Travellers, I’m sure you’d agree with me that your ultimate goal would be to tick off every place on this planet. From gorgeous beach destinations, chilly hill stations, historic sites, charming villages, to eerie, mysterious places, travel enthusiasts would love to visit them all. But here’s where we have to burst the bubble, that there are certain interesting places on Earth that are beyond your reach. Some of these places have banned the entry of tourists, others are restricted by the government, and few of them are just impossible to reach. But that’s when you should chant Google Namaha! Thanks to Google Maps, you can at least visit these mystical places virtually if not physically. So here are 15 strangest places in the world that you can only visit on Google Maps.
15 Strangest Places In The World Only Found On Google Maps
1. Vatican Secret Archives
A trip to Vatican City can be one of the most exhilarating trips of your life. The iconic art, splendid architecture will surely take your breath away. But for the history and sociology enthusiasts, this is where your trip begins and ends because you can never visit the Vatican Secret Archives. This is one of the world’s oldest libraries that houses ancient books that belonged to popes for generations.
Only a handful of sacred men are allowed access to the Vatican Secret Archives. Many people believe that this library has books that might have proof of alien existence or even have scriptures that disapprove of the existence of Jesus Christ. But whatever said and done, this is definitely a mystery waiting to be unravelled, but you can satiate your curiosity by visiting this place virtually through Google Maps.
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2. Bohemian Grove
As trippy as the name sounds, the Bohemian Grove is much more mysterious than the name. Located in California, this is a western US state spread across 2700 acres. It’s owned by a private club from San Francisco called the Bohemian Club. Every summer, this club organises weekend camps for the most powerful men in the world.
From politicians to musicians close-knit group of influential people are allowed access here. It’s a highly guarded place founded in 1872 by a group of male musicians, artists, lawyers, actors, journalists and later included politicians and affluent businessmen. This is one of the strangest places in the world that you can only visit on Google Maps.
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3. Lascaux Cave
The Lascaux Cave is situated in the Dordogne region of southwestern France. It’s known to be over 20,000 years old and has Palaeolithic cave paintings which are famous for their spectacular quality, size and antiquity. The cave paintings mainly depict large animals that were native to the region.
The complex cave was opened to the public till 1963 and was visited by 1500 people per day. But it was closed down since the carbon dioxide from human breath began to damage the prehistoric paintings of the painted cave. Today, the only way you can get access to it is by seeing it virtually on Google Maps.
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4. Mezhgorye
Mezhgorye is a town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. This town forbids the entry of visitors and even Russians from other parts of the country. Rumours suggest that residents of this town are working on a top-secret project around Mount Yamantaw.
This particular mountain is perhaps the location of a large number of Russian secrets, like the nuclear program, a bunker used during the war or a huge warehouse of coal. While Russia keeps its secrets, it’s bad news for travellers who want to tick off some of the strangest places in the world from their bucket list. But you can get a glimpse of this gorgeous town through the Google satellite images.
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Also Read: 10 Most Unique Places In India Which Will Amaze You
5. Svalbard Global Seed Vault
If the world were to end, where would we go, and how would we sustain ourselves? The answer to this lies in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Situated in the North Sea on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, this seed vault houses more than 250 million crop seeds. This has been placed by gene banks from all over the world.
It’s specially built to make these plants survive, in case Earth faces an apocalypse. The seeds have the ability to withstand any natural calamity or any type of explosion, but only designated researchers or plant breeders with a valid permit can visit this place. This is definitely one of the strangest places in the world that you can visit on Google Maps.
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6. Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion
This place of worship is located in Ethiopia. However, the Church of Our Lady Mary Zion does not permit visitors as it is believed to house some of the most significant biblical objects, including the original Ark of the Covenant. The legends surrounding this church state that the Ark was brought to this place by Menelik I. He did this after visiting his father, King Solomon.
The original structure is believed to have been built back in the 4th century, when this area was ruled by the first Christian ruler of the Kingdom of Axum, or present-day Ethiopia, Ezana. It’s a mystical place that holds a lot of secrets, but you can get a glimpse of this on Google Maps.
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7. Snake Island
If you thought Naagin just existed on TV, then did you know there’s an entire island of it near the city of Sao Paulo in Brazil? Popularly known as the Snake Island, Ilha de Queimada Grande has more than 4000 snakes residing there. This place is forbidden by the Brazilian Navy.
This 110-acre island is home to the golden lancehead, one of the most venomous vipers in the world. This snake is said to be so poisonous that it can melt human flesh with its venom. Now that’s an island you’d just wish to visit virtually.
