Amazing places in the world. The most beautiful places in the world

This small patch of land pacific ocean(area - 163.6 km², population - about 6,000 people) is known all over the world thanks to the mysterious stone idols - moai. Almost nine hundred statues stand around the perimeter of the island, like sentries. Who made them? How were multi-ton blocks moved? What was the function of the statues? Europeans have puzzled over these questions for decades. And although it is believed that Thor Heyerdahl solved the riddle, the locals still believe that the sacred power of the ancestors of the Hotu Matu'a clan is contained in the moai.

This is a dense forest at the foot of Mount Fuji on the island of Honshu. The place is ominous: stony soil, tree roots braid rocky debris, there is a “deafening” silence, compasses do not work. And although scientists (seemingly) found explanations for all these phenomena, the Japanese believe that ghosts live in the forest - the souls of infirm old people who were left there to die in times of famine. Therefore, during the day, Aokigahara is a popular vacation spot, and at night it is a "shelter" for suicides. Books and songs have been written about this place, films have been made, including documentaries.

In California's Death Valley National Park, there is a dry lake that would be ordinary if not for a phenomenon that scientists have been puzzling over for years. 30-kilogram stones move along its clay bottom. Slowly, but without the help of living beings. The clods leave long, shallow furrows behind them. In this case, the trajectory of their movement is absolutely arbitrary. What pushes stones? Various versions were voiced: the specifics of the magnetic field, wind, seismic activity. None of the guesses received sufficient scientific justification.

Roraima is a mountain on the border three countries. But its peak is not a sharp peak, but a luxurious 34 km² plateau wrapped in a haze of clouds, with unique plants and picturesque waterfalls. This is how Arthur Conan Doyle imagined " lost World". According to the beliefs of the Indians, Roraima is a petrified tree trunk that gave birth to all vegetables and fruits on the planet. Even the Indians believed that the gods live there, so no one climbed to the top before the arrival of the Europeans. Modern travelers say that people on Roraima are simply filled with sacred delight.

At the foot of the Annam Range, giant pots are “scattered”: up to three meters in height and weighing up to six tons. Archaeologists believe that the jars are about two thousand years old, but they cannot understand how the ancestors of modern Laos used them. Lao legends say that these are the utensils of the giants who lived in the valley. It is also said that the jars were ordered to be made by King Khung Chung to make a lot of rice wine and celebrate the victory over the enemies. Historians have their own versions: they could collect rainwater in pots or store food in them. Or maybe they were burial urns?

In the Atlantic Ocean, in the "triangle" between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, there is an anomalous zone where over a hundred sea and aircraft. The most famous case occurred in 1945. Five Avenger bombers took off from a US Navy base and disappeared. The planes that went in search of them also disappeared without a trace. Skeptics say that shallows, cyclones and storms are to blame. But many tend to believe in more mystical versions: for example, in abduction by aliens or the inhabitants of Atlantis.

In the province of Yunnan, on an area of ​​350 km², the "Stone Forest" is spread. Ancient rocks, caves, waterfalls and lakes create an atmosphere fairy world. According to legend, one young man decided to save the people from drought and build a dam. The wizard gave him a whip and a wand to cut and move blocks of stone. But the tools had magical power only until dawn. The young man did not finish the work, and the huge monoliths remained scattered across the valley. Scientists believe that 200 million years ago there was a sea on the site of the Stone Forest. It dried up, but the rocks, striking in their grandeur and beauty, remained.

In the English county of Somerset there is a 145-meter hill topped with a tower of the medieval church of St. Michael. According to legend, there was an entrance to Avalon - the other world, where holy people, fairy-tale creatures and magicians were born, where special laws of time and space operate. King Arthur and his wife Guinevere were buried on this hill - in 1191, the monks of Glastonbury Abbey allegedly found sarcophagi with their remains. This is not the only legend about St. Michael's Hill and King Arthur. Perhaps these are just myths, but visitors to the attraction claim that the hill has the most powerful energy.

