Black tourism: 15 terrifying and incommodating places to visit in the world

Do you like chill? Today we offer you to discover the black tourism, also called Dark Tourism ! You don't know? Let me introduce you to the most terrifying and disturbing places to visit in the world!

Making a trip is first of all confronting the unknown. Some design their stays as relaxing holidays, but for those looking for strong emotions, there is... the Dark Tourism !

Black tourism is the thrill, it is pushing its limits and extracting from its comfort zone. It is also getting closer to history, to better understand it. If this is what you are looking for, this article is dedicated to you! We present you here the black tourism, which has been in a stern for a few years. We are talking about a tourism that aims to visit places historically associated with death and/or suffering.

So we hope you have the stomach well hung! Dive immediately into absolute horror with the 15 most terrifying and incommodating places of black tourism.

Nuclear disasters

There is a typology of macabre tourism represented by several classes. The first we present to you is tourism related to the visit of places that have undergone a nuclear catastrophe caused by Man.

1. Semipalatinsk Nuclear Polygon – Kazakhstan

Here is the first and one of the main Soviet nuclear test sites! It is 130 km from Semey, Kazakhstan. It is one of the world’s most radioactive areas due to the 456 bombs that were released by the USSR between 1949 and 1989. It is estimated that this is equivalent to 2,500 bombs as powerful as that of Hiroshima !

This area would cause many health problems for the Kazakh population, especially for more than 1.5 million people in the region. Although official guides seem to remain evasive on this point, it is realized that even 30 years later, children are still affected by the effects of radiation.

This area is today a high place of black tourism. To access it, you must be accompanied by a guide and wear a specific outfit with a mask to protect yourself from atomic dust that can cause cancer. The main interest of tourists going to this area is to approach the Ground Zero, the most radioactive area (20 times more radioactive than the Chernobyl exclusion zones!).

Attention : the risks to your health are real.

2. Pripyat - Ukraine

North Kiev in Ukraine, Pripyat is an abandoned city located near the famous nuclear power plant Chernobyl having experienced a major incident in April 1986!

The city, formerly populated by nearly 50,000 inhabitants, is now only a city-fantome! The ruins are no longer welcome to a galloping vegetation with an even too high level of radioactivity for human health. Today, the place is experiencing a renewed interest in documentary and television series dealing with the disaster.

Several thousand people have already visited this high place of black tourism in the world. We can only advise you not to stop at the scene! Exposure to radioactivity could be dangerous to your health!

3. Fukushima – Japan

We are March 11, 2011 and the earth has been shaking for several minutes. The 9.1 earthquake on the Richter Scale is an unprecedented violence, even for this region of the globe accustomed to such events. A few minutes after the shaking, a devastating tsunami hit the eastern coast of Japan.

The material and human losses are very heavy! More than 18,000 people disappeared during the tsunami, despite the alerts of local authorities. The presence of the Fukushima-Daichii nuclear power plant is still complicating the... A flood inside the power plant leads to an explosion that leads to the fusion of three of its reactors!

Of extreme gravity, the incident is more or less circumscribed by the courage of the employees of the plant. However, unprecedented contamination follows. The nuclear catastrophe is simply the most important of the twenty-first century!

Today, and despite the still high rates of radioactivity, many tourists like to visit macabre places go on site, supervised by guides equipped with protections and inhabitants wishing to discover the extent of the damage. Don't stay there too long! The risks to your health are real.

The Dark Part of Human History

History shows us that the human is able to commit the worst atrocities in the name of a god, the purity of a “race” or a cause. Many are the sad examples that express the darkest side of the history of humanity.

4. Auschwitz - Poland

It is about 50 kilometers from the beautiful city of Krakow that we find the sadly famous Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp.

Auschwitz is the only symbol of all that Earth can count on crimes against humanity. It was under the leadership of the Nazi authorities that more than a million innocent people were killed in the Second World War!

Today, many tourists come to fulfill a duty of memory. The shadow of death seems to still glide on these buildings lined with great sadness. We advise you to visit with a guide for about 20 euros.

Attention : the place is truly taken.

5. Goulag de Karlag - Kazakhstan

When many children know the joys of innocence and carelessness, some did not have this chance... Built under Stalin in the village of Dolinka, Karlag is one of the largest working camps in the history of the USSR. It is estimated that more than 800,000 people were detained there in its history!

Many of these detainees were children, arrested because they were considered to be children of “the enemies of the people”. The conditions in these camps were abominable, many of them did not survive between lack of food, illness and violence.

Through a duty of memory, the buildings have been transformed into a museum and allow for a few steps in the anguishing universe of concentration camps in the Soviet way.

6. Kigali - Rwanda

With a million inhabitants, the capital of Rwanda was the theatre of one of the worst crimes against humanity. In 1994, the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda had resulted in more than 800,000 victims, including 300,000 in Kigali alone!

Newborn and old men were also affected by this racist genocide. Some tourists, attracted by visiting macabre places, meet there every year.

The goal? Dive into these dark hours of history, to learn about the Rwandan massacre. A tribute is paid to the hundreds of thousands of victims in the genocide memorial in Kigali.

7. Alcatraz - United States

The famous island of Alcatraz is located in the bay of San Francisco in the west of the United States. It is the most famous prison in the United States since the island was a federal prison of high security for 30 years! At that time, it was the most secure location in the entire country.

