10 Of The Strangest Places In The World You Can Only Visit on Google Maps

Travellers, I’m sure you’d agree with me that your ultimate goal would be to tick off every place on this planet earth.  From gorgeous beach destinations, chilly hill stations, historic sites, charming villages to eerie mysterious places, travel enthusiasts would love to visit them all. But here’s where we have to burst the bubble, that there are certain interesting places on earth that are beyond your reach.  Some of these places have banned the entry of tourists, others are restricted by the government and few of them are just impossible to reach. But that’s when you should chant Google Namaha! Thanks to Google Maps, you can at least visit these mystical places virtually if not physically. So here are 10 strangest places in the world that you can only visit on Google Maps.

1. Vatican Secret Archives

A trip to Vatican City can be one of the most exhilarating trips of your life. The iconic art, splendid architecture will surely take your breath away. But for the history and sociology enthusiasts, this is where your trip begins and ends because you can never visit the Vatican Secret Archives. This is one of the world’s oldest libraries that houses ancient books that belonged to popes for generations. Only a handful of sacred men are allowed access to the Vatican Secret Archives. Many people believe that this library has books that might have proofs of alien existence or even have scriptures that disapprove the existence of Jesus Christ. But whatever said and done, this is definitely a mystery waiting to be unravelled, but you can satiate your curiosity by visiting this place virtually through Google Maps.

To check this place out click here 

2. Bohemian Grove

As trippy as the name sounds, the Bohemian Grove is much more mysterious than the name. Located in California, this is a western US state spread across 2700 acres. It’s owned by a private club from San Francisco called the Bohemian Club. Every summer, this club organizes weekend camps for the most powerful men in the world. From politicians to musicians close-knitted group of influential people are allowed access here. It’s a highly guarded place founded in 1872 by a group of male musicians, artists, lawyers, actors, journalists and later included politicians and affluent businessmen. This is one of the strangest places in the world, that you can only visit on Google Maps.

To check this place out click here 

3. Lascaux Cave

The Lascaux Cave is situated in the Dordogne region of southwestern France. It’s known to be over 20,000 years old and has Palaeolithic cave paintings which are famous for its spectacular quality, size and antiquity. The cave paintings mainly depict large animals that were native to the region. The complex cave was opened to the public till 1963 and was visited by 1500 people per day. But it was closed down since the carbon dioxide from human breath began to damage the prehistoric paintings of the painted cave. Today, the only way you can get access to it by seeing it virtually on Google Maps.

To check this place out click here 

4. Mezhgorye

Mezhgorye is a town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. This town forbids the entry of visitors and even Russians from other parts of the country. Rumours suggest that residents of this town are working on a top-secret project around Mount Yamantaw. This particular mountain is perhaps the location of a large number of Russian secrets like the nuclear program, bunker used during the war or a huge warehouse of coal. While Russia keeps its secrets, it’s a bad news for travellers who want to tick off some of the strangest places in the world from their bucket list. But you can get a glimpse of this gorgeous town through the Google satellite images.

To check this place out click here 

5. Svalbard Global Seed Vault

If the world were to end, where would we go, how would we sustain? The answer for this lies in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Situated in the North Sea on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen this seed vault houses more than 250 million crop seeds. This has been placed by gene banks from all over the world. It’s specially built to make these plants survive, in case earth faces an apocalypse. The seeds have the ability to withstand any natural calamity or any type of explosion, but only designated researchers or plant breeders with a valid permit can visit this place. This is definitely one of the strangest places in the world that you can visit on Google Maps.

To check this place out click here 

6. Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion

This place of worship is located in Ethiopia. However, The Church of Our Lady Mary Zion does not permit visitors as its believed to house some of the most significant biblical objects, including the original Ark of the Covenant. The legends surrounding this church, state that the Ark was brought to this place by Menelik I. He did this after visiting his father King Solomon. The original structure is believed to have been built back in the 4th century, when this area was ruled by the first Christian ruler of the Kingdom of Axum, or present-day Ethiopia, Ezana. It’s a mystical place that holds a lot of secrets, but you can get a glimpse of this on Google Maps.

To check this place out click here 

7. Snake Island

If you thought Naagin just existed on TV,  then did you know there’s an entire island of it near the city of Sao Paulo in Brazil? Popularly known as the Snake Island, Ilha de Queimada Grande has more than 4000 snakes residing there. This place is made forbidden by the Brazilian navy. This 110 acres island is home to the golden lancehead one of the most venomous vipers in the world. This snake is said to be so poisonous that it can melt human flesh with its venom. Now that’s an island you’d just wish to visit virtually.

To check this place out click here 

8. Surtsey

Nestled in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland, Surtsey is a volcanic island, hidden from the rest of the world. This is a beautiful island but unfortunately, no one can get access to this place. Surtsey is the southernmost point of Iceland. It was formed in 1963 due to a volcanic eruption and only scientists have set foot here ever since. It’s believed that till date, Surtsey is a living laboratory, where scientists conduct experiments to analyse the interaction between animals and plants without human intervention.

To check this place out click here 

9. North Sentinel Island

North Sentinel Island on the Bay of Bengal, near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, houses the world’s most dangerous tribe. It’s also known as one of the hardest places to visit in the world. The island has a tribal population of 50 to 400 and they haven’t let modern civilization touch them in any manner. Whoever has tried to visit this island has been killed by arrows and stones. The Sentinelese are totally against foreign invasion and the area is patrolled by the Indian army, to protect them from contracting diseases from foreign people for which they don’t have any immunity. You might not be able to visit this strangest place in the world, but you can take sneak peek through Google Maps.

To check this place out click here 

10. Area 51

Area 51 is often referred in pop culture. This is a restricted secret military base of the US forces, and it exists 83 miles north of Nevada. The area is believed to have a moonlike surface. This is a place used for the development of aircraft and weapons system by the US military. It’s scrutinized at all times to restrict any kind of foreign intrusion. While you cannot lay foot here, do check this place out on Google Maps.

To check this place out click here 

These are some of the strangest places in the world that you can only get access to via Google Maps. So get ready to go on a virtual tour of a lifetime.