On Chukotka island Itygran is an ancient Eskimo sanctuary. Huge bones and skulls of whales are dug into the frozen shore. The alley was opened in 1977, but its mysteries have not yet been solved. There is an assumption that in the XIV century this place was used by whalers for ritual meetings. Judging by the many "meat pits", the gatherings were accompanied by feasts, and the holes in the tops of the whale "pillars" indicate that, perhaps, the whalers also arranged games, hanging prizes on bones. But in folklore there is no information about the purpose of the alley. But there is a legend about the battle of "flying shamans" that took place there.

It's hard to believe, but this "fountain", as if descended from the pages of a science fiction writer's book, is not on Jupiter, not on Mars, but on Earth, in the state of Nevada. The "flying" geyser erupts jets of hot water to a height of 15 meters, forming around itself a "mini-volcano" of mineral deposits. Scientists say that this is what the surface of our planet looked like millions of years ago. The geyser is located on the territory of a private ranch, and in order to admire it, you need the permission of the owner. But this does not stop tourists. People believe that if you wash yourself with water from a geyser, life will become bright and happy.

In the west of the Sahara is the "Eye of the Earth". These huge circles drawn by an unknown force really resemble an eye. The Richat structure is the oldest geological formation, the age of one of the rings of which is about 600 million years. "Eye" is perfectly visible from space - in orbit they use it as a guide. There are different versions about the nature of this formation. For example, that this is a funnel from a meteorite fall or a landing site for aliens. But the most scientific are the hypotheses suggesting that this is a vent extinct volcano or the result of erosion on the uplift of a section of the earth's crust.

The Nazca plateau, like a canvas, is streaked with gigantic patterns. A hummingbird, a monkey, a spider, flowers, a lizard, geometric figures - in total there are about 30 neat drawings made in the same manner in the valley. Geoglyphs on the Nazca plateau were discovered almost a century ago, but scientists are still arguing who, how and when created them. Some believe that this is an ancient irrigation system, others - that these are the "holy paths of the Incas", others claim that this is the oldest astronomy textbook on Earth. There is also a completely mystical version, that the lines are a message from aliens. There are many theories, but none have been scientifically proven.

The 17th-century palace in the village of Podgortsy, Lviv region, would have been an ordinary historical landmark (a well-preserved bright example of Renaissance architecture, the place where D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers were filmed), if not for the anomalies noticed there. According to legend, one of the owners of the castle, Vaclav Rzewuski, was terribly jealous of his beautiful wife Maria. So much so that he walled her up in the walls of the palace. The caretakers of the Podgoretsky castle claim that they have seen the ghost of the “White Lady” more than once and constantly hear the sound of heels on the marble floor.

Devil's Tower, or Devil's Tower, is a columnar mountain in Wyoming. It resembles a tower assembled from individual columns. It is hard to believe that this is a creation of nature, and not human hands. Indigenous people treated the tower with reverent horror, because many times strange light phenomena were observed above. There is a legend that the devil sits on top and beats a drum, causing thunder. Due to its bad reputation, climbers bypass the mountain. But she appears in Steven Spielberg's film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" - it is there that a meeting with aliens takes place.

In the Gulf of Naples, off the coast of Campania, there are two small islands of wondrous beauty. A bridge connects them to each other. One of them is uninhabited, a villa is built on the other. But no one lives in it - the place is considered cursed. All its owners, as well as some members of their families, died under strange circumstances, went bankrupt, ended up in prisons and psychiatric hospitals. Because of the bad reputation, the islands have no owner, the villa is abandoned. Only occasionally brave tourists, photographers and journalists look at Gaiola.

In the picturesque town of Bran stands a majestic castle of the XIV century. According to legend, Count Vlad III Tepes-Dracula often spent the night here. This man became the prototype of the most famous vampire in pop culture. The earl was given the nickname "Dracula" for his incredible cruelty: he killed innocents for fun, took blood baths, could put a person on a stake and eat in the presence of a corpse. The people hated him and feared him. Bran Castle is currently a functioning museum. It is believed that although Vlad III did not live there permanently, the place is saturated with his negative aura.

