From a treacherous and secluded island to
an intricate underground network, today we look at forbidden places on Earth you should
never visit: 9. Area 51 This is a United States Air Force facility
that is also known as Groom Lake and Homey Airport; it is located in Lincoln County,
Nevada. The name Area 51 was used by the CIA in a
document during the Vietnam War. The area surrounding the field is called Restricted
Area 4808 North. The main purpose of the base isn’t publicly
known; but, it is most likely used for weapons systems and aircraft testing. Since everything that happens at this site
is Top Secret/ Sensitive Compartmented Information that remains a mystery to most civilians,
people have developed conspiracy theories over the years. The most common speculation is that Area 51
is home to alien research. Many people believe that government workers
at the base examine fallen alien spacecraft and other UFOs. They also think that extraterrestrial beings
have been discovered and are being kept for further studies. Other theories include the development of
weather controlling equipment, technology for time travel and teleportation, and the
creation of bizarre aircraft. There are warning signs around the area that
warn people not to trespass or take pictures and that offenders are susceptible to lethal
force. 8. Ball’s Pyramid This unique, natural structure is located
in the Pacific Ocean about 12 miles southeast of Lord Howe Island. It is the remnants of a shield volcano, and
it is 1,844 feet high, 3,600 feet long, and 980 feet across. Ball’s Pyramid is the world’s tallest
volcanic stack. Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball reportedly
discovered it in 1788. However, it wasn’t until 1965 that somebody
climbed to the top of Ball’s Pyramid successfully. In 1982, a law was put in place that prevented
people from scaling the jagged formation. Eight years later, they began allowing some
people to ascend the pyramid under precise conditions. Ball’s Pyramid has the only known population
of wild Lord Howe Island stick insects left; they were presumed to be extinct after a sighting
in 1920. They failed to find a live specimen until
2001 when scientists discovered a population of 24 insects about 330 feet above the shoreline. Since then, the stick insects have been bred
successfully, and the plan is to reintroduce more of them to the island. Besides the rules against climbing Ball’s
Pyramid, another reason you shouldn’t go there is the steep climb that could end badly
for inexperienced people. Plus, it’s best not to disturb the stick
bugs. 7. North Sentinel Island This treacherous island is in the Bay of Bengal
about 22 miles west of Wandoor, a town in South Andaman Island. It takes up about 23 square miles in total. Coral reefs surround North Sentinel Island,
and it is covered in forest. But, don’t let the tropical allure of this
place fool you into going there. The people who inhabit the island are a far
cry from the civilization that we’re accustomed to. The Sentinelese have rejected contact with
the outside world and use brutality to make sure nobody goes near their island. In 1867, a ship crashed near North Sentinel,
and the survivors went to the beach where they had to defend themselves from the natives
before they were eventually rescued. In 1880, an expedition traveled there to research
the people and the culture. They found and captured an old couple and
their kids and took them to Port Blair. Due to their vulnerability to disease, they
got sick quickly, and the adults passed away. The children were given gifts to atone and
brought back to North Sentinel. Peaceful contact was made with the Sentinelese
in 1991, but people stopped visiting the island in 1997. After an earthquake in 2004, the Indian government
sent a helicopter to check out the island; but, the natives threw stones and shot arrows
at it. Two years after that, a couple of fishermen
ventured too close to North Sentinel, and the islanders executed them. The Indian government didn’t prosecute them
for the crime. There hasn’t been any association with them
since then, and an exclusion zone that spans three miles was put in place around North
Sentinel Island. 6. Snake Island This island is located in the Atlantic Ocean
off of the Brazilian coast. It earned its name due to the significant
amount of snakes that live on the island. Some estimates suggest that there is one snake
to every 10 square feet. But, the snakes on this island aren’t like
the average garden variety; they are golden lancehead pit vipers. They are only found on Snake Island and are
severely endangered. These reptiles got stuck on the island when
water levels rose and enveloped the land leading to the mainland. Despite this, they adapted to the environment,
and their population increased rapidly. Due to the substantial number of snakes, the
island became unfit for visitation. So, Snake Island isn’t open to the public
for the good of the snakes and people. There are an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 vipers
on the island. Although there is no official record of a
golden lancehead biting somebody, other members of the species are to blame for more lethal
bites to humans than any other type of snake. So, even if you could, traveling to Snake
Island would be a dangerous expedition. 5. Global Seed Vault This place is on Spitsbergen island in Norway. It is 390 feet inside of a sandstone mountain. The Nordic Gene Bank has been storing frozen
seeds since 1984, and the Seed Vault opened in 2008. The goal of this place is to make sure that
