Curious and strange tourist destinations have become fundamental elements of the development of tourism worldwide that has been dizzying for decades due among other reasons to women and men from different cultures have been raising awareness of the fact that we need recreation as part of the priorities to be happy.
In this sense, trips at the local, regional, national and international level are one of the many options that people have for recreation, sharing with family and friends through visits to places where they will get recreation, the enjoyment of spectacular landscapes, as well as knowledge and interaction with other cultures.
But as the tourism industry has evolved, so aspirations, tastes, lifestyles and preferences of tourists have done it as well, so different types of tourism have been emerging, from the conventional one to the adventure, ecological, historical, cultural and religious one, among others. Therefore, the destinations and the range of activities offered through tourism and advertising companies are very varied and increasingly interesting and creative.
Within this set of activities, we find visits to curious and strange tourist destinations, even some dangerous, which can be fascinating and unrepeatable for those tourists who are lovers of landscapes and adventure and different experiences, seeking innovation within the tourism sector and who feel satisfied to do what few dare, so the objective of this article is to describe some of those curious and strange places that exist around the world and to see if you dare to visit them.
In this context, we will be based on some data provided by some web pages that specialize in the search of strange places that will surely find potential customers to visit them:
We will start with a cave located in “Las Bardenas Reales”, in Navarre, Spain, where you can enjoy a moon landscape with a date of 38 million years and have the possibility of sleeping in that natural cave of the nineteenth century, in primitive conditions, but with that comfort to which few renounce, the famous wi-fi.
This area is a natural park with incredible landscapes, which can be completed around 28 kilometers, through which you can see semi-desert landscapes in the south of a community, which is recognized as a region that has always been characterized by its abundant vegetation with fascinating color combinations, green and humid forests, which contrast enormously with the semi-desert landscapes that are in the periphery of this national park.
Another option for lovers of different experiences is the Museum of Hair located in Turkey, specifically in the village known as Avanos, in the Cappadocia area where its landscapes stand out. In this museum, there is a cave where hair locks from 16,000 different women hang.
It all started with a lock that was given to the potter Chez Galip by a friend, creator of the cave who for 30 years was dedicated to give shape to this site, which today is visited by thousands of people who visit Turkey.
But, if it catches your attention, sleep in a jail cell, you can then visit Stockholm to visit an island where the prison of Stockholm operated until 1975. Later, it opened its doors as a hostel and hotel with the name of Långholmen.
In this hostel the rooms are the old cells of the inmates who occupied them for decades and which were obviously improved to provide these services to tourists who love adventure. In addition, within the facilities there are very creative spaces conditioned for visitors to have a coffee, a beer or a snack and that in the past were the courtyards where the prisoners were separately located according to their degree of danger.
Another prison that has become a tourist attraction is the prison and museum located in Scotland, a country where unique landscapes abound. This place dates from the early nineteenth century and was one of the main sights of the area. There everything is set as it was 200 years ago, including the uniforms of the prison employees, the torture sessions, and so on.
To achieve a better reflection of reality, these events are recreated by a group of actors who manage to transport visitors to the era in which such disturbing acts were carried out, but which have a public loving this type of experiences that for many are terrible and not worth paying to see; however, this museum keeps a constant activity.
Now, if you want to visit a spiritual temple and you are curious to face about 20 thousand rats at the same time, you should visit the Karni Mata Temple located in Rajasthan, India, which the Hindu god Karni Mata is rendered veneration in, which is very popular among the inhabitants of this mystical country.
This temple dating from the fourteenth century is based on the legend that Karni Mata was the incarnation of Durga, who in turn was the goddess of victory and who asked for the resurrection of the god Yama through a pact with his faithful reincarnated in rats, which were called “kabbas”, until they could transmigrate to their original appearance, so rats walk freely through this temple feeding on coconut and milk, waiting for their future transformation. Something very curious, and certainly bearable only by some who love to live obviously different experiences.
Following our tour through curious and strange tourist destinations, we will move to Almadén, Ciudad Real, where in addition to knowing unique landscapes, you can visit a mine that tourists can know when entering a cage and go down to see the largest mercury deposit on the planet, which was formed approximately 400 million years ago and was exploited until 2003 to be declared later by UNESCO in 2012 as a World Heritage Site.
It is undoubtedly a different adventure that fills tourists with adrenaline who love new things in their lives and will only have the light that is emitted from the helmets that they wear to make the journey.
If we talk about submerging under water, there can be a lot of ways, but don’t you think to do it by sitting on a train is a very particular way of entering the bottom of the sea? Yes, as you read it! If this activity catches your attention, you should go to Copenhagen in Denmark to take a road trip but submerging in some sections in the Baltic Sea until you reach the city of Malmoe, located in Sweden.
This tour is made by the longest bridge in Europe, which combines the transfer by train and on the road to suddenly sink into the sea, disappearing into the water, which fascinates tourists who, without thinking twice, live a magical and amazing experience.
And if it’s about feeling the sensation of being in the middle of the earth, treading the Southern and Northern Hemispheres at the same time, you have to choose Ecuador as a tourist destination, a country located in South America and where there is a small city called “Mitad del Mundo”, located just above the imaginary equatorial line that separates the planet in two halves or hemispheres.
In addition, there you can enjoy a spectacular view of the Pululahua volcano, belonging to the geobotanical reserve of the same name, which has an area of 3383 hectares where around 40 families live in the crater and live from farming and cattle raising.
Now, if you dream of visiting palaces and feeling like kings, projecting yourself in the past in the lives of those movie characters, then you must move to the French region of “Loire Valley”, where tourists are allowed to visit each palace, having the opportunity to enjoy and observe the most spectacular castles that exist and even sleep in the rooms that belonged to kings, queens, princes and princesses in an era. Undoubtedly, an experience worthy of kings and that will make you feel like part of the monarchy for a few days.
If your desire is to “fly on a boat”, as you read it, something that is curious and strange, well, believe it or not, you can make your dream come true if you visit the beautiful country Scotland, specifically the Falwirk Wheel region, near Lake Lomond, where a large concrete ferris wheel has been built by means of which it is possible to take by air ships with passengers and crew, which continue to sail after overcoming the obstacle of 24 meters of unevenness between two water channels.
Finally, we will recommend you to visit “La Cueva de los Cristales”, located in the city of Naica in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, which was discovered in 2000 and has crystal formations of millions of years, surrounded by incredible landscapes, where the largest natural crystals in the world are, including the one that is the number one, which measures 12 meters long with 4 meters in diameter and with an estimated weight of about 55 tons.
Undoubtedly, it is a natural spectacle worth seeing, and if you love nature and to see extraordinary and unusual things, you will surely be surprised with a visit to this cave that presents a drawback which is its inner temperature that reaches 58 °C, which limits the entry for only 10 minutes, carrying the equipment required to face such high temperatures.
Surely, we have many curious places to present you, so in future articles we will be describing more wonderful places around the world that you can visit to live incredible and unforgettable experiences.
ALFA