At the place where the Catatumbo River flows into Lake Maracaibo, a unique atmospheric phenomenon is observed: almost every night the sky is lit up by lightning without thunder. There are over a million discharges per year. Lightning can be seen hundreds of kilometers away. Scientists have found the cause of the phenomenon, but it extraordinary beauty still breeds superstitions and legends. In 1595, Catatumbo lightning saved the city of Maracaibo. Pirate Francis Drake decided to capture the city, but because of the light of lightning, the locals saw the approach of his ships from afar, managed to prepare and fought back.

In California, on the border with Nevada, there is a ghost town named after the gold digger William Body. In 1880, 10,000 people lived in the city. They accounted for 65 saloons and 7 breweries, there was even a "red light district" - crime, drunkenness and debauchery flourished in the city. When the gold rush died down, people left. Now it's historical park. But tourists go to Bodie not because of an interest in history: the city is considered a haunt of ghosts. The one who takes even a stone from there will be haunted by misfortunes. Park rangers constantly receive parcels with the return of "souvenirs".

Trolltunga, or Troll's Tongue, is an unusual stone ledge at an altitude of 350 meters on Mount Skjeggedal. Why language? And why a troll? According to an old Norwegian legend, a troll lived in those parts, who constantly tried his luck: he dived into deep pools, jumped over abysses. One day he decided to check whether it is true that the rays of the sun are deadly for trolls. At dawn, he stuck out his tongue from his cave and ... petrified forever. The rock attracts modern adventurers like a magnet: sit on the edge, do somersaults, take pictures. There is no troll, but his work lives on!

This is the most high point the Harz Mountains (1141 m), where, according to legend, on Walpurgis Night, witches held a sabbath. At the top you can observe a natural phenomenon of rare beauty and mystery - the Brocken ghost. If you stand with your back to the setting sun, then a large shadow will appear on the surface of the clouds or in the fog with an iridescent halo around the head. Sometimes there is even a feeling that the “ghost” is moving. The phenomenon was first described by Johann Silberschlag in 1780 and has since been mentioned more than once in the literature on the Harz mountains.

Golosov Ravine was once a deserted, gloomy outskirts of Moscow. Now it is a beautiful place shrouded in legends in the Moscow Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. One of the legends tells of a strange green fog. Allegedly, there were cases when people wandered in an emerald haze, as it seemed to them, for several minutes, but in fact decades passed. Also in the ravine are stones that in the old days had a sacred meaning: the Goose-stone patronized the soldiers, giving them strength and good luck in battle, and the Maiden's Stone brought happiness to the girls.

130 km from London, in the county of Wiltshire, there is a bizarre structure made of huge boulders. It is one of the most popular archaeological sites in the world. The researchers found that the construction of the complex lasted almost two thousand years and took place in several stages. However, it is still unclear who built it and why. According to folk legend, the huge blue stones have magical powers, and the building was erected by a wizard named Merlin. There are also versions that Stonehenge is a Stone Age observatory, a Druid sanctuary or an ancient tomb.

Gozeksky circle are called concentric ditches with a diameter of 75 meters and log circles with gates. Through them, on the days of the summer and winter solstices, the sun enters the circle. This gave rise to the theory that this Neolithic structure is the oldest observatory in the world. Presumably it was built in 4900 BC. e. It seems that the creators of the ancient "celestial calendar" had a good knowledge of astronomy. It is noteworthy that there are similar prehistoric structures not only near Gosek, but also in other places in Germany, as well as in Austria and Croatia.

On the top mountain range, at an altitude of 2,450 m, among the clouds above the valley of the Urubamba River, the ancient "lost city of the Incas" majestically rises. Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century, but in 1532 the palaces, altars and houses were abandoned. Where are the inhabitants? According to historians, the elite of the Inca Empire lived in Machu Picchu, and with the fall of the empire, the inhabitants simply left in search of a better life. According to popular belief, most of the population was sacrificed to the gods for the sake of saving the empire, and the rest dispersed through the valley. But there is no definite answer.

