Forbidden Places You Wish You Could Visit But Can’t

The world is filled with countless wonders, but most people aren’t allowed to visit the most amazing ones. No matter how much money or influence you might have, there are forbidden places that you just can’t visit.

There have been many stories about some of these places, but the fact that nobody can really explore them just adds more mystery to them. With that said, let’s venture into checking out some of the world’s best-kept secret sites.

35. Vatican Secret Archives

One of the best-guarded places on the planet is the Vatican Secret Archives in Vatican City, Italy. Rumor has it that the Church is actually hiding books that contradict the Bible, the early gospels of the New Testament, and some other scientific research. Others have conjectured that there are some artifacts from King Herod’s Temple. Either way, it’d be pretty cool to see what’s there.

34. North Sentinel Island, India

This island is surrounded by golden beaches and it looks incredible. However, no one can get onto this picturesque island because of the group of natives living there. It has been rumored that the island inhabitants are aggressive and don’t have any contact with the outside world. To make things even scarier, there are reports that show the natives have killed unwanted intruders in the past. It’s probably worth staying away.

33. Lascaux Caves, France

Wouldn’t you want to see the first ever human-made art? Well, this is exactly what’s hiding inside the Lascaux Caves. The cave is located in Southwestern France and it has more than 900 prehistoric drawings. No wonder no one is allowed to step foot inside.

32. Snake Island, Brazil

The previous locations are well guarded and no one can visit them. However, there is an island in Brazil that doesn’t need any guards. This place is called Snake Island and its filled with more than 4,000 species of snakes. The island is quite small and this means anyone who ventures here will get eaten. Now, this is a really scary place!

31. Ise Grand Shrine, Japan

The Isa Shrine is one of the coolest places in Japan. This shrine is dedicated to the goddess Amaterasu-omikami and the Japanese government doesn’t allow anyone to visit this place. The only ones who get access here are the high priestess and priests who also need to be direct members of the Japanese Imperial Family.

30. Queen Elizabeth’s Bedroom

This might be obvious, but no one is allowed to sneak into Queen Elizabeth’s bedroom. A man named Michael Fagan is the only person in history to enter the Queen’s bedroom uninvited and this happened back in 1982. The next forbidden location will make your jaw drop!

29. Club 33, Disney World

Even though Disney parks are open to everyone, there is a secret club that most people can’t access. The location is called “Club 33” and it has a 14-year-long waiting list! Not just that, but getting on the waiting list will cost you $40,000 alongside an annual fee of $27,000. I wonder what happens inside that club…

28. The Tumen River

The Tumen River is an infamous place that is located between Russia and North Korea. As you can probably tell, no one is allowed to pass through this river and everyone who ever dares to get close to it will get shot. Now, this is a place I wouldn’t want to visit.

27. Fort Knox

Is there any other forbidden place more famous than Fort Knox? Fort Knox is where the US Bullion Depository stores its gold and historical documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta. Nonetheless, Fort Knox is protected by squadrons of soldiers that have their machine guns ready at all times. Since we are talking about famous locations, then you really need to check out what’s coming next.

26. Area 51

Area 51 is hidden somewhere in the middle of the Nevada desert and it’s a secret military base. No one knows what happens inside this base, but what we know is that the US government doesn’t allow anyone to get close to it. Not just that, but the base has been deleted from all Google Maps Satellite pictures. This makes it clear that the government has something to hide.

25. Room 39, North Korea

A secret organization that is tasked with getting funds for the North Korean dictator dynasty is called Room 39. The reason why they are called Room 39 is that their headquarters is actually located inside the Worker’s Party building in Pyongyang. Rumor has it that Room 39 is behind some of the biggest hacker attacks in the world.

24. Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway

Do you ever think about what would happen if another ice age would happen? Well, some people do and this is why the Svalbard Global Seed Vault exist. This vault holds the seeds for all plants and flowers on the planet and it’s one of the most secure places in the world.

23. Tomb of the Qhin Shi Huang, China

Qhin Shi Huang is China’s first emperor and he died in 201 BC. The cool thing about this emperor is that he filled his burial tomb with more than 10,000 statues and all other types of artifacts. Each statue is unique and the Chinese government is determined to keep them safe and therefore, no one is allowed to step foot in this tomb.

22. The Coca-Cola Vault

Coca-Cola is one of the most successful companies in the world and the secret behind this success is hidden inside a special vault. The recipe for Coca-Cola is being kept inside a vault that is protected by high-end security technology which makes sure that no one can enter and steal it. The next location is also a vault!

21. Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

After the nuclear accident in 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Point in Ukraine, an 18-mile radius exclusion zone was enforced around the site, turning the area into a ghost town. The area covers about 1,000 square miles of land and still remains completely off-limits today.

20. Moscow Metro-2, Russia

The KGB built a secret underground system that mirrored the public transit system in preparation for a nuclear catastrophe. It’s buried about 600 feet underground and much larger than the public metro. There are four lines that connect federal buildings like the Kremlin with security headquarters, the airport, and several other important locations.

19. Poveglia, Italy

Poveglia is a small island that is located in northern Italy. This island has been used for many purposes all throughout history such as a quarantine station for the Bubonic Plague, a mental asylum, and even a fort. The island is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of plague victims and soldiers who died in the war.

