Surreal place’s on the Earth

Surreal place’s on the Earth

1.  Underground Seattle, Washington (USA). It used to be part of the above-ground city, but over many years it was left behind as the city rose and covered more and more of these passages and structures, then it was just abandoned.

From Postdlffromw

2. Mo’ynoq, Uzbekistan
The sea disappeared, leaving a tiny community that includes an armada of ships… sitting all over town on dry, desert-like land. Lots of big, rusted old ships scattered around like something the aliens left behind in Close Encounters of the Third Kind…

From Geoffreywatson fromw
3. Catacombes de Paris are exactly what that sounds like they would be — an underground tunnel (part of a larger network of tunnels) that houses the skeletal remains of 6 MILLION PEOPLE arranged in a̶ ̶h̶o̶r̶r̶i̶f̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶n̶i̶g̶h̶t̶m̶a̶r̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶v̶i̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ an interesting decorative fashion…

From Vlastula from w

From Djtox from w
4. Island of the Dolls in Mexico, where you’ll see this…

…and this…

…because this is an island FILLED WITH BROKEN, FILTHY DOLLS strung up all over the place. This is one of several small islands in a series of canals in Mexico in Xochimilco, and when you approach this particular little island this is what you’ll see from your boat:

From Amrith Raj from w
Julián Santana Barrera owned the island, and strung up old dolls he’d find in the canal and in trash piles etc. He supposedly found the dead body of a young girl who drowned in the canal (other reports say he in fact was responsible for kiling the girl and reported her death as an accidental drowning), and began hanging the dolls up in order to appease her angry spirit. He thought the dolls came to life at night and killed animals on the island. The man died in 2001 (contrary to rumors and myth, he did not drown in the same place the little girl died, nor was he attacked one night by the dolls coming to life to take revenge — he died of natural causes), but his surreal and very disturbing Island of the Dolls remains in tact and you can still visit it if you’d like.
Cappadocia, Turkey

Traveling to Cappadocia feels a bit like visiting the moon…. or a mushroom planet!  The landscape is otherworldly and seems straight out of a surrealist painting.

Hotels and houses are built in caves dwellings of the Hittite, Roman and Byzantine periods. Below are pictures from Cappadocia Cave Suites, a popular cave hotel.

• Chichilianne, Rhone Alpes, France

The breathtaking Mont Aiguille is nearly 7,000 foot tall and offers amazing views of the French Prealps.

• Tiger’s Nest Monastery, Paro Valley, Bhutan

This 17th century temple sits on the edge of a cliff 3,000 feet above the Paro valley. The holy site was built to protect the cave in which Guru Padmasambhava, a leader of Buddhism, meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours.

• Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is a medieval city is still largely intact. So much so, that parts of the city are used as King’s Landing in Game of Thrones. The city is brimming with amazing architecture and surrounded by the Mediterranean on one side and walls on the other.

• Albarracín, Aragon, Spain

Albarracín is a beautifully preserved medieval village in Northern Spain. The rock paintings in the cliff-foot caves of the Albarracin Cultural Park (some of the most important evidences of the Levantine prehistoric art of Spain) and the “Picaportes” (door knobs) are something to marvel at!

• Bagan, Burma

Bagan is an ancient city hidden deep inside Burma. At the height of the Kingdom of Pagan, the city had over 10,000 Buddhist temples. Today, over 2200 of these are still standing, making it an amazing place to visit.

• Aescher, Switzerland

Aescher hotel is so high up on the Appenzellerland mountains that you have to hike or get a cable car to reach it. Amenities are intentionally basic but the food is hearty and the nearby trails lead to exhilarating adventures.

• Haiku Stairs, Hawaii

Known as the Stairway to Heaven, this fairly unknown hiking trail can be found on the island of O’ahu. The trail is steep and ends at a peak 2,800 feet above the sea, which offers amazing views of the island.

• Þingvallavatn Lake, Iceland

Found deep within this huge National Park is the boundary between North America and Europe. Lucky divers can swim in between the tectonic plates of these two continents, which is getting 2 centimeters wider every year.

• Chefchaouen, Northwest Morocco

Chefchaouen is best known for its blue buildings, painted in a spectrum of soothing hues. If you want to escape the city, make sure to check out the nearby Rif mountains and the Cascades d’Akchour!

• Lord Howe Island, Australia

This beautiful island is mostly untouched by man, with a tiny native population and only 400 tourists being allowed to visit each year. The limit is in place to protect the amazing natural landscape of Howe Island, which is home to a beautiful crystal lagoon and coral reef.

• Bishop Castle, San Isabel National Forest, Rye, Colorado

Bishop Castle is undoubtedly one of the craziest castles in the world, created by the one-man castle builder Jim Bishop. It’s an incredible place to get married or just to visit for inspiration.