A natural funnel with a diameter of 5 meters in the strait of Cape Perpetua was named after the god Thor. But more often it is called "the gate to the underworld." The spectacle is really hellishly beautiful: at high tide, water quickly fills the well, and then abruptly “shoots” upwards with a six-meter fountain, forming a whirlwind of spray. As if a monster lives at the bottom, which is angry with the streams of water pouring on it and pushes them back. But it has not yet been possible to find out what is actually inside the funnel - diving there is too dangerous.

Huge stone balls with a diameter of up to two meters are “scattered” along the Koekohe beach, which is not far from the village of Moeraki. The surface of some of them is absolutely smooth, while others resemble a tortoise shell. Some boulders are intact, while others are broken into pieces. Where they came from is a mystery of nature. According to the Maori folk version, this is a potato that woke up from a mythical canoe. There are also opinions that these are fossilized dinosaur eggs and the remains of alien aircraft. Scientists believe that these are geological formations that formed at the bottom of the ocean millions of years ago.

Another place with mysterious stone balls is Champ Island, located in the central part of Franz Josef Land (Arkhangelsk region). The entire coast is literally strewn with spherical stones ranging in size from a few centimeters to three meters. Where did they come from on a deserted island? It is believed that due to the melting of glaciers, stones fell into natural pools and washed down with water. But why only on this island? Among the supernatural versions are the intervention of aliens and the fact that the stones are artifacts of some lost civilization.

On the edge of the ledge of the Chaittiyo rock lies a granite boulder 5.5 meters high and about 25 meters in girth. The boulder has been balancing on the edge of the abyss for several centuries and, contrary to the laws of physics, does not fall. According to legend, the Buddha gave a hermit monk a lock of his hair. To save the relic, he placed it under a huge stone, hoisted on a rock by Burmese spirits. The stone is covered with gold leaf and is one of the main Buddhist shrines. It has not yet been possible to find a scientific justification for the phenomenon of the Chaittiyo pagoda. And is it necessary?

40 km from Berlin there is a sanatorium, which was once considered the best in Germany. At first it was a hospital for tuberculosis patients, and then a military hospital. In 1916, a young soldier, Adolf Hitler, “licked his wounds” there. After the Second World War, the hospital was at the disposal of the Soviet authorities. Now a lot of horror stories are connected with the sanatorium of the city of Belits. Allegedly, strange sounds are heard there, and letters from soldiers are still found in the walls of the building. Speculation and nothing more? Probably. But visitors say: the longer you stay there, the more tired and depressed you feel.

"Mystery Spot" is translated from English as " Mysterious place". In the middle of the twentieth century, businessman George Prater decided to build a house. I chose a place on a hillside, bought land, but could not erect a building. The house came out crooked, although the drawings were correct, and the builders were sober. It turned out that the laws of physics were violated on the hill: balls roll up an inclined plane, a broom stands without support, water flows upwards, people stand in an inclined position. Scientists say that these are nothing more than optical illusions, but many tend to see a mystical trace in what is happening.

The largest and most mysterious of the great Egyptian pyramids located on the Giza plateau. Its height is 138.8 meters (due to the current lack of facing), the length of the base is 230 meters. Built in the 26th century BC. e. The construction of the pyramid lasted more than 20 years, colossal resources were involved: 2.5 million multi-ton limestone blocks, tens of thousands of slaves. It would seem that the pyramid of Cheops has already been studied up and down, but disputes among scientists do not subside. How was the construction going? How was this gigantic structure used? There are still more questions than answers.

An ancient stone structure is located 40 km north of Dublin. It is older than the Egyptian pyramids by 700 years. According to legend, Newgrange is the home of the Celtic god of wisdom and the sun, Dagda. According to archaeologists, this place served as a tomb. There is also a version that this is one of the first observatories: during the winter solstice, the morning rays of the sun penetrate the hole above the entrance and illuminate the room from the inside. But researchers still have more questions than answers: where did they come from and what do the inscriptions on the stones mean, how did the builders achieve such accuracy, what tools did they use?

In the south of China is one of the most powerful anomalous zones of the world - the Heizhu Valley, which in translation means "Black Bamboo Hollow". Here, under mysterious circumstances, accidents happen and people disappear in thick fog. Find objective reason no one can do what is happening. Some believe that plants that emit toxic substances grow and rot in the forest. Others believe that the reason strange events in the strongest geomagnetic radiation. Mystics say that in the valley there is a portal to a parallel world.

