.
If nuclear catastrophe or epic natural disaster strikes Russia, they’ve got it covered. Welcome to the city beneath a city, Moscow’s purported secret underground system, a series of metro lines linking the Kremlin, the Federal Security Office HQ, the government airport and several other important locations. Reportedly built by the KGB, the existence of this complex labyrinth hasn’t been formally admitted to by Russia but it’s rumoured that Stalin’s extreme paranoia was the catalyst for its construction. Theories diverge about the expansiveness of the underground metro…
Rumour says that the building material for the metro came from Moscow’s finest imperial and religious buildings that were being wrecked on Stalin’s orders. The construction took two years and was achieved by 75,000 workers, who endured abusive working conditions.
What happened to the project after Stalin’s death is unclear. Some sources claim that it stopped shortly after, others claim that every administration added new lines to the underground system, but you might hear various things on the matter. Indeed, rumours about Metro-2 are extremely common in Russia and have been propagated by Russian citizens. Though Metro-2 stays a myth, as no one can prove its existence…
North Brother Island was abandoned more than 55 years ago. Every year New York welcomes millions of tourists, eager to visit every corner of the city — except one.
Access is forbidden to North Brother Island without prior authorisation, since all its buildings are in a dangerous state of deterioration. Inside, nature continues to devour the abandoned structures and ruins of what was once the city's quarantine hospital.
First claimed in 1614, the history of North Brother Island's past is intertwined with death and disease: in the 1880s and right into the 1940s, the site quarantined people with highly contagious illnesses. All those who died there were stored in the island's morgue. From 1951, it served as a rehabilitation center for drug addicts.
In 1963, North Brother Island was abandoned, becoming the property of New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, which now manages the site as a bird sanctuary.
Business Insider was able to access the island last year for a tour, which you can read more about here.
Foreigners are completely forbidden from entering the national spy museum.
Located in Nanjing, the collection at the Jiangsu National Security Education Museum exhibits the history of espionage and secret intelligence services from the early days of the Communist Party of China to the late 1920s.
While checking out weapons disguised as regular objects, spy cameras, or eavesdropping devices might sound an interesting visit, the museum isn't entirely open to the public — foreigners are completely forbidden from entering.
It's just as hard to get souvenir images too — for those nationals allowed entry, it's totally forbidden to take photographs.
Twisted doesn't begin to describe the history of Poveglia Island, a small island between Venice and Lido in Northern Italy. For centuries, the small island has been prime real estate for, well, dumping of the dead. The island became a quarantine colony in the 1700s for victims of the Bubonic Plague. In the early 20th century, Poveglia became an asylum for the area's mentally ill, where it was rumored that a cruel doctor performed experiments on the patients.
Today, the island is abandoned, save for the ghosts of the tortured souls that once lived there. Tourists and locals are banned from visiting, unless you want to undergo a lengthy paperwork process. But as this is considered the most haunted place in Italy, that’s likely for the best.
Bhangarh Fort is described as the most haunted place in India. Between Jaipur and Alwar in Rajasthan lie the ruins of what was once a splendid kingdom.
The fort was built by the ruler of Amber Kachwaha for his youngest son in 1573 and gradually its population dwindled until in 1783 when a strong famine forced the villagers still living there to flee. Local legends state that the reason for the kingdom falling into ruin was that the fort was cursed.
As the only "legally recognised" haunted place in India according to the Times of India, a government permit is required to be able to enter before dawn or after sundown.
Although it's said that the reason is down to wild, nocturnal animals such as tigers and the lack of artificial lighting in the area, no one knows what else could be lurking in the ruins.
Hawaiian island-hopping is a beloved pastime for travelers. But if you think you’ve hit all of the islands, think again.
One mysterious island, Niihau, is nicknamed “The Forbidden Island,” and that is not an exaggeration. Even its visibility remains elusive, as the only way to catch a glimpse of it is as the sun sets over Kauai’s Kekaha Beach, when its silhouette emerges. The island has been owned by a single family for more than 150 years and has been kept off-limits to the outside world.
The only people who can enjoy the island's splendor are its residents, all of whom are descendants of those who lived there before the island was purchased in the 1860s.
This privately owned, 435-acre island off the coast of New Suffolk, New York, has been the subject of controversy throughout its history. Transfers of ownership over the years led to it becoming a nature preserve and sanctuary, created by current owner Louis Bacon. It is also home to one of the largest populations of turtles in the state.
Other than Mr. Bacon and the turtles, however, it is off-limits to the public. He has spent quite a bit of money rebuilding the ecosystem and believes that commercialization will lead to the destruction of what he has been trying to build.
At White's, the club is so exclusive that few have ever managed to sneak inside and find out what really goes on in there. Wikimedia Commons There are still, incredibly, certain places in the world where women are forbidden access — the best known probably being gentlemen's clubs, which are very popular within British culture.
