13 Best Dark Tourism Destinations
Chantelle KincyIf you’re like me, then traveling for the sake of traveling is no longer enough. There needs to be a purpose or an event that I want to see. That’s where dark tourism comes in. Dark tourism is a recent phenomenon that has quickly become a major industry in travel and tourism.
It’s when you visit a place or attend an event that has darkness surrounding it. There are thousands of these places worldwide, but today, I’ll narrow it down to the 13 best dark tourism destinations.
13. Nailing to the Cross, Philippines
If you thought nailing to a cross ended with Jesus, think again. Some people nail themselves to the cross on Good Friday every year in San Fernando, Philippines. There’s one man that has been doing this for the past 34 years, and he’s not the only one. About a dozen Filipinos get nailed to a cross every year, and they have no plans to stop (even though the Catholic Church has asked them to).
This isn’t the only thing that happens on Easter week in the Philippines. Thousands of men in areas around the country beat themselves with whips and sharp pieces of bamboo until they bleed to honor the sacrifice that Jesus made. They also carry heavy wooden crosses on their backs for miles down the hot roads barefoot.
When I lived in the Philippines, I was able to see the people flogging themselves firsthand, and it was… disturbing. However, if you want to witness this for yourself, book your flight to Manila and take a bus to San Fernando. It will be one of the most shocking things you’ll ever see.
12. Ijen Volcano, Indonesia
Mount Ijen is located in East Java, Indonesia, and there’s something dark happening here as you read this. It’s not from an eruption or natural disaster; it’s the workers who are currently working inside the volcano. They make an average of $20 daily and hike in and out of the volcano in 15-day shifts.
It’s a 6-mile round-trip hike with over 2,000 feet of elevation, and the workers carry the sulfur out in baskets that they place on their shoulders. The environment that these workers are working in is horrific. The volcano is active, so they are in danger from its erupting and the fumes they are breathing in.
When I went to Ijen, we were given a full-face respirator mask like the ones used in World War 2, but these workers usually go down with nothing. The sulfuric smoke burns your eyes and lungs so badly that my wife and I only stayed at the bottom of the crater for a few minutes before heading back to the tour van. It’s so sad what these people have to go through; at the end of the day, they are not making anywhere close to a living wage.
11. Aokigahara Forest Japan
The sadness that surrounds the Aokigahara Forest in Japan is devastating. The Japanese work long hours of overtime (sometimes unpaid), and this, combined with the loneliness epidemic that Japan is facing, is not a good combination and can sometimes be too much to handle.
When this happens, a lot of them go to the Suicide Forest to end it all. It’s said that 30-100 people take their lives here each year, which is just heartbreaking. You may have heard of the famous (or should I say infamous) YouTuber Logan Paul, who went into the Suicide Forest and filmed a person who had just taken his life (and made sick and cruel jokes about the person). If you go here, ensure you are respectful and stay on the trail, or you might see something you’ll regret seeing.
10. North Korea
What’s happening in North Korea is a truly terrible thing. Their leader, Kim Jong Un, has brainwashed and held an entire country hostage. Some things that he’s most famous for are parading around his nuclear missiles, killing his half-brother, killing anyone who speaks out against him, starving his citizens, and a lot of other messed up things. Anyway, if you want, you can visit this country.
Some tours will take you across the border from South Korea to North Korea so you can experience it for yourself. You will get to tour the capital of Pyongyang and see what the people of this nation live like (or at least what they show the tourists).
9. Berlin, Germany
The Berlin Wall divided East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. This wall encircled West Berlin and was about 100 miles long. The wall was put in place by the German Democratic Republic (or the GDR) and was built so the West Berliners were separated from the Soviet-ruled East Berlin. West Berlin was part of the USA’s and the UK’s allied forces. This wall symbolizes the “Iron Curtain” and how the Cold War divided nations.
You can visit parts of the Berlin Wall that still stand today as a reminder of what happened to this city during the 28 years it stood. There is also a museum that you can visit called the Wall Museum that will teach you all about the Wall and why it’s an important part of history.
8. Catacombs, Paris
The Catacombs in Paris are among the most shocking and amazing things I’ve ever seen. Over 6 million Parisian bones can be seen in the catacombs, and you can see these bones up close and personal.
You get to wander deep under Paris and see this massive graveyard that was started in the 18th century. Back then, there was an excess of dead bodies that were stinking up Paris. So they took the bodies underground to an abandoned quarry, which was back then outside of the main city of Paris.
The Catacombs are open for visitors and cannot be missed when visiting Paris. There are art pieces made of bones that are incredible to look at but definitely give you an uneasy feeling.