In Yosemite National Park, on the eastern slope of Mount El Capitan, there is a 650-meter waterfall. For most of the year, it is unremarkable, but in February, falling water flows turn into “lava flows”. An amazing natural phenomenon is due to the fact that at sunset the sun's rays are reflected in a waterfall, creating a visual illusion that hot metal is flowing from a rock. According to legend, on the top of the mountain was the house of a blacksmith who made the best horseshoes for horses in the area. But due to heavy rain, the forge was washed off the cliff. Since then, the waterfall once a year "reminds" of this tragic event.

In the north of England, in the county of Northumberland, there is a majestic castle of the XII century with a watchtower. At one time it was of great strategic importance, but in the 17th century it became the residence of the aristocracy. Within its walls, dramas and intrigues unfolded that claimed many lives. Perhaps that is why Chillingham is the most haunted castle in the UK today. There are at least three of them: The Shining Boy (appears in blue robes), Torturer Sage (seen in the torture room) and Lady Mary Berkeley (leaves her portrait in the Gray Room).

One of the most unusual markets in the world is the dream of magicians and mediums of all stripes. The place, if not mystical, then definitely atmospheric, saturated with many legends. Most tourists visit the witch market just out of curiosity. Where else can you see bizarre ritual objects, masks, dried snakes, spider legs and rare herbs? Local sorcerers - bruho - can tell fortunes, cleanse the aura and "cure" ailments. Mexicans often visit the market - they take witches quite seriously.

"Horror Restaurant", "House of a Thousand Ghosts" - all this is about the T'Spookhuys establishment in the city of Turnhout. The restaurant was conceived as an attraction for lovers of mysticism: a gloomy interior, fog swirling on the floor, moving pictures, creaking doors, skulls instead of plates, an extraordinary menu and waiters in the role of vampires. At first, the black humor of the owners brought success - there was no end to the clients. But a few years later, the restaurant acquired a bad reputation, they began to say that ghosts really settled there. Now the institution is abandoned, but the atmosphere and the sinister aura have been preserved.

Loch Ness - deep lake in the highlands of Scotland, where, according to legend, the monster lives. Allegedly, this is a creature resembling a prehistoric lizard. One of the eyewitnesses described him as follows: 40 feet long, 4 fins, the body smoothly passes into an elongated neck with small tubercles. There are quite a few people who claim to have seen the Loch Ness monster. More than three thousand cases have been recorded. There is even photo and video evidence. But there are also skeptics. The debate about whether there is a monster in the lake has been going on for decades and from time to time flares up with renewed vigor.

The Russian counterpart of the Loch Ness monster, according to legend, lives in the Kara-Kul lake of the Baltasinsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan. This is an elongated reservoir with an average depth of 8 meters, an area of ​​1.6 hectares. Translated from the Tatar "Kara-Kul" means "black lake". It is believed that earlier the reservoir was surrounded by a dense forest, which made the water look black. The locals have a legend about the bull-like water snake Su Ugeze. If it seemed to people, expect trouble - fire or hunger. There is no documentary evidence of the presence of a monster in the lake. But superstitious people prefer to bypass it.

The lake is surrounded by a eucalyptus forest, and a narrow strip of land separates it from the ocean. But main feature lakes in that it is pink. The reason for such an unusual color of the water is not solved. It was assumed that the matter was in specific algae, but this was not confirmed. But there is a beautiful legend, as if a crippled, but surviving shipwrecked sailor got on desert island. He was tormented by pain and hunger and asked heaven for deliverance, until, finally, a man came out of the forest with jugs of milk and blood. He poured them into the lake and it turned pink. The sailor plunged into the scarlet water and got rid of pain and hunger. Forever.

This is a 15-meter rock on the eastern coast of the Vatnsnes peninsula. In shape, it resembles a dragon drinking water. But, according to popular belief, this is a troll who went out to the sun and turned into stone. Scientists believe that Hvitserkur is the remains of an ancient volcano, eroded salty waters and destroyed by cold winds. So that the sea does not completely destroy the figure, its base was reinforced with concrete. People from all over the world come to admire this rock. And sometimes the northern lights observed there give it additional mystery.

