Planet Earth is a magnificent place that never fails to amaze with its beautiful natural wonders and jaw-dropping man-made wonders. Yet our world is not without its fair share of surprises, either. Suppose you’re obsessed by sites with mythical roots or unknown events that send you goosebumps. In that case, you’ll be amazed by these enigmatic spots all over the planet.
Although many of these enigmatic phenomena have rational theories, some remain stubbornly unexplained. Join us for a virtual tour of your couch as we take a peek at the facts, stories, hypotheses, and stories around some of the strangest places in the world.
Area 51, USA
Area 51 is one of the few odd stops on our tour. But is it bizarre at all? This army is centred some 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The claim to fame is that it is allegedly the top-secret location where alien bodies and technology were taken during a UFO accident in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Although the military base may be hidden (most of the military bases are), all of the conspiratorial arguments about Area 51 have been thoroughly debunked.
It’s the most secretive airport in the world, synonymous with conspiracy theories. Cold War-era aerospace research, stories of sinister experimentation, a staged lunar crash, and a lab run by aliens, Entering the foundation is strictly banned.
Area 51 is also one of the places a normal person cannot visit. For more such sites, click here.
Bermuda Triangle
What mysteries lurk in the ocean’s triangle between the southern tip of Florida, Bermuda, and San Juan, Puerto Rico?
The Bermuda Triangle – spanning about 500,000 square miles (more than 1,290,000 square kilometres) between Bermuda, Miami, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico – has seen more than 20 planes and 50 ships crash with no specific cause and even some “disappear entirely. Theories vary from divine activity claims to more rational assumptions due to changes in the magnetic axis or false waves.
Blood Falls, Antarctica
The coldest and perhaps most mysterious continent in the world is home to a red-blooded waterfall that flows through the ice.
Antarctica is the place to a crimson-hued waterfall called the Blood Falls, which sprouts five floors over an ice white glacier on top of being the coldest and driest location on the planet. Scientists have now established that the grey hue comes from the acidic, iron-rich water within the glacier that oxidizes and rusts when exposed to oxygen. It began nearly two million years ago when a saltwater lake was trapped within Taylor Glacier, but is it the truth?
The Door to Hell, Turkmenistan
Almost 50 years ago, a massive, flaming crater opened in the deserts of northern Turkmenistan. The Darvaza Crater, also recognized as the Door to Hell, is still blazing today, and its light can be seen from miles away at night. It was set on fire to deter the spread of gases and is now burning decades after.
The door to Hell was opened in 1971. Engineers drilled a natural gas field in the desert of Northern Turkmenistan when a part of it collapsed into an underground cavern.
Nazca Lines, Peru
Atlantis might be a legend, but the enigmatic Nazca lines are the real deal. These immense geoglyphs on the arid coast of Peru represent snakes, monkeys, plants, and other figures. They date backs to about 500 B.C. But the breeze is best enjoyed. Approximately 300 figures from a spider to a hummingbird are cut into the sands of Peru’s southern desert, with some lines extending more than three miles (3.2 km). The pre-Columbian geoglyphs, which cover some 200 miles (322 km) long, had celestial connections or were used as a giant calendar. They have been observed by scientists for more than 80 years, their function is still unknown.
The Great Blue Hole, Belize
The Great Blue Hole is straightforward in its name but still daunting in scale and beauty. This vast, remote sea hole off Belize’s coast is more than 1,000 feet wide and 400 feet deep. Divers and underwater explorers, including French writer and adventurer Jacques Cousteau, have come under the spell of the world’s most enormous sinkhole. Its deepest darkest mysteries remained a mystery until late 2018, when an excavation team including Jacques’ grandson, Fabien Cousteau, and Sir Richard Branson shot footage from a submarine, exposing stalactites and “unidentifiable tracks.” But are any questions still unanswered? Is it darker than the Mariana Trench?
Easter Islands, Chile
This remote island in the Pacific Ocean was once inhabited by the Rapa Nui civilization, which erected about 1,000 massive stone sculptures known as moai around 900 years ago. On an average of 13 feet tall and weighed 14 tonnes apiece, these remarkable numbers captivated European explorers who first arrived on the island in 1722. It remains a mystery how they came to their location. Still, one of the preeminent hypotheses is that they walked from quarries to stone platforms.
The standard hypothesis is that the ancient Polynesians used stone platforms to walk them from quarries and set them to identify freshwater sources. The bodies of the statues are buried to leave only the enigmatic heads visible.
Stonehenge, United Kingdome
What was the meaning of that ancient icon? A burial ground, huh? The Memorial to the Winter Solstice? A UFO landing spot, huh?
More than 5,000 years ago, the prehistoric monument was such a prominent landmark that people may no longer think of it as obscure.
This circle of rocks has long been one of the most prominent and enigmatic locations in the United Kingdom, with historians and scientists puzzled by how their builders transported the monoliths 5,000 years ago.
Although it is widely agreed that it was constructed as a holy temple and burial site, there is still controversy as to how Neolithic people achieved this huge architectural feat.
Possibly Stonehenge and Easter Islands are co-related, Easter Islands being the heads, and Stonehenge being the legs.
The Eternal Flames Waterfall, New York
It’s nothing to do with Bangles’ hit single, but it’s an (almost) everlasting flame. The bewitching orange-red light that flickers behind this phased waterfall in New York’s Chestnut Ridge Park is held aflame by the natural methane gas that passes through cracks in the ground. This Everlasting Blaze, which burns behind the water, is fueled by natural methane gas leaking from cracks in the floor. The flame is not always permanent, though—the water often extinguishes the flames, but tourists often ignite it again with a lighter to keep the enchantment alive.
Magnetic Hill, India, and Canada
Magnetic hills, or gravity hills, are visual illusions. A path that seems like it’s sloping upward due to the surrounding terrain is merely sloping downhill, so cars, buses, and other vehicles tend to roll uphill despite gravity. Cars roll back and up, evidently, when driving to the bottom of this so-called “magnetic hill.”
Leh, Ladakh in India, and Moncton, New Brunswick, in Canada are the most prominent locations.
Superstition maintains that the magnetic hill takes people to heaven. Tourists come here to examine this unusual natural phenomenon for themselves.
Lake Abraham, Canada
In colder months, Abraham Lake actually looks like a beautiful turquoise lake in Alberta, Canada. Except in the winter, the icy water is packed with white, suspended orbs that appear like snowballs. It may look like Christmas magic, but the reality is less romantic. The suspended white balls are pockets of methane gas created as organic matter decomposes and freezes into clumps.
Lake Natron, Tazmania
Lake Natron in Tanzania is also famous as Petrifying Lake because it can transform birds into ‘rock.’ Water temperatures can exceed 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Its pH level is 10.5, about as high as ammonia. Water is so caustic that it will sear the skin and the eyes of animals that are not accustomed to it. Its high sodium carbonate levels also serve as a preservative, leaving almost mummified birds, bats, and other species dying in its waters. However, the Lake is a secure breeding area for a colony of flamingos.
Maybe Perseus left Medusa’s head in this Lake and forgot about it.
