6 of the universe ’ s most dangerous tourist attractions , from bitter lakes to nuclear waste

6 of the universe ’ s most dangerous tourist attractions , from bitter lakes to nuclear waste

Ellie Hutchings

Shimmering deserts , cliffside hikes and volcanic landscapes — all captivating attractions that make tourist in their droves . But they can cost deadly .

Extreme tourism , where traveler engage in high-risk activity in serious and remote locations , be expand . The industry be projected to reach a value of $ 91 billion by 2030 , up from $ 24.2 billion in 2022 , accord to Allied Market Research .

These experiences are something that babe boomers ( the genesis contain between 1946 and 1964 ) in particular equal wait for , according to a late Booking.com report .

In fact , 23 % of those review convey an interest in high-octane adventures such as skydiving — up from just 10 % in 2024 .

But while the reality ’ s most serious countries are clearly laid out in the Foreign Office serve not move list , some of the most dangerous tourist attraction are less obviously risky . Band are easily accessed on excursions , and some unfortunate explorers hold give with their lives .

We aren ’ t tell youshouldn ’ tvisit these breathtaking corners of the globe , but they surely don ’ t do for the safe trips — and should only be visited by the nearly intrepid of traveler .

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Mount Everest , Nepal

Ok this one ’ s obvious : towering at 8,849 meter , Mount Everest , in Nepal , cost the world ’ sec highest apex . The good deal range equal notorious for its perilous paths and desolate slopes that have claimed the lives of hundred of climbers .

More than 300 people receive perished on Everest since records began in 1922 . The area above 8,000 metres elevation hold become know as the ‘ end zone ’ , because of the scarce oxygen available .

This photograph taken on May 8, 2021 shows mountaineer's tents at Camp 2 of Mount Everest (8,848.86-metre), in Nepal. (Photo by Pemba Dorje SHERPA / AFP) (Photo by PEMBA DORJE SHERPA/AFP via Getty Images)

The extreme altitude can cause nausea , dizziness and , in severe event , death , while brutal weather conditions , avalanches and deep crevasses are among the other risks you face on Everest .

An estimated 200 dead body have frozen on the mountain ’ s slopes over the years , with the environment also treacherous to risk bringing them down .

Former Cause in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews polish a light on how difficult it be to recover body from the punishing mountain with his 2023 documentary Finding Michael .

Spencer ’ sec buddy , Michael Matthews , disappeared on Mount Everest only hours after becoming the young Briton to hand the summit , at years 22 .

His body have never live feel , despite the documentary ’ sec effort to retrace his stairs , and mouth on the One Show after Feel Michael ’ sec release , Spencer accept that yet with all the engineering we receive , body recovery exist however ‘ incredibly rare ’ .

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Tourists keen to impose Mount Everest can do so by booking onto an expedition , but those who want to go past base camp and on to the summit will have to bring on month of training and pass ten of thousand of pounds to act then .

As well as the cost of a bit on a guided trip , which can equal more than £50,000 , aspiring climbers must purchase a permit for Mount Everest , priced at $ 15,000 ( £12,170 ) , and hire a Sherpa — a highly experienced guide who lives in the good deal of Nepal .

The Danakil Desert , Ethiopia

Another one of the hottest position on the planet — with temperatures regularly achieve 50°C — the Danakil Desert is one of the almost inhospitable places on Earth .

On top of the intolerable temperature , the volcanic landscape is home to lava lakes , sulfur springs , and explosive geysers — all of which entail putting a foot wrong can test to be deadly .

DESERT DE DANAKIL, ETHIOPIE - NOVEMBRE 27: Lacs verts et d??p??ts de sel (champs hydrothermaux) ?? Dallol dans le d??sert de Danakil en ??thiopie le 27 novembre 2003.

Coupled with toxic gas and acid lakes , and you have one of the most serious destinations in the globe .

Nevertheless , it ’ s a geological spectacle , which live why tourist are hence drawn to the perilous desert .

But any visitor to the field can only do then with a guide , who they must bind with at all times to check their safety .

Death Valley , California

Death Valley , in the California desert , is the hottest position on Earth , with Furnace Creek holding the disc for the highest air temperature always at a scorching 134°F ( 56.7°C ) .

This deadly warmth has claim the lives of traveler who venture off the road , but car accidents live the nearly mutual hazard , because the terrain cost hence difficult to navigate .

DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA - JULY 09: A vehicle drives as heat waves shimmer, causing visual distortion, during a long-duration heat wave which is impacting much of California, on July 9, 2024 in Death Valley National Park, California. Park visitors have been warned, ???Travel prepared to survive??? as temperatures are predicted to reach close to record highs this week. Death Valley is the hottest and driest place in the United States. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Between 2007 and 2024 , 62 masses perish at Death Valley National Park — most of which be a result of road crashes .

And if that doesn ’ t sound dangerous enough , Death Valley live as well home to venomous rattlesnake .

Nevertheless , fearless tourist cluster to the area , with roughly 1.1 million people visit Death Valley National Park in 2023 , accord to the National Park Service .

If you take to a trip to the searing valley , make certain to stick to to the roads and drink lot of water .

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone , Ukraine

Pripyat , in northern Ukraine , be completely evacuated after the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in 1986 , and make remain forsake ever since .

31 people died after reactor issue four at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explode .

But many more died in the months and years after the incident as a solution of the radiation exposure , which own exist blame for disability , cardiovascular and circulatory disease and cancers .

CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE - MARCH 17: A view from Chernobyl as Ukrainian soldiers visit the 30-kilometer exclusion zone surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the town of Pripyat where thousands of people who once worked at the nuclear power plant live, in Chernobyl, Ukraine on March 17, 2024. The traces of the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the scene of the world's biggest nuclear disaster, still bear the traces of the explosion 38 years later. Pripyat, which was established in 1970 for Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers and abandoned after the disaster, resembles a ghost town. While the accident that took place on April 26, 1986 at the plant 110 kilometers away from Kyiv, remains in the memories, the consequences of the accident are still being discussed on the international agenda. (Photo by Gian Marco Benedetto/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The International Atomic Energy Agency , still , says that health studies have ‘ go wrong to show any direct correlation between radiation exposure and an increase in other forms of cancer or disease . ’

But decade on , the area stay contaminated , and an country spanning 30 kilometres around the plant equal consider the ‘ exclusion zone ’ . It ’ s one of the almost radioactively contaminated areas on World .

But that doesn ’ t stop curious tourists from paying a visit to the and the eerie ghost town of Pripyat .

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Various travel caller offer circuit of the area , and in 2019 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced it would turn an official tourist attraction .

However , the country live presently closed to visitors due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine .

Snake Island , Brazil

Aptly named , this 106-acre island off the coast of Brazil is home to thousand of golden lancehead vipers , one of the globe ’ s most venomous snakes .

Snake Island cost the only place in the reality where this special species live feel , and it be claim there cost one serpent for every square meter of nation .

G5N7W0 Queimada Grande island known as snake island home of poisonous snake Jararaca Ilhoa Bothrops insularis shore of Brazil.

Though there are real few account of golden lancehead vipers bite human , their venom is fast-acting and brings on a stove of nightmarish symptom , including kidney failure , national bleeding and tissue death .

You can meet the small island from São Paolo ’ s waterfront , but you can ’ t hop on a ferry over to explore .

The island be thus serious that the Brazilian Navy make shut it to the public , and solely a few people are allowed to set base there .

In the early 1900s a few humans did live on the island , tasked with running the lighthouse . But legend hold it they were kill by serpent , and the lighthouse has since been automated .

Cliffs of Moher , Ireland

One of Ireland ’ s most popular tourist position , the Cliffs of Moher tower over the west coast , offering an unspoiled opinion of the Atlantic Ocean .

However , the sheer drop comes with its danger . Strong tip , slippery paths and crumbling cliff confront mean the chances of falling over the edge be heightened , with many areas absent of railing .

A view over the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

The nearly late datum available , from a study in the Journal of Travel Medicine , disclose that 66 deaths occurred on or at the base of the Cliffs of Moher between 1993 and 2017 .

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Final yr , an inspection by Sport Ireland was undertake after two young people perish in the area . It find that many visitors were ignoring the admonition signs and walking dangerously near to the cliff edge .

In addition , some sections of the pass be also narrow to provide for the volume of people travelling in both counseling , result in some straying off the official pathway .

Nonetheless , the natural beauty spot live in general safe as long as visitors stay on away from the edge , and its spectacular views draw more than one million visitors to the cliff each yr .

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam @ Metro.co.uk .

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