Other names are Pillars of weathering and Mansi blockheads. These are mountain remains with a height of 30 to 42 meters on the territory of the Pechoro-Ilychsky Reserve. It is believed that 200 million years ago there were high mountains, but because of the snow, frost and winds, only small pillars remained of them. Many legends are associated with them. According to one of them, the leader of the giant tribe wanted to marry the daughter of the leader of the Mansi tribe. Having been refused, the giant attacked the village. It’s good that the beauty’s brother arrived in time: he saved the village by turning the giants into stones with the help of a magic shield.

Sanzhi was to be the city of the future. The elite residential complex consists of futuristic houses, shaped like "flying saucers". An elegant staircase leads to each of the “plates”, and, according to the architects, you can go down from the second floor directly into the ocean or pool along water slide. A huge amount of money was allocated for the construction. But the company that built San Zhi went bankrupt, and accidents at the construction site gave rise to unkind rumors. The complex was completed, but advertising could no longer change the glory " damn place". The city is abandoned. The authorities wanted to demolish it, but the locals were against it. They believe that San Zhi is a haven for lost souls.

Not far from Alma-Ata there is a three-kilometer dune 150 meters high. From it opens beautiful view to the Ili River and the purple mountains. In dry weather, the dune makes melodic sounds, like an organ. According to one of the legends, a shaitan who roamed the world and plotted people intrigues turned into a dune. According to another version, Genghis Khan and his associates are buried in the sands. The dune "sings" when the soul of the khan, "exhausted from mental anguish, tells his descendants about his exploits." It is noteworthy that the dune does not roam the plain, but stands still for millennia, despite the fluctuation of the sand and strong winds.

Anomalous desert on the border of the states of Durango, Chihuahua and Coahuila, where it is impossible to receive and register radio and sound signals. There receivers stall, the compass does not work and the clock stops. Scientists have tried several times to determine the cause of the anomalies, but their conclusions boil down to something like this: something suppresses radio waves. With an area also nicknamed the "Tethys Sea" after ancient ocean, many mysterious incidents are connected: from the disappearance of planes and falling rockets to evidence of strange travelers leaving scorched grass behind them and UFO landings.

House number 525 on Winchester Boulevard in the city of San Jose has a bad reputation. There are 160 rooms and 6 kitchens on three floors. At the same time, many doors lead to a dead end, steps go to the ceiling, and windows to the floor. Not a house, but a labyrinth! Created this architectural "miracle" Sarah Winchester. Her father-in-law made weapons, for which, according to the woman, a curse was imposed on their family. On the advice of a medium, she built a house for the souls of people whose lives were taken by the inventions of old Winchester. According to rumors, ghosts actually settled in house number 525. But even without them, the gloomy layout gives visitors a chill on the skin.

In the heart of Sorrento, at the bottom of the gorge that divides the city into two parts, are the ruins medieval city, the "highlight" of which were water mills. Hence the name of the valley - Valle dei Mulini. The walls of the old mill were almost destroyed, the wheel was overgrown with moss - in the middle modern city it's like a fragment of another world. Perhaps that is why the Valley of the Mills is one of the favorite attractions of fans of mysticism. They believe that the mill has otherworldly inhabitants. Allegedly, laughter is sometimes heard from the gorge, and a strange light is visible from the windows of the building.

37 km from curonian spit(Kaliningrad region) is an unusual coniferous forest. The tree trunks are intricately curved and twisted into spirals. The forest was planted in 1961, and it is still unclear why the pines "started dancing." According to one version, the trunks of still young trees are damaged by the caterpillars of wintering shoots. According to another, the reason lies in the geomagnetic impact of a tectonic crack. Ufologists see the intervention of an alien mind in everything. In 2006 new trees were planted in the forest to see if they would bend. As long as the seedlings grow straight.