There are also secret underground entrances that stretch for hundreds of miles that only the locals know about. You can visit these secret entrances if you are feeling really brave. However, many people have gotten lost in the maze of bones and were never seen again.
7. 9/11 Memorial & Museum, New York, USA
The 9/11 Memorial in New York is dedicated to the 3,000 people who lost their lives on this tragic day. On September 11, 2001, at 8:46 am, a plane struck one of the Twin Towers. Then, just 17 minutes later at 9:03 am, a second plane struck the second building of the Twin Towers.
All the passengers on both flights died on impact. Then, about an hour and a half after being hit, both of the Towers collapsed, killing thousands inside. This is the largest terrorist attack that’s ever happened on US soil.
The 9/11 Memorial is at the site where the Twin Towers used to stand. You can see all the names of the people who lost their lives and the largest man-made waterfall in North America. The Museum is also located on this site and tells about the history of the attacks and another terrorist attack that happened here in 1993.
6. Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Japan
On the 6th and 9th of August 1945, America dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombs killed about 200,000 people, 99% of which were civilians.
Thousands more died later because of the lasting effects of the radiation. This attack is devastating, and the fact that it ever happened is terrible. These cities are now both livable and have very low traces of radiation.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is the most well-known museum that talks about the reality of the atomic bomb. The permanent exhibition displays the photos of the people who lost their lives in this attack and the belongings that the victims left behind.
5. Pompeii, Italy
Pompei is the city below the Mt Vesuvius volcano in Southern Italy. When this massive volcano erupted in the year 79 A.D., it covered the city of Pompeii in volcanic debris and the next day with clouds of hot gasses. The entire city was buried under a blanket of ash for more than a thousand years before it was rediscovered in 1748.
You can explore this ancient city and see its remains on a tour or on your own. You can walk the streets that people once walked and see the houses where people once lived.
The Pompeii Archaeological Site is 150 acres and has a museum that lets you wander around the site to see it for yourself. One of the most disturbing things you’ll see here is the casts of dead bodies that show what their last moments looked like before they died.
4. The Ma’nene Festival, Tana Toraja Regency, Indonesia
The Ma’nene Festival in Tana Toraja, Indonesia, happens once every three years in August. It’s known as the Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses and is a way for these people to pay respect and stay connected to the dead.
The ceremony begins in the morning by exhuming the dead bodies of their ancestors. Then, they clean and dress the bodies and place them back in their coffins before sunset.
Most people would consider this a terrifying thing that should not be done, but for the Tana Toraja people, it’s a comforting and heartwarming celebration. If you would like to attend this festival, do plenty of research beforehand to see the schedule and when the ceremony takes place. Also, be respectful of their culture and the sacredness of what they are doing.
3. Kigali Genocide Memorial, Rwanda
The genocide of the Tutsi people in Rwanda happened in April 1994. In just 100 days, the Hutu people murdered 800,000 Tutsi people. The Tutsi were well off and had a majority of the money in the country. The Hutu were mostly poor farmers who wanted a change and started an uprising against them.
The Kigali Genocide Memorial is at the site of the mass grave of the Tutsi, where over 250,000 were buried. Inside the memorial, pictures of the deceased are displayed, as well as stories from the survivors of the genocide.
2. Choeung Ek Killing Fields, Cambodia
Choeung Ek is a place that was once an orchard but was turned into a Killing Field during the Cambodian genocide from 1975 to 1979. It’s close to the capital city of Phnom Penh and is where over 18,000 people were brutally murdered.
Khmer Rouge was the Totalitarian leader of Cambodia at this time, and if anyone disagreed with him or broke any of his rules, they were brought as a prisoner to one of the Killing Fields and murdered.
Cambodia had more than 100 Killing Fields during his reign, but Choeung Ek is the most well-known. Today, you can visit the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, where you can learn the history of this terrible event, see photos of the people who were murdered, and see the 8,000 skulls on display.
1. Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland
The Holocaust is the worst genocide in the history of the world. Over 6 million Jews were murdered between 1933-1945 at the hand of the Nazi regime. There were thousands of concentration camps during this time, but the worst of them all was Auschwitz. 1.1 million Jews were killed here, which is by far the most deadly concentration camp.
It’s located near Krakow, Poland, and is most easily accessible by booking a tour from Krakow. You can either book a full tour that will take you through the entire Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum or you can do it yourself.
Some of the saddest things you will see here are the gas chambers, the Hair Exhibit that shows the two tons of hair that were shaved off before entering the gas chambers, and 110,000 pairs of shoes that were taken from the prisoners at the Shoe Exhibit.
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