12 Forbidden Places in the World You Cannot Visit

With the advancement of modern technologies and high technology solutions, we’ve learned many new great things over the past few years. It’s surprising how long we’ve come and discovered about the earth and its secret. But did ever try to know that there remains some corner of this amazing planet which isn’t that easy to reach or explore for anyone of us.

From archaeologists to modern scientists and rich tourists, there are some of the other places on this planet that might excite you to visit and discover but unfortunately, you can’t reach for it. Some of them may be mysterious, dangerous or preserved, different places have different reasons to lock up their doors.

We curated a list of such forbidden places in the world for you to cure your curiosity about these places.

Forbidden places on earth

Here’s a list of 12 Forbidden places in the world that are banned for general public access. These Forbidden Locations are untouched or not for public access.

1. North Sentinel Island, India

North Sentinel Island is a small island in the Andaman chain located in the Bay of Bengal. The island does have a surviving life on it but the natives refuse to connect with the modern world. They have protected their land for more than 60,000 years and have never let anyone from outside ever enter their space. And if at all they get a hint or clue that someone might enter it, they are willing to get aggressive too for their land. Therefore, this place comes in Forbidden Locations list.

The Indian government has kept protected this land for all these years and has prohibited any outsider to visit this place. No anthropologists, authorities or tourist has ever been able to visit this beautiful island state.

Read This, Places in India where we are not allowed to visit

2. Snake Island, Brazil

As the name suggests, the place is home to many snakes making it an extremely deadliest spot to visit. People say that you’ll find here a snake in every square meter of the island. The place has the deadliest snakes that ever existed on this planet and the government has strictly prohibited for any human to visit here.

3. Lascaux Caves, France

Lascaux Caves, France
flickr: Du Hoang

The Lascaux Cave in France is a favorite spot for archaeologists and has been preserved for ages for visitors to visit here. The cave has some amazing mind-blowing prehistoric art and Paleolithic paintings on walls of these caves. Most of them are quite haunting images of animal fights and battles. There is a hall of the bull which has beautiful bull murals and graffiti art. Sadly, none are allowed to enter this space as the authorities believe that human access would destroy this ancient artistic corner.

4. Poveglia, Italy

Poveglia, Italy
flickr: Gianni Mello

Poveglia is a small island between Venice and Lido. The place today is just an abandoned place due to its horrific past and sinister stories. It was a  plague quarantine station in the 14th century for more than 160 thousand of people who were in their final days. The place has more of human remains buried in the soils than anything else.

Things went worst when this place was later turned into a mental hospital and it is heard that a cruel doctor use to carry his experiments on the patients here. After that, there were some horrific incidents taking place here which slowly got the place a very sinister reputation. Today, this place is strictly prohibited to visit for anyone at any cost by the government of Italy.

5. Ise Grand Shrine, Japan

Ise Grand Shrine, Japan
flickr: tetsuya yamamoto

Japan is popular for its shrines and the beauty of peaceful nature that brings more peace to the spiritual state of a man. There are more than 80000 shrines in Japan but Ise Grand Shrine is one of the most popular, intricate and sophisticated preserved shrines which has been maintained since ages in Japan. It has one of the most expensive and detailed architectures which limits it’s access to the general public here.

The temple is rebuilt every 20 years following and maintaining the Shinto traditions dating back from the 8th century. Only royal members have permission to visit this temple and no one else. The place continues to be a hidden gem from the outer world as no one knows what beauty resides in these hallowed ancient halls.

6. Heard Island, Australia

Heard Island, Australia
flickr: Richard Arculus

Heard Island is one of the most remote and abandoned islands of the world. It’s home to a large number of animals, birds and over 40 glaciers with lots of marine birds and animals as well. The reason why this place remains isolated from any human life is that the researches stated the huge lava flows at this place from the massive volcano named Mawson’s peak which is not safe at all. 

The place now has many debris and limestone which got formed due to massive flowing lava. The Australian government has strictly prohibited anyone to visit these lands except for some research work which might take a long lengthy process to get permission.

7. Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China

Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China
forbidden places in the world
flickr: Omar A

The tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang remains undiscovered and unexcavated by the government of China as a tribute to the late emperor. The emperor has been buried in the tomb for more than 2000 years. But the interesting part is that the contents of the tomb are still a mystery for historians and researchers.

The contents of the tomb are sealed and strictly prohibited for excavation by the government. People say that the burial elements also include the things and essentials that the emperor might need in his afterlife.

8. Vatican Secret Archives, Vatican City

Vatican Secret Archives, Vatican City
forbidden places in the world
flickr: Dell EMC

The archives of Vatican secrets guide some of the important documents, accounts, demon evidence and a lot more that are related to the Catholic church for centuries. Many of these documents are preserved since the 8th century and are highly preserved here. The depth of the content in these scriptures is beyond our imagination and not everyone is allowed to visit here. Only the highest qualified scholars or educators are allowed with special permission and that though they can access the section for which they have taken permission from authorities.

The whole library is no way accessible to anyone even under strict terms. It is said that these archives also contain a letter from Michelangelo to Pope Julius II, a letter from Mary Queen of Scots written before her execution, and Martin Luther’s ex-communication document and much more from the prominent personalities of history. Sadly the place will never be accessible for the normal public to know what resides in these pages.

9. Area 51, United States

Area 51, United States
forbidden places in the world
Image by Elias Sch. from Pixabay

You have heard about the Area 51 in many movies especially in Aliens’ Movies. Area 51 in Southern Nevada has some conspiracy going on which puts it in a forbidden zone for everyone. It is a US military base which is also used as a testing ground for aircraft and defense weapons. People have also stated that this place is also used for secret alien testing. Nobody dares to tempt crossing the line and trespassing this area ever.

10. North Brother Island, United States

The North Brother island is situated in New York City. Sadly this place is abandoned and isolated from years. It used to be the riverside hospital for patients of yellow fever, tuberculosis and small fever in the 19th century. The hospital then turned into a house for veterans in World War II. In the 1960s the hospital was closed left to abandon. Today it’s just a bird sanctuary with no access for people.

11. Surtsey Island, Iceland

Surtsey Island, Iceland
flickr: Gilles Messian

Surtsey is a volcanic Island which also falls under the UNESCO World Heritage List. The place is no less than a natural laboratory where scientists study the microcosm of natural development and other relevant information on plant and animal life, the appearance of molds and different types of bacteria and fungi. 

Today the island alone is home to more than 335 invertebrate species and other lichen, fungi, and microorganisms. To maintain the balance of nature and avoid human disruptions, the place is accessible only to selected expert scientists.

12. Doomsday Vault, Norway

The doomsday vault is a seeds vault in Norway that has the global seeds storage. the place is an extremely important spot on earth with more than 100 million seeds stored all over from the world just in case the need arises to restore the plant kingdom. The vault has appropriate temperature and is accessible only to official depositors.

Read More, Best and Beautiful Natural Wonders of the World

These are the top forbidden places in the world where no one is allowed to go. These forbidden places on Earth are mysterious places and many people like me get curious t know about these places. So, we made this list of forbidden places in the world with all the details that we knew so far.