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Also read: 10 Weird Museums Around The World To Visit Once In Your Life
8. Surtsey
Nestled in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland, Surtsey is a volcanic island, hidden from the rest of the world. This is a beautiful island, but unfortunately, no one can get access to this place. Surtsey is the southernmost point of Iceland. It was formed in 1963 due to a volcanic eruption, and only scientists have set foot here ever since.
It’s believed that to date, Surtsey is a living laboratory, where scientists conduct experiments to analyse the interaction between animals and plants without human intervention.
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9. North Sentinel Island
North Sentinel Island on the Bay of Bengal, near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, houses the world’s most dangerous tribe. It’s also known as one of the hardest places to visit in the world. The island has a tribal population of 50 to 400, and they haven’t let modern civilisation touch them in any manner. Whoever has tried to visit this island has been killed by arrows and stones.
The Sentinelese are totally against foreign invasion, and the area is patrolled by the Indian Army to protect them from contracting diseases from foreign people, for which they don’t have any immunity. You might not be able to visit this strangest place in the world, but you can take a sneak peek through Google Maps.
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10. Area 51
Area 51 is often referred to in pop culture. This is a restricted secret military base of the US forces, and it exists 83 miles north of Nevada. The area is believed to have a moonlike surface.
This is a place used for the development of aircraft and weapons systems by the US military. It’s scrutinised at all times to restrict any kind of foreign intrusion. While you cannot set foot here, do check this place out on Google Maps.
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11. The Badlands Guardian
In Canada lies the most unusual rock formation, inaccessible to the eager tourist or the curious local. That’s Badlands Guardian, a natural rock formation that looks like a human face wearing a headdress or a scarf wrapped around their head. Its resemblance to a human being is actually pareidolia or the ability to see faces in objects. The Badlands Guardian can be spotted on Google Maps or if you are lucky enough to fly over Canada, right above the rock figure staring into oblivion.
This image gained a lot of media attention in 2005 after Lynn Hickox first spotted it. The valley’s later images resemble a person wearing earrings, which are actually a road and an oil well built in the region. Located in badlands of Alberta, this structure is artistically crafted through natural weathering over thousands of years.
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12. The Pentagram
On the list of the strangest places in the world stands The Pentagram. Buried deep into the ground in Kazakhstan, it’s a five-pointed star that’s still spotted on Google Earth. Etched into the ground near a lake in the vicinity of Lisakovsk, a city in the country, the Pentagram has for time immemorial been the topic of chatter on social media. While some claim it is a site of devil worship, others speculate on the meaning of the star.
The Pentagram is actually the remains of an unfinished Soviet-era park. During that time, Kazakhstan was still a part of the Soviet Union. And stars would often make it on flags, monuments and architecture of buildings. Taking Soviet-era design style in mind, the five-pointed star could hint at the makings of a road leading to the park. Today, the park remains unfinished in present-day Kazakhstan. But the star-shaped road outline still whispers what could have been.
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13. Swastika-Shaped Building Complex
In San Diego, there’s a Navy base, a building complex that has a layout of a Swastika. When viewed from above, the building resembles a Swastika. In the 1960s, this Navy base was built in the design of four L-shaped buildings. With no satellite imagery in existence, people were unaware of what the building complex appeared to look like from a bird’s-eye view.
That was until a few decades later when Google Earth let people realise how unusual the building’s top view looked. The Navy clarified that the layout didn’t point to any direct message; rather, it was just a design. In response to public concern, the complex was beautified with trees, solar panels and landscaping features to help it break away from the misunderstood and misinterpreted design.
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14. The Human Lips
Sudan is known for its rugged landscapes, hard deserts and alluring scenic views. But what stands out on Google Earth and makes a scene from this country a mystery is a natural structure that looks like a pair of gigantic human lips. This Google Earth image has sparked many a discussion online and fuelled wild theories. While some speculate it to be a portal, others think it’s an unexplained phenomenon or an optical illusion.
When viewed from above, different shades of sand and rock have come together to create an optical illusion. Another cultural connection to the rock formation is how natives of the country have usually given lips a lot of symbolic importance. Certain tribes incorporated lip plates and tattoos to protect themselves from misfortune and enhance their beauty.
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15. The Boneyard
The Boneyard, sitting in the Arizona desert, is officially the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG). Inaccessible to the general public, this seemingly mysterious place is known to house about 4000 planes from the US military and government agencies. This is a designated parking space for planes due to the vast, dry desert landscape. The low humidity levels prevent the planes from rusting , while the hard ground stops them from sinking.
What started as a parking space for fighter jets in 1945, after World War II to store one aircraft, today stores over 4000. The collection is believed to include jets and bombers from other nations as well. But since it’s a secured military facility, it remains out of reach of aero nerds.
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These are some of the strangest places in the world that you can only get access to via Google Maps. Which of these are you most curious to visit?
Cover Image Courtesy: Wikipedia/Michael Major
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