4 Islands to Avoid at All Costs
Listen, we could all use an island vacation. However, if your travel agent tries to send you to any of these islands, fire them immediately. Snakes, radioactive sands, hostile populations, and more can be found at these seemingly pristine destinations, none of which are conducive to rest and relaxation! Here are four islands to avoid at all costs.
Snake Island (Ilha da Queimada Grande)
About 90 miles off the coast of Brazil, Ilha da Queimada Grande — better known in English as Snake Island — is one of the last refuges of the endangered golden lancehead snake (Bothrops insularis).
The golden lancehead might be one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. Its venom melts the flesh around the bite wound and is designed to kill quickly, as its primary food source is fast-moving migratory birds. Terrifyingly, the golden lancehead can kill a full-grown human in under an hour. Because the island has no natural snake predators, there may be as many as one snake per square meter on Snake Island.
The Brazilian government forbids anyone from landing on the island. There are no confirmed deaths due to golden lancehead bites, despite the rumors.
North Sentinel Island
North Sentinel Island, part of the Andaman Islands under India's jurisdiction, is perhaps the most isolated place on Earth. The Sentinelese, the island's native population, make sure of that.
We don't know much about the Sentinelese, including their language, religion, or culture. When outsiders step on the island, the natives have generally hidden in the jungle to avoid contact.
However, there have been instances of the Sentinelese responding to intruders with violence. Survivors of shipwrecks, misguided missionaries, and local fishermen have been killed as a result of forcing unwanted contact with the Sentinelese or overstaying their welcome on the beach. Even anthropologists giving gifts in an attempt to create a connection were forced to leave when the islanders made explicit threats.
The Indian government has rules enforced to keep outsiders away from North Sentinel Island.
Gruinard Island
Off the northwest coast of Scotland, Gruinard Island, also known as Anthrax Island, is uninhabited.
During World War II, the British government used the already-unoccupied Gruinard Island to experiment with biological weapons, most notably an "anthrax bomb." While the British never finalized or used such a weapon, the experiments contaminated the soil with the deadly bacteria, which still lives in the soil to this day.
There are better places to enjoy the sights of Scotland.
Enewetak
Between 1948-1956, the American government evacuated locals from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean to test nuclear weapons. Unsurprisingly, this left radioactive debris behind, especially in the topsoil.
In 1980, the Americans collected the contaminated debris and topsoil and put it all on Runit Island, an island in the Ewnewtak Atoll. They encased the debris in a giant concrete dome, which the locals call "the Tomb."
The locals were invited back to the atoll after the cleanup in 1980, but many had to leave again because of the radioactive traces left behind in the soil. Some have since returned. No one is allowed back to Runit Island, as the radioactive materials will be deadly for another 24,000 years.
References: Snake Island (Ilha da Queimada Grande) | This Terrifying Brazilian Island Has the Highest Concentration of Venomous Snakes Anywhere in the World | Everything We Know About The Isolated Sentinelese People Of North Sentinel Island | They choose to live in isolation—but the world won't leave them alone | The most isolated tribe in the world? | The mystery of Anthrax Island and the seeds of death | Gruinard Island | Enewetak:atoll, Marshall Islands | Enewetak Atoll
