Dead Vlei, Namibia
In the middle of the Namib-Naukluft National Park in the central Namibian desert lies the dead marshes of Sossusvlei. Surrounded by 1000 feet high sand dunes and the skeleton of 9000-year-old trees, the Dead Vlei is a spectacular and eerie tourist attraction. Thousands of years ago the area was overflowing with the waters of the Tsauchab River, ebbing and flowing, creating patterned clay pan crusts and shallow pools for the trees to flourish. However, severe drought struck the region that dried up the riverbed and killed the trees, creating a blackened, withered graveyard where a wide-expanse of verdant land once stood.
Ice Aquarium, Japan
In northeastern Japan, the city of Kesennuma is home to the bizarrely beautiful Ice Aquarium. Here, eighty species of sea critters are immaculately preserved in blocks of ice. The aquarium uses flash-freeze technology to preserve the variety of creatures unloaded from the Kesennuma port. The interior of the aquarium is negative 20 degrees Celsius (five degrees Fahrenheit) and tourists have to don parkas for their visit.
Haw Par Villa, Singapore
The Haw Par Villa is a theme park in Singapore that houses over 1000 statues and 150 dioramas representing Chinese myths, folklore and legends. The park was built in 1937 by two brothers and was intended to teach illiterate villagers about traditional Chinese values. Most interestingly, some of the statues include gruesome depictions of hell and the consequences of immoral behavior.
San Pedro Prison, Bolivia
The San Pedro Prison Tour in Bolivia is one of the most bizarre ways to spend your holiday. Hosted by inmates and corrupt guards, the tours are usually done by calling ahead at the prison and posing as an inmate’s family member. As one of the most dangerous and bizarre prisons in the world - where stabbings are pervasive, inmates rent accommodation, run their own businesses and can live with their families - the tour is filled with intriguing, yet disturbing, discoveries. Aside from visits to cells and the infamous swimming pool where many prisoners have been killed, the most bizarre part of the tour is the opportunity to take cocaine. The cocaine is produced onsite and sold at low prices, which explains the overnight tourist parties that sometimes occur.
Island of the Dolls, Mexico
La Isla de la Munecas, or the Island of the Dolls, is without a doubt one of the creepiest tourist destinations in the world. Located in Mexico City, eerie dolls of the dismembered, clownish and blackened variety, hang off almost all the trees on the island. The story behind the bizarre attraction revolves around a hermit, Don Julian Santana, who was haunted by the ghost of a young girl that apparently drowned in the surrounding canals. He purportedly placed the dolls around the island as talismans to ward off her spirit.
Catacombs of Paris, France
The Catacombs of Paris is an underground maze-like burial site stuffed with the skulls and bones of Parisians dating from the 1700s. The tunnels and crypts were built to house the bones of the deceased when cemeteries around the city became too packed. Between 1786 and 1788, the city cemeteries were emptied and the Catacombs overstuffed. To date, they house roughly six to seven million Parisian skeletons, and attract numerous tourists.
Bubblegum Alley, California
In downtown San Luis Obispo, California, tourists are flock to the disgustingly intriguing Bubblegum Alley. True to its name, the 15-foot high, 70-foot long alley is covered with chewed gum, and is thought to have begun as a competition between two rival high schools. The wall was cleaned twice in the 70s for being unsanitary, but has escaped any further cleaning, and stands today as an alluring tourist attraction.
Pripyat, Ukraine
Pripyat is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine that once housed the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers. When the city was populated, in 1970, it housed around 50,000 citizens. However, after the Chernobyl disaster on 26 April 1986, when the power plant exploded, contaminating the town with radioactive material, the city was evacuated. Currently, the city and its Zone of Alienation are bordered with guards and police. However, guided tours are available for those who want to visit, though only decrepit buildings and expansive destruction greets visitors.
