10 Amazing Places You’re Not Allowed to Visit

Our spectacular planet has countless wonders to explore. But there are some places that are just too dangerous, too protected, or maybe too special to visit—even for the most seasoned voyager.

Heard Island // Australia 

This subantarctic volcanic island, an Australian territory in the extreme southern Indian Ocean, is considered one of the most remote places on Earth. The 142-square-mile glaciated island is home to an array of wildlife including penguins, seals, and seabirds. Heard Island and the nearby McDonalds Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an IUCN 1a Strict Nature Reserve, meaning that human activity on the uninhabited islands is tightly controlled to preserve biodiversity.

In 2000, researchers from the University of Hawaii noticed a mile-long lava flow coming from the southwest side of Mawson’s Peak, a 2745-foot volcano at the center of Heard Island, and it has been active ever since. The weather on the island is notoriously poor, and it’s at least a two-week sail from any other major land mass, making Heard Island one of the hardest places in the world to access.

Ilha da Queimada Grande // Brazil 

Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, is a 106-acre island located about 20 miles off the coast of São Paulo, Brazil. The island is home to several rare and critically endangered snake species, including one of the world’s deadliest, the golden lancehead pit viper. About 3000 of the vipers, the entire global population, are estimated to live on the island. For that reason, the Brazilian government prohibits any visitors from setting foot there but does issue permits to scientists to study the snakes.

North Sentinel Island // India

This small, heavily forested portion of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal is completely encircled by coral reef, but that isn’t what makes it inaccessible. North Sentinel Island is inhabited by Indigenous Sentinelese, an uncontacted people who reject interference from the outside world and vigorously defend their isolated territory. In 2008, two fisherman whose boat accidentally strayed too close were reportedly killed by Sentinelese, and in 2018, a 26-year-old American missionary named John Allen Chau was killed when he attempted to land on the island and convert the inhabitants to Christianity. The island is legally off-limits to any outsider and is patrolled by the Indian Navy.

Lascaux Cave // France 

This complex cave system, located in southwestern France, is home to one of the world’s most famous examples of Paleolithic cave art. The ancient paintings are believed to be over 17,000 years old and depict images of large animals that lived in the area at that time, including horses, bulls, and deer. The caves are listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, but have been closed to the public since 1963 after visitors caused fungus to grow on the walls. Prehistoric art buffs can enter and experience a life-sized replica of the Lascaux cave and its paintings near the original site.

Poveglia // Italy 

This small island is located between Venice and Lido within the Venetian Lagoon in northern Italy. Throughout its history, it has been a defensive fort, a shipping checkpoint, quarantine station for bubonic plague patients, and a psychiatric asylum. In 1968, the hospital was closed down and the island was abandoned. Now, Poveglia is considered highly haunted. Rumor has it that the ghosts of plague victims, war casualties, and a murderous doctor roam the decaying grounds. Poveglia is off-limits to visitors, though some adventurers have reportedly landed there using their own watercraft.

Vatican Private Archives // Italy

Buried deep within the walls of Vatican City are the Vatican Archives housing the immense history of the acts of the Holy See, along with historic documents, state papers, papal account books, and other official correspondence, some of which date back to the 8th century. Items include letters from Michelangelo, a letter from Mary, Queen of Scots written while she was awaiting her execution, and King Henry VIII’s request for a marriage annulment. The archives, which are the official property of the current pope, have been estimated to span over 52 miles of shelving with more that 35,000 items. Other than a very small staff that takes care of the archives, access is strictly limited to qualified scholars from very select higher education and research institutions, all of whom have to undergo an rigorous access application process to be granted entry.

Ise Grand Shrine // Japan

The Ise shrine, located in the town of Uji-tachi in the Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto complex dedicated to the goddess Amaterasu-omikami. While the location of the shrine is said to date back to the 3rd century, the standing structures have been dismantled and replaced every 20 years to be consistent with Shinto beliefs regarding death and renewal. One of the main shrines is believed to house the Sacred Mirror, called Yata no Kagami, part of the imperial regalia of Japan. From outside, little can be seen except a fence and the buildings’ thatched roofs. Access is restricted to just the high priestess or priest, who must to be a member of the Japanese imperial family.

Area 51 // Nevada 

No list of prohibited places would be complete without a mention of Area 51, the nickname for a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base in southern Nevada. The facility is shrouded in secrecy, and while some civilians believe it’s a testing facility for experimental aircraft and weaponry, conspiracy theorists suggest that the base is where the U.S. government examines and stores an alien space craft and its occupants, including evidence from a supposed alien crash landing in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. While the area surrounding Area 51 is a popular tourist destination for alien enthusiasts, access to Area 51 itself is completely prohibited, except to intelligence and military personnel with special clearance. The airspace above the base is also a no-go area and is rumored to be protected with anti aircraft weaponry and fighter jets.

Tomb of the Qin Shi Huang // China 

The tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died in 210 BCE, is buried deep beneath a hill in central China. The burial complex consists of a complicated network of underground caverns that were filled with all the things the emperor would need in the afterlife, including clay reproductions of his armies, family, servants, horses, and staff, widely known as the Terracotta Army. Since its discovery in 1974, over 2000 statues have been excavated, each of them unique, and experts believe that there may be more that 8000 in total surrounding the central tomb, still yet to be uncovered. However, the Chinese government might never allow the excavation of the emperor’s tomb, choosing to respect the ancient burial rites. So while tourists can catch a glimpse of the emperor’s clay army during a site tour, the ancient warrior’s main tomb may remain undiscovered indefinitely.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault // Norway

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a vast seed bank and storage facility on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, around 800 miles from the North Pole, built 400 feet into a mountainside. Officially opened in February 2008, the facility now stores around 840,000 samples of 4000 different species of seeds from all over the world. The idea behind the seed bank is to provide a safety net against biodiversity loss in the case of a major global catastrophe. It functions much like a safety deposit box at the bank, allowing organizations or governments to ‘deposit’ seed variations in the vault for safe keeping, and only they have access to their deposits. The 11,000-square-foot facility is protected by advanced security systems and access is strictly limited to a handful of employees.

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