Our planet is rich in the most beautiful places that delight and admiration of tourists. But is it really safe to visit these natural attractions? Let's take a closer look at them and start our journey from Bolivia.
1. Salt Flats Uyuni
This is one of the most famous Bolivian landmarks. It is very beautiful in here. When the blue sky is reflected on the absolutely smooth surface of the water, covering an even thin layer of salt, it feels like you are traveling through the clouds. Mighty volcanoes, a chain surrounding an almost dried-up lake called the Uyuni salt marsh on all sides, complete the magical picture, bringing up thoughts of fairy elves and other evil spirits.
So where is danger awaiting us? - Everything is very simple. In the rainy season, the salt crust becomes very thin, and under it, it turns out, deep gaps are hidden, where both a lone traveler and a whole excursion bus with all passengers can disappear without a trace. So you need to walk here with caution, and it is better to leave cars on the shore.
2. Madidi National Park
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If you managed to admire the beauty of the Uyuni salt marsh without falling under a thin layer of salt, then the next place you should go is Madidi National Park, located in the same Bolivia. At first glance, everything here is very simple and consistent: it is cold on the snowy peaks, real tropics below, and in the middle - the most suitable climate for lovers of temperate latitudes. And everywhere - its own, unique nature, rare plants and an unimaginably rich animal world, for which, in fact, the park was created.
It is precisely the representatives of the animal world that you should be wary of when traveling through Madidi National Park. Since all these living creatures, freely reproducing in the protected areas of the park, are far from being friendly towards travelers. Not only are there many crocodiles and very poisonous snakes here, but you can also easily find far from tame bear or jaguar. And one of the most dangerous creatures living in the park is a small but unusually harmful gadfly fly, whose favorite pastime is to lay the larvae under the skin of a gaping tourist.
3. Road of death
And again the already so beloved Bolivia. This time we will talk about the Death Road - one of the most beautiful and at the same time dangerous roads in the world. Up to 200 people die here every year. At first glance, this is not so much - the number of fatal accidents on busy highways is estimated at thousands and even tens of thousands. But the fact is that this road is by no means an autobahn, where cars scurry back and forth. Quite the opposite - because of its danger, the road is completely closed to public transport, and only tourists visit it privately to take beautiful photos. For some, the most inattentive tourists, this trip turns out to be the last in their lives.
The road goes high in the mountains, is distinguished by an extraordinary steepness and is very narrow - on one side it hangs a rock, on the other - a bottomless abyss. In some places, in order for two cars to part, one of them needs to be close to the rock, and the second is even worse - its wheels literally hang down into the abyss. During heavy rains, some sections of the road are eroded, and then it becomes absolutely impassable. But who is it stopping?
4. San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
And now, for a change, we will leave the humid tropics and look into the desert, and in order not to waste time on trifles, we will go to the driest and hottest place on Earth - the Atacama Desert, where 1 mm of precipitation falls from the force of 1 mm per year. In addition, it is located near Bolivia, which is very convenient if you still decide to visit the maximum number of dangerous places located in this part of the planet.
Where do we find trouble in the Atacama Desert? - Yes, everywhere! Suppose that, crossing the sands, you found a source of water and joyfully rushed to it to fill your already almost empty jars. So, in no case should you do this! And all because the local water cannot be drunk due to the high content of arsenic in it.
If you think that the dry and hot air of the desert will save you from the abundance of flying and blood-sucking parasites, then you are wrong here too - there are a lot of them here. Moreover, most of these parasites not only dream of sucking all your blood, but at the same time strive to infect you with some deadly exotic disease.
And we will finish by far from a complete listing of all the dangers of the Atacama Desert with the possibility of being blown up by one of the very old, but still active mines that the Chilean and Bolivian troops generously placed along their common border when they tried to resolve various kinds of border disputes. The disputes were not finally resolved, and therefore no one began to remove the mines.
