The world is full of mysterious and forbidden places that humans aren’t allowed to enter – and honestly, there are really good reason to keep out.

These 10 spots around the globe are full of intrigue…but don’t attempt to venture there. Beware!

1. Svalbard Global Seed Vault – Norway

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

In the Arctic Circle on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. If there was to be a catastrophic disaster, this place would preserve the world’s food crops and would restore the plant kingdom on Earth. It was built with that scenario in mind and can withstand earthquakes and explosions.

2. Ploutonion At Hierapolis, aka Pluto’s Gate – Turkey

Photo Credit: Flickr,Carole Raddato

This site was once dedicated to the Roman god of death, Pluto. The cO2 concentration inside the gate was measured and researchers found that the gas inside pools and the bottom and forms a “deadly lake” when the temperature drops at night. The cO2 level would be enough to kill animals and humans.

3. The Catacombs – Paris, France

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

A small part of these tunnels beneath Paris are open to the public, but 99% of the 170-mile long labyrinth full of skulls and bones is forbidden because people will almost certainly get lost and possibly never be found.

4. Poveglia Island – Italy

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

This island was originally used to house victims of the plague during the reign of the Roman Empire. Rumor has it that the ground is made of 50% human ash because of how many bodies were dumped and burned here. In the 1920s, a mental hospital was built on Poveglia Island. It is illegal to visit, and they say human bones still wash up on the shore.

5. Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – Ukraine

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The Chernobyl nuclear disaster took place in 1986 and the entire area was abandoned. There are certain areas of Chernobyl people can visit, but a 19-mile zone is strictly off-limits because of high radiation levels.

6. Mausoleum Of The First Qin Emperor, Qin Shi Huang – China

Photo Credit: Public Domain

This terra cotta army of soldiers wasn’t discovered until 1974, and entry to Qin Shi Huang’s tomb is not allowed. The tomb here still hasn’t been excavated because researchers believe whatever is inside would not be able to be preserved by current technology.

7. Ilha Da Queimada Grande (Snake Island) – Off the coast of Brazil

This place is called Snake Island for a reason. The island is located off the coast of Brazil and is known as the only place in the world that is home to the endangered, extremely venomous golden lancehead pit viper. The island is closed to protect the snakes  – and any human that would be unlucky enough to cross paths with them.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

8. Area 51 – Nevada

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

There are a million stories surrounding the super-secretive military base in the middle of the Nevada desert. One thing is for certain: the public is not allowed to enter the premises. The U.S. government actually denied the existence of Area 51 until 2013…so you know there’s a whole lot of top-secret experiments and tests going on there.

9. Surtsey – Iceland

A huge volcanic eruption that began in 1963 and lasted for three years formed the island of Surtsey. The land is now used only for scientific experiments. Scientists who work on the island are not allowed to bring any kind of seeds with them, lest their work be disturbed by unintentional flora.

10. North Brother Island – New York

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

This 13-acre island is located only three miles from Manhattan, but no one is allowed to enter. The island has a dark past and is currently abandoned. More than 1,000 people died when a boat caught fire near the island in 1904. The island then housed Riverside Hospital and Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary, the first person in the U.S. known to carry the disease. North Brother Island was abandoned until the 1950s when it became the site of a center to treat drug addicts. Today, the island is a bird sanctuary full of crumbling buildings, and is off-limits to the public.