Founded in 1693 and located at 37 St. James' Street in Picadilly, the members of The White's Club include political leaders, senior bankers, and even heirs to the British throne.
The restriction on women is such that only Queen Elizabeth has ever managed to gain entry. According to the Telegraph, in 2013 David Cameron voluntarily left the select club, saying: "I'm dismayed the club does not accept women as members. I find that inexplicable in this day and age, I really do".
The membership of London's oldest and most elitist gentlemen's club has shrunk to 500, and its bar is said not to have closed for 200 years.
Not to be alarmists, but what do you have planned in the event of an apocalypse? Washington, D.C., is certainly prepared. Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center in Virginia — designed to be the safest place in the world in the event of global destruction — is the escape plan for U.S. government officials.
Built during the Cold War and now operated by FEMA, the center is designed to protect not only American government members but treasures of the nation, like the art in the National Gallery. Without the shiny seal of approval from the United States government, this souped-up bomb shelter is strictly off-limits.
Thirty Four years ago, disaster struck nuclear reactor No. 4 in Chernobyl, sending radioactive clouds billowing into the air. Evacuations began immediately, but as the extent of the damage became clear, Soviet military officials declared an Exclusion Zone within a roughly 18-mile radius of the plant, turning the city into a veritable ghost town. Today, the Zone covers an area of about 1,000 square miles and still remains completely off-limits.
Tourists can get special permission to go, but it's near impossible to do so. With a radiation level that is still highly dangerous, it might be a better use of time to scratch other destinations off your bucket list anyway.
Hidden somewhere in the Australian Outback is a top-secret military base operated by the U.S. government. Known as the Joint Defense Facility Pine Gap, it is used to control satellites that collect intel on airstrikes around the world.
The facility was opened during the Cold War in 1966 under the guise of a space research facility, but was actually operated by the CIA. There is no way to access Pine Gap without clearance — unless, of course, you are flying over it or hiking the MacDonnell Ranges that surround it.
Very few things are as mysterious as a vault inside of a granite mountain. But that’s exactly what the Mormon Church’s Secret Vault is — mysterious and inside Granite Mountain.
In Little Cottonwood Canyon outside of Salt Lake City sits this sprawling, ironclad vault. Built in 1965, the vault was created to preserve records of importance to the church. Today, it holds more than 3.5 billion images on microfilm and digital media. For security reasons, there is no public access to the vault.
It might be the happiest place on earth for the masses, but Disney also has a secret that is reserved for only the elite.
Disney Club 33 is by far the most exclusive place in the Disney empire. Walt Disney himself created the club as a lounge to entertain business associates but never actually got to enjoy it, as he passed away before it could open. But open it did (with a liquor license, to boot — the only place in the parks that serves alcohol).
Access is invitation only, but an invite doesn't necessarily guarantee entry. You also need to fork over about $100,000 to solidify your membership, and then annual dues are about $30,000 per year. Or you could just stick to the It's A Small World ride and learn to find joy in that.
This Royal Air Force station's ultimate modern-day purpose still remains a mystery to the public, but this secretive piece of land was originally used for espionage and intelligence gathering during the Cold War. It sits on 550 acres and, as far as we know, is only used by ECHELON spies and NSA.
The site was opened in 1954, and over the years, conspiracy theorists have gone crazy trying to figure out what goes on behind the barbed wire inside the Epcot-esque spheres that make up the base.
This island in the Indian Ocean, which used to be part of the United Kingdom, was used as a pawn to settle a $14 million debt owed to the United States. Today, it is used as a U.S. military base, but no one is allowed to visit.
According to reports, there are 654 buildings on the island and about 4,000 military personnel, but their activity is strictly top secret. There are theories, of course, as there always are with all things secret. Some people believe that there is a secret military prison.
The only thing that is known for sure is that Diego Garcia was the launch place for military flights into Afghanistan and Iraq.
Imagine if the entire country of Portugal was a test-firing range. Well, that's the size of the Woomera Test Range in Australia. The massive (47,100-square-mile) range site is used for testing weapons, like bombs and missiles.
Because of this, visitors are understandably not permitted on the site. It wouldn't exactly make for a stress-free vacation.
Near Japan, just east of the 14 Mariana Islands archipelago, lies a sea canyon considered to be the deepest site in the entire world. The trench is more than 7-miles deep and has vents that bubble up liquid sulfur and carbon dioxide; the pressure on the floor is more than 8 tons per square inch, which is equivalent to having 50 jumbo jets sitting on top of you.
So, it's probably a good thing that you can't actually go there. There have, however, been four successful submarine descents into its depths, including one led by director James Cameron.