The prison hosted the most dangerous prisoners in the United States like the famous American gangster Al Capone . The conditions of detention were very harsh, the prisoners were called by a register and not by their name, in order to break them morally. With no privileges, the detainees were regularly tortured and lived in the most complete unwelcome!

The prison was closed in 1963 because management costs became too high. Today, several million people come to visit this high place of black tourism to come and immerse themselves in the horrible stories that have taken place there.

8. Tuol Sleng Prison – Cambodia

Horror to the crude state! There are no other words to describe the S-21 centre to Phnom Penh . This centre is the other name of Tuol Sleng prison. It is a prison centre among the bloodiest in history.

It was installed here by the Khmer Rouge political police. This dictatorial regime has resulted in more than 2 million deaths, almost 20% of Cambodia's population! Presumed political opponents, detainees were chained day and night in cells less than 2 m2!

Maltreatment, torture sometimes inflicted by adolescents, galloping mortality... We better understand the interest generated by the place among lovers of black tourism in the world! Concerning the visit: its entry is set at two euros per person. It allows you to immerse yourself in absolute barbarity. Don’t miss a tour during your stay in Cambodia.

9. World Trade Center – United States

If you are over 20 years old, there is no doubt that you remember Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The morning was beautiful New York City But it did not prevent the world from switching completely at 8:46!

The attacks of September 11 devastated the famous "Jumelles Towers", the highest towers in the world at that time, as well as part of the surrounding buildings. This event cut off the breath of an America that then felt untouchable. The emotion was palpable and the consequences of this act led to countless geopolitical events.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria... There are many events that arise. A memorial, built nearby, pays tribute to the 2,983 people who died during the attacks. Access to the memorial is free of charge. However, it will cost 22€ to the curious who wish to visit 11 September museum adjoining.

10. Karosta Prison – Latvia

All lovers of black tourism know her! This former prison in Karosta, Latvia, was once employed by the Tsarist regime, by the Soviets and then the Nazis!

For fifteen euros per person and upon reservation, you will be able to slip into the skin of a detainee to enjoy a strange and unique experience! Today, the hotel is converted to a hotel-museum. He suggested that his guests be treated as detainees.

If the activity takes a quasi-ludic aspect, schools offer serious excursions in which children apprehend the heavy prison history of Karosta prison. If you want to scare yourself by discovering this particular place, don’t hesitate to book your room... Sorry, your geôle!

Between sadness and poverty

11. New Orleans - United States

This town is the pearl of the Louisiane . She was a jazz jack, but unfortunately, in 2005, the passage of Hurricane Katrina.

Faroce, he has stripped of the map some areas including the poorest in the city. Since the tragedy, travel agencies have been organizing "Katrina's Tours" in affected areas. The most popular point: the 9th District which is still struggling to recover from the violence of this climate event.

Since you have decided to visit the most unusual places of black tourism in the world, don't miss this essential step!

12. Medellin - Colombia

Do you know Pablo Escobar? This drug trafficking baron of the 1980s was born and died in Medellin, Colombia. It is at the origin of the sulphurous reputation of the city!

The cartel he founded bears the same name as the city: the Medellin cartel. Escobar has been shaking the country for many years to ensure control over cocaine trafficking, which flooded the whole world. Today, travel agencies offer complete guided tours for around 50 euros.

You will follow the footsteps of Escobar in the streets of the city. Between his home and his tomb, it is a total immersion in the life of this atypical personality! To be sure, if you like to visit the macabre places, the circuit is for you!

13. Aokigahara – Japan

Aokigahara, is a 35 km2 forest that extends to the base of Mount Fuji at Japan . She is sadly known for the large number of people who have been killed in this forest since the 1950s. That is why he was called the "suicide forest" in Japan.

This site is considered one of the most suicide sites in the world with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The figures are impressive because it is estimated that 1% of people who end their days in Japan do so in this forest!

This forest is regularly visited by lovers of black tourism. In the writing, we are unanimous enough to say that we will not put our feet there!

14. Favelas - Brazil

A practice of black tourism is also to visit very poor places like slums or favelas. So we chose to illustrate our example with the slums of Brazil, which are regularly visited by tourists from all over the world.

Several local agencies now offer to visit the favelas, which is not just about poverty and despair as they also attract artists.

Some tourists want to visit these places of extreme poverty by curiosity, but also to become aware of the misery in some corners of the globe.

Attention : this type of tourism can be misleading, especially for the premises for which life remains difficult in these conditions!

15. Townships – South Africa

The township refers to poor and sub-equipe neighborhoods in South Africa reserved for non-whites. The townships have generally been built on the outskirts of cities and are often occupied by black populations and Indian workers, displaced by force after the Apartheid .

With extreme precariousness, these townships are often deprived of drinking water and electricity. Unsustainable living conditions for people living in these very poor neighborhoods, which nevertheless lead tourists to visit them.

Indeed, some local agencies offer to visit these neighborhoods, which take advantage of the arrival of tourists to develop the economy of the townships. Despite their poverty, the inhabitants remain very dynamic and try to develop a local economy, including small businesses and service companies.

Attention : it is strongly recommended to visit towships with a guide to limit risks.