5. Tsinzhi du Bemaraha, Madagascar
But let us finally leave Bolivia alone and move to the island of Madagascar. To be more precise - in Chingy-du-Bemaraha, better known as the Stone Forest.
This is an amazing place. Imagine limestone pillars up to a hundred meters high, standing tightly to each other and covering a huge area of hundreds of square kilometers. It was the contemplation of Chinzhi du Bemarach that gave director James Cameron an idea of what the planet Pandora would look like in Avatar. And in general, the overwhelming part of "alien" cinematographic landscapes is just a copy of earthly beauties.
You can admire the Stone Forest from a special suspension bridge. More precisely, you need to admire it from this bridge, because going down there is deadly. First, the surface of the limestone that makes up the stone pillars is so sharp that even a light touch will damage your skin and cause bleeding. And any scratch in the tropics, as you know, is fraught with serious consequences, including blood poisoning. Secondly, it is very easy to get lost in the Stone Forest, besides, it is very difficult to move there - there are no roads or even paths. Well, and thirdly, quite aggressive animals and insects live under its canopy. You can also add here the almost complete absence of cellular communication and the disgusting work of the satellite navigation system - all "thanks" to the high poles that jam any signals.
6. Kjeragbolton, Norway
Do you think that only in the wild and hot tropics you are in danger? No, in the far north there are also beautiful and at the same time dangerous places. For example, in Norway there is a giant Kjeragbolton stone, which is extremely popular among tourists, hanging over an abyss, on which everyone who is not lazy is photographed. Only when climbing this stone one must take into account that its surface is unusually slippery, and the wind in these parts is unpredictable. A sudden impulse can throw the traveler down, and only those who have a parachute with them will survive.
7. Atlantic Road
Here in Norway you have the chance to ride the Atlantic Road - an unusually picturesque route that runs, as the name implies, along the Atlantic coast. The most favorite section of this route for extreme lovers is a small piece, consisting of eight bridges, connecting several islands in series with the mainland. Both the bridges and the islands are picturesque, no doubt, but in themselves they are not dangerous. What trouble awaits us here? It turns out that the problem is high waves, which can easily throw a passenger car off one of the bridges and drown it in the sea. These waves usually form in the period from late autumn to early spring, and the Norwegian authorities specifically warn about the danger of all adrenaline lovers who decide to ride on bridges at this time of year.
8. Namaskard, Iceland
But in Iceland, in addition to capes, lagoons and several waterfalls (which do not pose any danger if you just behave carefully), you can visit one unique place, which is located at the foot of the mountain with the unpronounceable name of Naumafyatl. This attraction is called Namaskard or Gateway to Valhalla, and is a system of geothermal springs. But we will immediately warn you that, unlike lagoons and waterfalls, you should not expect any aesthetic pleasure from visiting Namaskard. Rather, on the contrary - here you will breathe in poisonous sulfur fumes and get a chance to fall into a pit of boiling water, where, most likely, you will be boiled alive so quickly that there will be no point in pulling you back out. So if you decide to take a walk at the foot of Naumafjall,watch your step carefully and in no case turn off the paths specially laid for tourists by the local authorities.
9. Boiling Lake, Dominican Republic
Another natural "pot" near which you need to be extremely careful is a very small lake located in the Dominican Republic. It is forbidden to swim in it, and no one would think of it, since the water temperature in the lake is 80-90 degrees Celsius. However, locals quite often have to fish out the boiled corpses of unlucky travelers from the water, who came too close to the water and could not maintain balance on unusually slippery stones.
10. Alnica Garden, UK
It turns out that in order to be in danger, it is not at all necessary to climb into the wild jungle, visit waterless deserts or dive into geothermal springs. You can risk your life, for example, in the well-kept garden of the English castle of Alnica.
This garden is notable for the fact that almost all the poisonous plants of the world are collected here. Narcotic plants are also grown here by special permission - if you decide to plant them in your own garden, you will quickly go to jail. Of course, the visit to the garden takes place under the strict supervision of the ministers.
Konstantin Fedorov