This is a place in the English county of Kent, where, according to legend, at least a dozen ghosts live. On the road from Pluckley to Maltman's Hill, a four-horse carriage appears from time to time, the spirit of the colonel roams the pasture, and on one of the streets you can stumble upon the phantom of the gallows. Each of the 12 ghosts has its own story. locals they say that they got used to the "neighbors" from the other world and are no longer afraid of them. But many believe the ghosts are a publicity stunt to attract tourists. True, it has not yet been possible to prove this, as, indeed, the presence of ghosts.

Jihlava is a city in the southeast of the Czech Republic. One of its main attractions is the 25-kilometer catacombs. Once these were silver mines, then they began to be used for household needs. In 1996, archaeologists worked in the catacombs, who recorded that the sound of an organ was heard in the place indicated by the legends, and in one of the passages, the researchers found a “luminous staircase” that emitted a reddish light. Archaeologists were examined - mass hallucinations are excluded. The reasons for the mysterious phenomena are unknown.

On the island of Nuku Hiva, part of the Marquesas Archipelago, in the town of Temehea-Tohua, statues of strange creatures were found. Disproportionate torsos, elongated heads with large mouths and eyes. Archaeologists date the creation of mysterious idols to about the 10th-11th centuries. Why did the natives make them? By official version, these are monuments to priests in ritual masks. But it is strange that the masks themselves were not found on the island. Hence the assumption that aliens once visited Nuku Hiva, and the locals captured their appearance in stone.

This is a huge funnel with a diameter of 305 meters and a depth of 120 meters. Located in the center of Lighthouse Reef. In 1972, Jacques-Yves Cousteau established that it was originally a system of limestone caves that originated during the Ice Age. When the ocean level rose, the roof of the cave collapsed and a sinkhole formed. But there is an opinion that flooding could not provoke destruction - too large, too regular round shape. There must have been an external influence, for example, a meteorite fall.

In autumn, on Lake Paasselka, you can watch the lights wander across the water surface. Some of them are spherical, others resemble flames. According to Finnish beliefs, they point to places where treasures are hidden. But they lure greedy people to a depth where it is difficult to get out even for experienced swimmers. Wandering lights are also found in other parts of the world, but they were photographed on Paasselk. Different things say about the nature of strange lights: either discharges of electricity in the atmosphere, or methane coming out of the ground and flammable, or maybe traces of a UFO movement?

This is a picturesque reservoir with a length of 940 meters in the Dzauska district South Ossetia. Locals often call it a "ghost lake", because every 5-6 years all the water disappears from the lake, and then comes back. According to legend, in the old days, a greedy rich man lived on its shore. Angry peasants drowned him, and since then his greedy spirit from time to time drinks all the water in the lake, and then again falls into oblivion. Geologists also suggest that the water goes into karst caves under the bottom of the reservoir. Ufologists have their own version, as if there is an alien base under the lake.

The ancient city, flooded in 1959 as a result of the construction of a hydroelectric power station. Shichen, or "Lion City", was founded in 670. Five city gates with towers, six stone streets - everything was under water. The Lion City is about 62 football fields in size. Surprisingly, even after half a century, the city is perfectly preserved, including wooden beams and steps, as if this “Chinese Atlantis” is inhabited and someone carefully maintains order there. The mysterious underwater kingdom is very popular with divers.

Located in the Pacific Ocean, 15 km from the city of Nagasaki. The Japanese call it "gunkanjima", that is, "cruiser" - the island looks like a ship. In 1810, a coal deposit was found there. Hasima was significant in the 1930s industrial center. In the second half of the twentieth century, more than 5 thousand people lived there. But coal reserves were melting, and with them the population was declining. Currently, the abandoned island is partially open to the public. Tourists like to wander among the gloomy buildings, listening to the stories of the guides. Hasima became one of the illustrations deserted world in the series "Life after people."

A natural monument 134 km from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, sung in legends. Granite pillars from 12 to 70 meters high stand on the slopes of the hill and have their own names: Shaman-stone, Walls, Bowl, Church, Crown, Heart, Turtle and others. Locals talk about the strange aura of the stones, and shamans still perform rituals there. Scientists express various assumptions about the origin of the Amur pillars. According to one version, they are about 170 million years old and are the result of an underground volcano.

