There are places that don’t appear on any bucket list – not because they’re uninteresting, but because they are simply inaccessible. Places where borders exist not only on maps, but are physically secured by barbed wire, armed guards or deadly dangers.

But what makes them so special? Why are there places on Earth that will forever remain off-limits? Let’s take a look behind the barriers.

1. Area 51 (USA) – The epicenter of conspiracy theories

No place is more mysterious than Area 51 – a highly secured military base in the middle of the Nevada desert. Officially, it is a US Air Force test site, but for conspiracy theorists it is the holy grail: UFO crashes, extraterrestrial technologies, secret weapons testing.

The existence of Area 51 was only confirmed in 2013 by declassified CIA documents. According to these documents, the base was used primarily to develop top-secret aircraft such as the Lockheed U-2 and the SR-71 Blackbird (National Security Archive, 2013). Anyone attempting to enter the restricted area is stopped by armed security forces – and risks heavy fines or worse.

2. North Sentinel Island (India) – The deadliest place on earth

In some places, it is not walls or the military that prevent people from entering, but the people themselves. The inhabitants of North Sentinel Island, a remote island in the Indian Ocean, live in total isolation.

The Sentinelese tribe is one of the last uncontacted peoples in the world. Anyone who tries to enter the island is met with arrows or spears. India’s government has banned access to the island to protect the inhabitants from disease – their immune systems are not prepared for the modern world (Survival International, 2021).

Even helicopters approaching the island after the 2004 tsunami were attacked with arrows. The last documented attempt to enter the island ended fatally in 2018, when a U.S. missionary was killed by the locals (BBC, 2018).

3. Poveglia (Italy) – The island that no one wants to enter

Other places are dangerous not because of their inhabitants, but because of their history. Poveglia, a small island in the Venetian Lagoon, is known as the “most forbidden island in Italy” – not because it is difficult to reach, but because hardly anyone dares to go there.

In the Middle Ages, Poveglia served as a camp for plague victims, and later as a mental asylum with questionable practices. According to local reports, the director of the institution at the time is said to have gone mad himself and thrown himself off the bell tower (Venetian Historical Archives, 1890).

The island has been officially closed since the 1970s. Visitors who landed there illegally reported eerie noises and an oppressive atmosphere. Today, Poveglia is considered one of the scariest places in the world (National Geographic, 2020).

4. Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norway) – The Noah’s Ark of the plant world

Not all forbidden places are associated with death or military secrets – some simply ensure the survival of humanity. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, buried deep in the permafrost of Spitsbergen, is a gigantic seed bank that stores over a million seed samples from around the world.

The goal? To protect humanity from hunger crises and natural disasters. If a plant species becomes extinct, it can be reintroduced from here (Crop Trust, 2022).

The vault is not open to the public – only scientists and researchers have access. The temperature inside is kept at a constant -18°C to preserve the seeds for centuries.

5. Metro-2 (Russia) – Moscow’s secret underground network

A second, secret underground system is said to run beneath Moscow: Metro-2. Allegedly, it was built during the Cold War to quickly evacuate high-ranking politicians out of the city in an emergency.

Officially, Metro-2 does not exist. However, reports from construction workers who accidentally discovered tunnels, as well as maps from KGB archives, suggest that the network could be real (Moscow Times, 2019).

To this day, it is unclear whether the tunnels are still in use – or whether they are just a Soviet relic rusting away under the city.

6. Lascaux Caves (France) – The forbidden art gallery of the Stone Age

There are places that are closed out of pure necessity – to preserve them. The Lascaux Caves in France are home to cave paintings that are over 17,000 years old and are considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of mankind.

Since 1963, access has been strictly prohibited. The reason: the breathing air of visitors caused mold to form on the millennia-old paintings. Today, only a few researchers are allowed to enter the caves (French Ministry of Culture, 2021).

Fortunately, there is an exact replica that visitors can see – but the original remains off-limits forever.

Places you can never visit – or should

Whether for military, cultural or scientific reasons, some places on earth will remain closed forever. Some hold secrets that will never be revealed, others are simply too dangerous to enter. What do they all have in common? They fascinate us all the more for it.