18. White’s Gentleman’s Club

This is the oldest and most exclusive gentleman’s club in England. Getting inside this club is impossible if you are not filthy rich or really important. In fact, the only members of this club are aristocrats, politicians, businessmen, and members of the royal family.

17. Spy Museum, China

There is a special place called the Jiangsu National Security Education Museum. This is a spy museum that shows Chinese people how their government used to spy on the US and other countries. The interesting thing about this museum is that foreign visitors are not allowed to access it.

16. Dulce Base, New Mexico, US

Dulce is a small town that has 2,600 residents. Most of the residents are Native Americans, but this is not the most interesting thing about this city. Dulce is believed to hide a giant underground military base where all types of experiments are being made. This facility is where the army is supposedly developing its hidden technology for war. Some are even saying that the government has hidden alien specimens in this base.

15. Uluru

This Australian landmark, formerly known as Ayers Rock, closed to the public in October 2019. Once a popular tourist attraction and a sought-after destination for climbers looking to scale the large rock formation, it predated tourists as a sacred place to Indigenous groups. Following several petitions from the Anangu people, in 2017, the board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park announced that it would ban hikers from the site.

14. Heart Reef

Part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Heart reef may be one of the most photogenic locations in the world. As its name suggests, the reef is shaped like a heart, and it’s been included in countless tourism campaigns and social media posts. In order to protect the island from damage to its delicate ecosystem, snorkelers and divers have been banned from it. The only way to visit this island now is in the air on a helicopter ride.

13. The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

Temple Mount dates back to the first century BC and is one of the holiest sites in the world. Within the Temple Mount is an even more exclusive site – The Dome of the Rock. This gold-topped shine is ironic in Jerusalem and there are strict rules in place to visit the Temple Mount, but the Dome of the Rock’s entry is strictly reserved.

12. Surtsey Island

On November 14, 1963, an undersea volcano erupted and created an island off the coast of Iceland. The island became a case study for how ecosystems develop without any human interference. Some of the life forms that live on Surtsey include fungi, molds, nearly 90 bird species, and one tomato plant.

11. Royal Air Force Menwith Hill, U.K.

This Royal Air Force station sits on 550 acres and was opened in 1954. It was originally used for intelligence gathering and espionage during the Cold War. Its present-day purpose remains a mystery. We’re still trying to figure out what’s going on behind the barbed wire fences.

10. Maya Bay

Located in Thailand, Maya Bay became a popular tourist destination after Leonardo Dicaprio shot the film The Beach in 2000. The beach attracted millions of people to its shores each year which wiped out a lot of the native coral. In 2018, Thailand shut down access to protect its ecosystem and give it time to recover.

9. U.N. Buffer Zone, Cyprus

In 1974, Cyprus was invaded by Turkish troops which escalated a civil war between the Turkish and Greek residents. In the capital, Nicosia, the U.N. took control of a “Buffer Zone” when the fighting ended. Inside the zone, businesses, abandoned homes, and a small airport have remained frozen in time.

8. North Brother Island

Located on the East River, North Brother Island was once the site of a hospital for contagious diseases. Typhoid Mary, America’s first known carrier of typhoid fever, was the hospital’s most famous patient. She spent three years quarantined on the island after causing the first outbreak of typhoid fever. She was then sent back again and lived there until she passed in 1938. The deserted island now acts as a bird sanctuary.

7. The Mormon Church Secret Vault

Just like Coca-Cola has a special vault, the Mormon Church has its own. This vault is believed to have more than 3 billion pages that contain data on genealogy and family history for Americans. People can go on tours around the vault, but no one is allowed inside.

6. The Bohemian Grove

The Bohemian Grove is a forbidden place where powerful people gather around. The meeting happens once every summer and past US presidents such as Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon have been known to attend these meetings. Unfortunately, no one knows what happens inside the Bohemian Grove since it’s protected by security at all times.

5. Niihau, Hawaii

The only people who can enjoy this Hawaiian island are its residents, all of whom are descendants of the people living on the island before it was purchased in 1864. The island has been owned by a single family, the Robinson’s, for more than 150 years and has been kept off-limits to the outside world.

4. Pine Gap, Australia

The U.S. government opened the Joint Defense Facility Pine Gap somewhere in the Australian outback during the Cold War in 1966. The facility was opened under the guise of a space research facility but was being operated by the CIA to monitor satellites that collect intel on airstrikes around the world.

3. Heard Island

Located in Antarctica, Heard Island is an Australian territory, and it is considered one of the most dangerous places on Earth. A volcano on the island named Mason Peak has been active since 2000. Wind speeds on the island average around 20 mph. While it’s possible to apply for a permit to visit, getting there is no easy feat. It is at least a two-week boat journey from Australia.

2. Mezhgorye, Russia

Founded in 1979, this small town is rumored to be home to a nuclear missile site that contains automatic missiles. Mezhgorye is nestled in the Ural mountains, nearly 120 miles from Ufa. The Kremlin claims that the town stores a vault for the country’s treasure, an emergency bunker, and is used as a site for mining.

1. Robin’s Island

This 435-acre island off the coast of New Suffolk, New York is off-limits to the public. It is a nature preserve and sanctuary and home to the largest population of turtles in the state. It is owned by Luis Bacon who believes allowing visitors will lead to the destruction of the environment he has cultivated there.