Each year extreme tourism is gaining popularity. Most travelers prefer scary but safe places like Dracula’s castle or the catacombs, but some are willing to risk their lives for the thrill. We will tell you about the most dangerous tourist routes.
1. Bungee jump into the crater of the Villarrica volcano, Chile
Villarrica Volcano is located in a national park in southern Chile. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the country and last erupted in the spring of 2015. Villarica is very popular among tourists – in the summer they go there on excursions along the slopes covered with petrified lava, and in the winter they go skiing. Thrill-seekers are invited to bungee jump from a helicopter into the mouth of a volcano, having previously signed a document confirming that in the event of death the organizers are not responsible for this.
2. Death Trail on Mount Huashan, China
120 kilometers from the city of Xi’an, on one of the five peaks of Mount Huashan, there is a famous Taoist monastery. Although there is a cable car on the mountain, pilgrims consider it necessary to climb all five peaks of the mountain on foot and watch the sunrise at the monastery. The northern and southern peaks of the mountain are connected by a narrow wooden path over the abyss without railings or fences. You can move along it only by clinging to the rock and holding on to the chains. For the last ten years, after the route became popular among Western tourists, everyone is given a cable with a carabiner, but before that, about 100 people fell into the abyss every year.
3. Devil’s Pool, Zimbabwe
In South Africa, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, there is the beautiful Victoria Falls, 120 meters high. At the top of the waterfall, near the cliff itself, there is a small pool formed by the flow of the Zambezi River, in which you can swim and watch the water fall down. Despite the fact that swimmers are accompanied by guides, every year about 10 people fall from the pool into the waterfall and die.
4. Surfing on the slopes of the Sierra Negra volcano, Nicaragua
On the slopes of the Sierra Negra volcano, a new type of extreme tourism has emerged – surfing on volcanic ash. For $30, everyone is taken to the top by helicopter, they are given a board, protective overalls, goggles and a walkie-talkie. The purpose of the trip is to stand or sit on a board to go down a steep sandy slope covered with ash. During the descent, you can get burned by hot sand, inhale toxic gases, or crash into a rock at a speed of 80 km/h, which the board reaches.
5. Death Road in Bolivia
This old road in the Yungas province runs along a sheer cliff above the Amazon forest and is considered the most dangerous in the world. Only 20 kilometers of the road are covered with asphalt, the remaining 50 are crushed stone, dirt and clay. The road is narrow, slippery, visibility is often limited to a couple of meters due to fog, and landslides occur during tropical rains. Every year, about 25 cars fall into the abyss, killing 150-200 passengers. Despite these terrible conditions, tourists from all over the world come to conquer the Death Road, and the bravest do it by bicycle.
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