there is a backup plan if the world experiences a crisis. As of February 2017, there were a total of
930,821 seed samples in the vault. But, it can store up to 4.5 million of them,
and each one contains about 500 seeds. They are stored at -0.4 degrees Fahrenheit
with little oxygen to prevent them from aging too quickly. The permafrost inside the mountain helps cool
things down, and it is 430 feet above sea level, which keeps the area dry. Although people aren’t able to get the seeds
by going into the vault, they can request samples from the gene-banks that deposit its
specimens. The Global Seed Vault operates similarly to
a bank; the donors own the samples, and they are the only ones with permission to access
them. 4. Heard and McDonald Islands Also called the Territory of Heard Island
and McDonald Islands, or HIMI for short, these islands are located about 2,480 miles southwest
of Australia. They are a group of desolate, volcanic Antarctic
islands. The total area they encompass is about 144
square miles. HIMI was discovered in the middle of the 19th
century and became an Australian territory in 1947; they house the last two active volcanoes
in the country. They experience strong winds that average
16.2 to 20.8 miles per hour at Atlas Cove; however, there are records of winds reaching
upwards of 110 miles per hour. Heard Island is home to numerous telluric
environments in which a variety of vegetation grows. There are approximately seven known communities
for this array of plant-life, and Heard Island is the most sizable subantarctic island that
doesn’t have any human-introduced vegetation. It is known for its diverse animal species,
which include penguins, seals, flying birds, and invertebrates. There are 15 types of aerial birds and four
kinds of penguins. The island is also home to three species of
seals. Invertebrates make up the majority of the
island’s inhabitants, although they’re harder to spot. Due to the diversity of life on these islands,
they are protected by strict laws and are located within a reserve. However, if you’re set on going and willing
to brave the wind, you can get authorization from the Australian Antarctic Division. 3. Metro-2 This is an alleged underground system in Moscow,
Russia. Construction supposedly began on Metro-2 during
Joseph Stalin’s rule of the Soviet Union. Although Metro-2’s existence isn’t verified,
it hasn’t been denied by the Federal Security Service, or FSB, or the Moscow Metro, leading
people to believe that it could be there. The United States Department of Defense put
out a report, titled Military Forces in Transition, in 1991 that discussed an underground government
facility in Moscow, which encompassed a map of the supposed railway. There are four presumed lines of Metro-2 which
connect to the Kremlin complex, FSB headquarters, the airport, and the underground Ramenki bunker. The D6 Line is the only one that has been
photographed and whose existence is verified. The Vnukovo (vuh-nu-kovo) airport line was
apparently built for emergency evacuation for government officials; the airport was
originally used exclusively for military reasons. A third line, Izmaylovo (iz-my-lovo), was
supposedly constructed for Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces. Through deductive reasoning, we can assume
the last line would connect to the “Underground City” in Ramenki, which is the most significant
underground bunker in Moscow; it is also referred to as Ramenki-43. If the theories are true, then this subterranean
system holds many historical secrets. 2. Monkey Island Also known as Cayo Santiago, this island is
located about a half mile east of Humacao, Puerto Rico. In 1938, 409 Rhesus monkeys were taken from
India and placed on the island. Nowadays, there are over 1,000 monkeys living
there. No humans live on Monkey Island; however,
it is the University of Puerto Rico’s research center, and people who observe the primates
travel to Cayo Santiago every day to continue their studies. Although there is no real law in place preventing
people from traveling to Monkey Island, it is highly recommended that they don’t. One reason is that the monkeys carry the Herpes
B virus, which can be lethal to humans. So, when people do visit the island, they
are told not to let the monkeys urinate on them. Another reason not to visit Cayo Santiago
is that people can transfer diseases to the primates, which would spread very quickly
among their dense population. You can, however, book a kayaking tour that
goes near the island to safely view the monkeys from a distance of 30 feet. 1. Varosha This city is located in the district of Famagusta
in Northern Cyprus. It was the finest tourist destination in the
country in the early 1970s. Varosha was inhabited by nearly 40,000 people
before the Turkish invasion in 1974. They closed the area off, and the only people
allowed into Varosha were United Nations workers and the Turkish military. In 1984, the UN Security Council Resolution
550 demanded that the city be given to the UN administration and stated that it could
only be resettled by the people who had to leave. However, Turkey didn’t comply and kept hold
of Varosha to try and convince Cyprus to agree to a settlement plan. So, it became a ghost town. Nature has overgrown the buildings; it looks
like a post-apocalyptic world where stores are still stocked with clothes, tables are
set, and cars from the 70s are parked in garages. This place is off limits to the public, and
there are warning signs everywhere. Photography isn’t allowed either, and they
are willing to use lethal force on those who trespass.