In the city of Bomarzo, there is an ominous but beautiful "Sacred Forest", or "Garden of Monsters". The park has about thirty mythologically inspired sculptures and fantastic buildings covered with moss: an elephant devouring a man, a three-headed monster, a dragon dog, the gates of the underworld and others. All these are the fruits of the imagination of Pier Francesco Orsini, who so decided to perpetuate the memory of his tragically deceased wife. The Orsini heirs did not take care of the park, and it acquired an ominous appearance. There are rumors that there are evil spirits. But despite this, the park became a source of inspiration for Salvador Dali, Manuel Mujica Lines and other creators.

Located in Colorado, close to national park Rocky Mountain. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, the hotel consists of 140 apartments and is considered a haunt of ghosts: for example, the ghosts of a musician playing the piano. There have never been murders or other terrible events in the hotel, but the place is literally saturated with mysticism. It inspired Stephen King to write the book The Shining, which was subsequently made into a TV series - the hotel itself served as the "settings". And Stanley Kubrick's feature-length film of the same name became one of the best horror films in the history of cinema.

This palace and castle complex is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The legend of the Black Lady is associated with it, the prototype of which is the cousin of the first owner of the castle - Barbara. The mother of her lover did not bless their marriage, and when they nevertheless secretly married, she poisoned her daughter-in-law. The heartbroken husband asked the alchemist to call the spirit of his wife in order to look at her at least once. During a séance, the widower, in a fit of feelings, touched Barbara, which was absolutely impossible to do. Since then, her ghost allegedly lives in the walls of the Nesvizh castle.

Teotihuacan means "city of the gods". This mysterious place located 50 km from Mexico City. Now the city is deserted, but once it was inhabited by more than two hundred thousand people. The layout is striking: the regular lines of streets form quarters and at the same time are strictly perpendicular to the main avenue. In the center of the city there is a huge square with massive pyramids on platforms. Teotihuacan was built according to an elaborate plan and prospered. But in the 7th century it was abandoned. Why is unclear. Either because of a foreign invasion, or because of a popular uprising.

In the middle of the sand dunes of the national park, dilapidated ships seem like phantoms. But these are real ships that once got into a storm and moored to the shore to wait out the storm. Due to the moving sands, the ships were cut off from the water, often at quite a distance from the ocean. One of the most famous "captives" of the mysterious coast is the steamer "Eduard Bolen", which found its last refuge about two centuries ago. The southern part of the Skeleton Coast is open to the public and is of great interest to lovers of mysticism.

In 1947, the keeper of Australia's tallest lighthouse went out to sea to fish and never returned. And the new caretakers allegedly began to notice oddities: shuffling, heavy steps on the spiral staircase, sighs, door handles polished to a shine. Thus was born the legend that a ghost settled at the lighthouse. The lighthouse at Cape Hicks is currently open to the public. There you can admire the local beauties and spend the night. Every year, thousands of tourists come to Hicks Point hoping to see the ghost of the lighthouse keeper.

An iron seven-meter column included in architectural ensemble Qutub Minara. This is one of the main attractions of Delhi. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that over the centuries it has hardly undergone corrosion. It has been suggested that the reason for this is a special metal and a favorable climate. According to another version, the column was preserved because of the oils that the pilgrims rubbed it with. But none of the hypotheses has been officially confirmed: it is still unclear how the prototype of modern weather-resistant steel was obtained in 415.

The Mikhail Bulgakov Museum is located in the 50th apartment of the house number 10 on Bolshaya Sadovaya. The writer lived there from 1921 to 1924, and it is believed that this very place became the prototype of the apartment where the “Satan’s ball” took place in the novel The Master and Margarita. The entire front door is covered with lines from the novel - visitors are immersed in the atmosphere of mysticism without even crossing the threshold. There is an urban legend that on moonless nights, piano sounds are heard from the “bad apartment”, and strange silhouettes flicker in its windows. Therefore, the museum is visited not only by fans of the writer, but also by lovers of mysticism, who are sure that Woland, the cat Behemoth and other characters are not fiction at all.