8 Breathtaking Tourist Destinations That Will Literally Kill You

You anticipate for that day you can take a break, away from the everyday responsibilities like school, work, or the other stuff that stresses you out. So what’s up with this discouraging title? We all know no one wants to book a flight to a tropical destination and suddenly find out that it’s actually a tropical ‘final’ destination. Knowing the good and exciting stuff about a place is good, but having knowledge about its dangers is essential too to make your trip hassle-free. Ignorance is bliss but when it comes to travel, you better make sure what you’re signing up for.

1. Poison Garden, Alnwick Garden Northumberland, England, UK

‘I wondered why so many gardens around the world focused on the healing power of plants rather than their ability to kill… I felt that most children I knew would be more interested in hearing how a plant killed, how long it would take you to die if you ate it and how gruesome and painful the death might be.’ These are the words of the Duchess of Northumberland who obviously had frhun in creating this deadly garden. Alnwick’s Poison Garden features intoxicating and poisonous plants such as nux vomica, hemlock, foxglove, and also featured plantings of coca, cannabis and the opium poppy papaver somniferum for drug education.

2. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, USA

In 2000, bodies of a man and a woman were already in an advanced state of decomposition near the site where the lava from the Kilauea eruption flows into the sea. The cause of their deaths were at first a mystery for no signs of trauma were found. In the end, it was found that the deaths were caused by pulmonary edema, or lung inflammation due to the hydrochloric acid inhaled. The highly corrosive hydrochloric acid is part of the lava haze that is produced when lava interacts with sea water. When going to see Hawaii’s magnificent volcanoes and you see white clouds around the area, stop and remember that it’s all acid.

3. Hua Shan Plank Walk, China

In Mount Huashan, it takes 6 hours of hike or 30 minutes by cable car before you can reach the famous “Plankroad in the Sky”. The Plankroad is where the true magic starts as you walk through the narrow plank walkway nearly 5,000-feet in the air. All five peaks of the mountain have steep drops, narrow stairs, vertical passes up and down, and some gaps which make it a dangerous climb. Moreover, the plankroad is a two-way trail which means you’ll need to pass over other people at times. If you’re a daredevil, going harness-free is the way to go.

4. Bash Bish Falls, Massachusetts, USA

Bash Bish Falls (no, not Bish Bash) is in the list due to its shallow pools where it’s not possible for you to swim safely. Deaths that have occurred in the area were mostly caused by drowning, rock climbing, and rock jumping. So basically, any action made in this site is strictly prohibited to ensure that you’ll come back home alive.

5. Ilha da Queimada Grande, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Ilha de Queimada Grande in Brazil is also known as Snake Island because of obvious reasons – snakes, lots and lots of them. And they’re not just simple snakes. The island is infested with between 2,000 to 4,000 golden lancehead vipers, which are some of the deadliest snakes in the world. Their venom can kill a person in one hour, causing kidney failure, necrosis of muscular tissue, brain hemorrhage, and intestinal bleeding. Not fun at all.

6.  Danakil Depression, Ethiopia

If you’re looking for hell, look no further. The Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places on earth and guarantees your journey to be sizzling hot and tiring. The basin is 328 feet below sea level featuring red rocks, sulfur fields, and salt deposits. It has temperatures that could go from 35°C (95°F) to 62°C (145°F) and it looks like the Afar people who live here can handle this kind of heat very well.

7. New Smyrna Beach, Florida, USA

Swimming in Florida’s New Smyrna Beach is already a dangerous thing to cross someone’s mind, so doing it in real life is plain crazy. Warning signs that prohibit swimming on the beach are right-in-your-face noticeable but people still go and try their luck to have a taste of New Smyrna Beach’s warm blue waters and oh-so-good shark attacks. Seriously, it’s a shark bite party in these waters. Black-tip reef sharks and bull sharks are always present in the waters and over 238 shark attacks have been recorded already. It even broke its own record with 24 shark bites in 2008.

8. Death Road, Yungas, Bolivia

The name says it all. Originally North Yungas Road, this popular road in Bolivia is better known as El Camino de la Muerte or The Death Road. Why is it popular anyway? Besides its stunning views among the rolling hills of the Amazon forest, its impressive record of 300 deaths per year catches the attention of locals and tourists, especially those travellers who look for a thrilling adventure.