Forbidden places you'd like to visit

[DM Larson]

Tell us about places you'd like to visit that are forbidden for entry or travel.

I want to go to Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, Brazil. It is infested with golden lancehead vipers that are endemic to the island and that evolved along a different path from their relatives on the mainland resulting in a stronger venom. It's estimated that there are enough vipers on the island to make one for every square meter. Brazil has forbidden all travel to the island and the only access is through research permits which aren't very easy to get. I know that I'll never go there, but if I did I would want some kind of body armor to deflect the snakes fangs in case I got bit.

This Terrifying Brazilian Island Has the Highest Concentration of Venomous Snakes Anywhere in the World

Brazil's Ilha de Queimada Grande is the only home of one of the world's deadliest, and most endangered, snakes

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Irene McC]

Tell us about places you'd like to visit that are forbidden for entry or travel.

I want to go to Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, Brazil. It is infested with golden lancehead vipers that are endemic to the island and that evolved along a different path from their relatives on the mainland resulting in a stronger venom. It's estimated that there are enough vipers on the island to make one for every square meter. Brazil has forbidden all travel to the island and the only access is through research permits which aren't very easy to get. I know that I'll never go there, but if I did I would want some kind of body armor to deflect the snakes fangs in case I got bit.

This Terrifying Brazilian Island Has the Highest Concentration of Venomous Snakes Anywhere in the World

Brazil's Ilha de Queimada Grande is the only home of one of the world's deadliest, and most endangered, snakes

www.smithsonianmag.com

sounds like a charming place (NOT)

 

[agentlossing]

Tell us about places you'd like to visit that are forbidden for entry or travel.

I want to go to Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, Brazil. It is infested with golden lancehead vipers that are endemic to the island and that evolved along a different path from their relatives on the mainland resulting in a stronger venom. It's estimated that there are enough vipers on the island to make one for every square meter. Brazil has forbidden all travel to the island and the only access is through research permits which aren't very easy to get. I know that I'll never go there, but if I did I would want some kind of body armor to deflect the snakes fangs in case I got bit.

This Terrifying Brazilian Island Has the Highest Concentration of Venomous Snakes Anywhere in the World

Brazil's Ilha de Queimada Grande is the only home of one of the world's deadliest, and most endangered, snakes

www.smithsonianmag.com

There's a place I never knew existed! How terrifying.

 

[Richard]

That's right up at the top of my list of places to go, with Crocodile Lake, Sewage River and Secret Government Bio-Warfare Test Island.

-R

 

[doobs]

That's right up at the top of my list of places to go, with Crocodile Lake, Sewage River and Secret Government Bio-Warfare Test Island.

-R

LOL!

That's was great

 

[bartjeej]

Tell us about places you'd like to visit that are forbidden for entry or travel.

I want to go to Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, Brazil. It is infested with golden lancehead vipers that are endemic to the island and that evolved along a different path from their relatives on the mainland resulting in a stronger venom. It's estimated that there are enough vipers on the island to make one for every square meter. Brazil has forbidden all travel to the island and the only access is through research permits which aren't very easy to get. I know that I'll never go there, but if I did I would want some kind of body armor to deflect the snakes fangs in case I got bit.

This Terrifying Brazilian Island Has the Highest Concentration of Venomous Snakes Anywhere in the World

Brazil's Ilha de Queimada Grande is the only home of one of the world's deadliest, and most endangered, snakes

www.smithsonianmag.com

I visited Santos, the nearest city, three times yet I never knew this existed. On another (populated) island in the region, Ilhabela, we were prohibited from doing a hike on the central mountain because a highly venomous snake had been spotted right on the trail - might've been its mainland, somewhat less lethal cousin.

In general, Brazil's Mata Atlantica, its coastal (mountainous) rainforest (the ecosystem that this snake island also belongs to), is a stunning region to visit. The mountains make it more visually dramatic than the Amazon, and its location on the coast around cities like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo makes it much more easily accessible than the Amazon. Urban Brazilians are often convinced they'll get stung or bitten to death immediately upon their first step into the jungle, so away from the ever-popular waterfalls, it's very quiet. It used to stretch hundreds of kilometers inland for a total size of Western Europe, but eveything that wasn't too steep for agriculture has been cut down, leaving only about 7% along the mountainous coast covered in forest.

Forbidden places I'd like to visit... I once had a chance to visit Timbuktu when it was off limits to tourism, through an acquaintance with connections in the UN who were still active there. I chose not to do it thankfully, but would like to go once things calm down.

Other forbidden places on my wishlist... Saudi Arabia recently opened up to those with enough money, I'm not too excited about the regime but the country offers lots of spectacularly beautiful sights. The money thing rules me out though, so no need to bother my conscience on that one. Polisario-controlled Western Sahara is not strictly forbidden, but tricky to get to and you'll need supervision.

There're lots of places off limits for environmental reasons that I'd like to visit if it wouldn't harm a fragile ecosystem. Similar with "uncontacted" tribes of native americans in the Amazon rainforest. Curiosity about something that you know is not okay to do.

 

[DM Larson]

Naica's Crystal Cave in Mexico. I am not a caver and the toxic air combined with tight spaces far underground sounds terrifying, but the crystals look amazing.

https://cen.acs.org/physical-chemistry/geochemistry/Naicas-crystal-cave-captivates-chemists/97/i6

 

[Lumixdude]

When I travel to China with my wife, we go plenty of places where I'm forbidden as a westerner. I'm surprised I haven't been locked up and disappeared to be honest. She borrows one of her friends husband's identity cards, and off we go. I have to wait around the corner, skulking in the shadows while she books us into motels, tours etc, then I try to remain inconspicuous in the background. Great fun, adds an extra level of suspense/intrigue to the proceedings, haven't been bitten as yet. Fabulous country. Absolutely chaotic, but with underlying, hidden order.

 

[Bobby T]

For me it would be Chernobyl. I think it is at the top of every urban explorer’s bucket list.

 

[Roboticspro]

Good Evening,

My pick would be Area 51 , specifically the underground labs......

Regards,

Edd

 

[rayvonn]

For me it would be Chernobyl. I think it is at the top of every urban explorer’s bucket list.

I remember some years ago long after the incident, it was possible for one to somehow go there, but that you had 30 minutes max to be in that area, no longer. Not sure what it's like now but wouldn't surprise me if it's the same, subject to the ongoing war of course.

 

[Bobby T]

I remember some years ago long after the incident, it was possible for one to somehow go there, but that you had 30 minutes max to be in that area, no longer. Not sure what it's like now but wouldn't surprise me if it's the same, subject to the ongoing war of course.

My understanding is that conditions are indeed the same there. It’s like stepping back in time.

 

[tonyturley]

Isla Nublar. I want to see the dinosaurs.