Today's Featured Places

The Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, India

A lake with hundreds of ancient skeletons surrounding it. The surprise is what killed them…

Trisul, India 

Museo del Manicomio San Servolo - Insane Asylum Museum

Or why "Are you from San Servolo?" is not a polite question

Venice, Italy 

Horseshoe Bend

Dramatic river bend surrounds a natural red-rocked pedestal

 

Ithaa Undersea Restaurant

Underwater restaurant, surrounded by a coral reef, for fine dining and fish watching

 

Lake Vostok

Largest sub-glacial lake ever discovered finally reached after 20 years

 

Treehotel

Series of treehouse hotel rooms on the outskirts of an Arctic forest

Harads, Sweden 

Kemi SnowCastle

Castle and surrounding structures built anew every winter

Kemi, Finland 

Fingal"s Cave

Astonishing cave has inspired Celtic legends and modern art

Fingals Cave, United Kingdom 

World's Largest Collection of The World's Smallest Versions of The World's Largest Things

A traveling roadside attraction and museum dedicated to exploring iconic roadside structures

Lucas, Kansas, US 

The Prison Cell of Ludger Sylbaris

The cell which saved the life of Ludger Sylbaris "the man who lived through Doomsday."

Morne Macouba, Martinique 

Heidelberg Project

One man's attempt to create an artistic wonder on a run-down block in Detroit

Detroit, Michigan, US 

Sigurgeirs Bird Museum

Largest private bird collection in Iceland, formed from a tragic accident

Myvatn, Iceland 

Weeki Wachee: City of Live Mermaids

Welcome to old Florida, where a 1940s mermaid show is still enchanting visitors

 

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

Massive numbers of bioluminescent fungal gnat larvae illuminate these caves

Waitomo Caves, New Zealand 

Alnwick Poison Gardens

The sign at the garden gate reads "Warning, these plants can kill you"

United Kingdom 

Galletta Meadows Estate

Metal Jurassic Park on the side of a California Highway

 

Blue Cave

An ethereal glowing blue ocean cave in Croatia

Otok Bisevo, Croatia 

Snake Island - Ilha De Queimada Grande

Off-limits and full of venomous pit vipers, its nickname is frighteningly apt

 

Chernobyl

Chernobyl's ghost cities

Chornobyl', Ukraine 

Ueno Zoo Escaped Animal Drill

Beasts escape from Tokyo Zoo to the delight of Japanese children

Tokyo, Japan 

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University

Buddhist university that allows English-language speakers the opportunity to study with monks in Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand 

Antarctic Sculpture Garden

Antarctica's only sculpture garden, it has art and penguins, but no plants in sight

 

Urology Museum

Fascinating museum dedicated to the under-appreciated medical history of urology features some wince-inducing devices

 

The Mall of America

Equal parts record-breaking temple to consumerism and bizarre fun park, it's more then you think it is...

Minnesota, US 

Baikal Seals

Some of the world's only freshwater seals live in one very special lake in Russia

Mys Nizhneye Izgolov'ye, Russia 

Sacred Crocodile Ponds of Paga

Ghana's most docile crocodiles hold the souls of the village ancestors

Paga, Ghana 

The Museum of Holography

A Museum of Holography frozen in 1974

Chicago, Illinois, US 

Auroville

An experimental utopian "city of the future" in rural India, which may hold a dark secret

 

Birobidzhan

Fascinating early attempt at a Jewish autonomous settlement

Birobidzhan, Russia 
more »

Recently Added Places

Renz Women's Penitentiary

Destroyed by flood waters, prison now serves as a training ground for armed forces.

When you first drive by this ominous building sitting in a field visible from the freeway, it appears to be out of place. Obviously abandoned, as evidenced by the vegetation emerging from the... »

Crime and Punishment, Disaster Areas, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Rachel

Annapurna

Named after the Goddess of Harvests, Annapurna is the deadliest member of the Eight-thousanders club

There are 14 independent peaks that make up the “Eight-thousanders”, an elite group of mountains that tower more than 8,000 meters (26,247 ft) above sea level, all of which lie in the Himalayan... »

Natural Wonders, Geological Oddities, Dead Explorers | Edited by Rachel, Seth Teicher and others

Mill Valley, California, US

Mount Tamalpais Aircraft Crash Site

Law-protected wreckage serves as a peculiar memorial for an almost forgotten World War II tragedy

On a wet and windy night in late November 1944, a US Navy plane crashed into Mount Tamalpais and killed eight aviators and crew. The aircraft had taken off from Naval Air Station in Alameda when... »

Disaster Areas, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Duck_Muscle, Annetta and others

Tiger & Turtle Magic Mountain

No need to strap in for a "ride" on this walkable roller coaster

The first impression given by this 69 ft. sculpture is that it's like any other roller coaster, with twists and turns and the ever-thrilling loop-the-loop. A closer look reveals that this is no... »

Outsider Art, Unusual Monuments, Architectural Oddities | Edited by Rachel

The JELL-O Gallery

The birthplace of America's favorite fruit-flavored mystery dessert

Have you always wondered how that wiggly Jell-O castle that your great aunt serves every Thanksgiving became "America's most famous desert", regardless of it's physically mystifying structure?... »

Museums and Collections | Edited by OrangeRavens, Rachel and others

Moses Bridge

Invisible bridge parts the waters, invoking biblical images and preserving the ominous feel of an ancient moat

Once an active defense-line dating back to the 17th century, the West Brabant Line is made up of fortresses and cities with an inundation zone to the north, used as moats deep enough to dissuade... »

Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Rachel

Rat Island

Legendary private island in the Bronx

Located in the waters north of Manhattan lies two and a half acres of barren rock with quite a distasteful history, making it no stretch of the imagination that someone chose to give it the... »

Watery Wonders | Edited by HJHausman, Annetta and others

Enchanted Forest Theme Park

Remnants of a storybook amusement park hidden behind a strip mall

Opening in 1955 (a month after Disneyland), The Enchanted Forest was a roadside amusement park in Ellicott City, Maryland that featured figures from nursery rhymes and fairy tales. Visitors... »

Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Duck_Muscle and Rachel

City of Centralia, Washington, US

RichArt's Art Yard

In the midst of a residential town in Washington exists a property saturated with one man's artistic creations

Outsider artists and retired art instructor Richard Tracy, also known as RichArt, began working on transforming his property into an outlet of his artistic expression since 1985. Now anyone can... »

Outsider Art, Eccentric Homes | Edited by bboas, Annetta and others

Win Sein Taw Ya

The world's largest reclining Buddha, the Giant Buddha of Mudon

Win Sein Taw Ya is the largest reclining Buddha in the world, and at 30 meters high and 180 meters in length can be seen for miles. Located opposite of the Buddhist shrine of Kyauktalon Taung, the... »

Strange Statues, Curious Places of Worship, Giant Buddhas | Edited by Burmats and Rachel