Weird Places

The top 10 Weird Places on earth to visit. These are some of the oddest locations around the world.

1. Blood Falls

This bright red waterfall in Antarctica was nicknamed Blood Falls by geologists. It’s nearly five stories high, seeping through a crack in Taylor Glacier, which flows into Antarctica’s Lake Bonney. The red color is caused by microbes living off sulfur and iron in oxygen-free water that has been trapped for nearly 2 million years in a hidden lake beneath the ice. The water trickles out and when it makes contact with the air, it turns red.

2. The Poison Garden

The Poison Garden is located near Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, UK. It is the world’s most dangerous garden and it is filled with over 100 plants that can kill you. There are strict rules warning you: “No touching; No smelling.” There are also narcotic plants in the garden, like poppies, cannabis and magic mushrooms. The gardens were established in 2005 by the Duchess of Northumberland. They were inspired by a famous poison garden in Padua where the Medicis would plot to murder their enemies.

3. Gulliver’s Kingdom

Gulliver’s Kingdom was a failed theme park located near Kawaguchi-machi, Yamanashi prefecture in Japan. The park’s closing was a result of poor ticket sales, probably had something to do with its rather unfortunate locale. The park was adjacent to Aokigahara, Japan’s infamous “Suicide Forest.”

4. Pink Lake

This pink lake is Lake Hillier on Australia’s Middle Island. Because the mysterious body of water is only visible by air, it hasn’t been extensively studied. As a result, scientists aren’t sure what causes the lake to have its pink tinge.

Another body of water in Western Australia, Pink Lake, shares Lake Hillier’s color. In the right weather conditions, Pink Lake turns a lighter shade due to the high concentration of algae in the water. Australia isn’t the only country in the world with salmon colored lakes, either. Lake Retba in Senegal features a similar lake whose pink tone comes from the Dunaliella salina bacteria that feed off of the lake’s high salt content. Few creatures can survive life in the salty lake, so the area serves mainly as a tourist attraction and source for salt production. People can swim in the lake since the bacteria is completely harmless to humans.

5. Skull Tower

The city of Nis, in the south of Serbia, was the site of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire. In 1809, the rebels were facing certain defeat when 36,000 Turkish soldiers invaded the city—but rather than give up, the rebel leader fired his weapon into his own powder kegs, causing a powerful explosion that killed his own soldiers and the invading forces. In retaliation, furious Turkish commanders constructed Cele Kula, or “The Skull Tower” to desecrate the bodies of the Serbs. They built 952 skulls into a 15-foot tower at the entrance to the city, with the rebel leader’s skull placed at the very top. The skin from the skulls was stuffed and sent to Istanbul as proof of the victory. Over the years, many of the skulls were removed by relatives for burial, and only 58 remain in the tower today. In 1892, a chapel was built around the site in order to preserve it. The tower did not prove to be as much of a deterrent as the Turks hoped: the Serbs rebelled again in 1815 and gained independence 15 years later.

6. Actun Tunichil Muknal

Actun Tunichil Muknal is a cave in Belize. The name means “Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre”. It was used by the ancient Mayans for ritual sacrifice and the cave contains the remains of Mayan children who were killed there to please the Sun God.

There are 14 skeletal remains in these caves and all of them have blunt trauma to the head. Some had their whole skulls crushed. The most famous skeleton in the cave is “The Crystal Maiden”. She was an 18-year-old girl who was probably the victim of human sacrifice. Scientists say she died in a violent manner and was thrown to the ground where she has lain for the past 1000 years. She has been there so long that her skeleton has become calcified, giving it a sparkling, crystaline look.

The children may also have been killed because they were disabled. The Mayans may have thought they were witches and believed that killing them in the cave would trap their spirits there.

7. Izu Islands

The Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honsh?, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo. The largest is Izu ?shima, usually called simply ?shima. Because of their volcanic nature, the islands are constantly filled with the stench of sulfur (extremely similar to the smell of thousands of farts). Residents were evacuated from the islands in 1953 and 2000 due to volcanic activity and dangerously high levels of gas. The people returned in 2005 but are now required to carry gas masks with them at all times in case gas levels rise unexpectedly.