In GoAbroad's 20 years of existence, we’ve come across from pretty weird travel destinations. Whether for its geological uniqueness or a creepy story to pair with an already remarkable tradition, these peculiar locales make us shiver, do a double take, cringe. Maybe most important — they keep us coming back from more.
To celebrate 20 years of making travel meaningful, join us on a walk to the weird side with our favorite 20 weird travel destinations.
1. Dip Your Toes in Lake Retba, the Pink Lake of Senegal
Talk about weird travel destinations!!!
If you can’t swim with flamingoes, you might as well swim in a lake that looks like pepto bismol, right? Say the micro-algae that gives this lake it’s hue — dunaliella salina — three times fast. Now you’re closer than average to understanding the science behind it.
Meaningful ways to travel in Senegal:
2. Re-Enact Your Favorite Avatar Scene at Tianzi Mountains of China
Get whisked away in 天子山 in Hunan province
Pandora... but actually. Come see the landscape that inspired blockbuster film Avatar’s floating islands. It’s just as magical in real life, even without the blue people and floating whispies.
Meaningful ways to travel in China:
3. Play with Quokkas at Rottnest Island in Australia
An island full of quokkas? Definitely towards the top of obscure places to visit!
Quokka like you mean it! If you haven’t fallen in love with these adorable macropods yet, welcome to a wonderful new chapter of your life. Quokkas, previously voted the happiest animal on the planet, run amok on Rottnest Island. They’re friendly, too!
Meaningful ways to travel in Australia:
4. Get Triple-Digit Insta-Likes Thanks to the Pacific’s Rainbow Eucalyptus
This ain’t your everyday koala snack. Photo from Wikimedia
This living rainbow will wow the pants off anyone — even the color blind (maybe). Since the tree is believed to be endemic to the Philippines, specifically Mindanao island, it can also be called the “Mindanao gum” or “rainbow gum.” Now I’m craving Fruit Stripe. This bizarre vegetation definitely earns it’s place on our weird travel destinations list.
Meaningful ways to travel in the Pacific Islands:
- Get your PADI while saving marine life with GVI
- Teach English in Indonesia with Teach Away
5. Island-hop on a Dugout Canoe in Uganda’s Lake Bunyonyi
Bunyonyi, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Photo from Wikimedia
With agricultural terraces à la China/Vietnam and dotted islands à la western Canada, you might mistakenly think this magical freshwater lake in Southwest Uganda is having an identity crisis. Nope, it’s just beautiful Bunyonyi, your new favorite weird travel destination. Just be sure to stuff your gut with chapati before heading on your expedition!
Meaningful ways to travel to Uganda:
- Garden with women and children with Eco-Agric Uganda
- Learn Lugandan and Swahili with Carpe Diem Education
6. Fight Your Friends for Shade in Sossusvlei
Sossusvlei will blow your mind!
Picture this: You, your bestie(s), gorgeous red sand dunes, and the salty clay bottom of a million-year old lake (don’t worry, it’s all dried up now). The Namib Desert is full of treasures, but this surreal landscape is definitely their most unusual.
Meaningful ways to travel to Namibia:
- Spend a semester in Namibia with the Center for Global Education
- Year-long teaching positions in Namibia with World Teach
7. See a Pickled Dictator in Vietnam
You can view Ho Chi Minh’s body at his mausoleum in Hanoi
Okay, so pickled is a bit of a stretch. But, following in the footsteps of Mao, Lenin, and Stalin, you can see good ol’ Uncle Ho’s (Ho Chi Minh’s) body preserved in its final resting place. Pro tip: don’t go between September — early November, as he is usually sent to Russia for embalming. This stop is definitely one of Vietnam’s most obscure places to visit!
Meaningful ways to travel to Vietnam:
- Get paid to teach English in Vietnam with ITA
- International TEFL & TESOL Training’s TEFL courses in Vietnam
8. Fly Above the Nazca Lines in Peru
Best appreciated from above, the Nazca Lines is a no-brainer for our weird travel destinations list
Don’t worry, we’re (kind of?) sure this mystical place isn’t haunted…
Bypass oft-visited Machu Picchu and head to the south of Peru to experience one of the coolest connections to our shared human history on the planet. These large ancient geoglyphs in the Nazca Desert are up to 1200 feet long — you’ll be pretty disappointed if you opt to only see them on foot!
Meaningful ways to travel to Peru:
- Short term and semester study abroad programs in Peru with Maximo Nivel
- Volunteer projects in Peru with IVHQ
9. Meditate at the Birthplace of Buddha in Nepal
Try on Sherpa life before visiting this fave of obscure places to visit
He may’ve achieved nirvana and entered his next life from India, but the birthplace of Buddha is the city of Lumbini in south Nepal. Trek along windy Himalayan foothills to set your eyes on the white temple adorning his birthplace. It’s epic — and only a few hours drive from the bengal tigresses of Chitwan National Park.
Meaningful ways to travel to Nepal:
10. Walk on a Troll Tongue in Norway
What do you mean you’ve never hiked a tongue?
Lace up your boots because you’ve got eight+ miles to traverse (one way) to find the grandest troll tongue you’ve ever seen. Tackle the 11 hour hike, covering steep terrain, snow covered plateaus, and icy ledges to uncover the tantalizing tastebuds of this mythical, cave-dwelling being.
Meaningful ways to travel to Norway:
- Complete high school abroad in Norway
- Master Norwegian with Languages Abroad
11. Test Death in Russia’s City of the Dead
Did it just get cold in here or is it just me? Photo from Wikimedia
Though their inhabitants didn’t quite make it, the ninety-nine individual crypts and tombs have survived hundreds of years. Dated to as early as the 12th century, this abandoned village is rarely visited — maybe due to the legend that no visitor ever comes out alive…?
Meaningful ways to travel to Russia:
12. Walk (Gingerly) Across the Rope Bridges in Cherrapunji, India
Did it just get cold in here or is it just me? Photo from Wikimedia
Mama always said having roots was a good thing, right? There’s nowhere else on earth where this is as true as in Cherrapunji. The Ficus elastica — or rubber tree — is native to India; beyond it’s usual gift of shade, these trees also provide the gift of shortcuts. The tree’s secondary roots double duty as sturdy bridges to cross the area’s many rivers. Weird, no?
Meaningful ways to travel to India:
- SLV Global’s Clinical and Ancient Psychology Internships in India
- Indian conservation volunteer programs with GoEco
13. Survive the Poison Plants of Alnwick Garden
Beware — these beauties have bite.
The Poison Garden at England’s Alnwick Garden is gorgeous — and filled with plants that can kill you. But, before you cancel your plane ticket to Great Britain, consider this: there are over 100 varieties of drug and poisonous plants to bemuse, each hand selected because of their unique story to tell. Sniff away, friends!
Meaningful ways to travel to England:
- Theater study abroad programs in England with Performing Arts Abroad
- Full degree programs in England at Queen Mary University in London
14. Spot George Bush in Wat Rong Khun in Thailand
Fascinated? Creeped out? Mesmerized? All of the above? Yup, this is a weird travel destination.
Carvings of ghoulish hands, modern celebrities and fictional characters, decapitated heads. Sounds like a pretty weird travel destination, huh? See all the weird and wonderful — and white — that this crazy temple in northern Thailand has to offer visitors.
Meaningful ways to travel to Thailand:
- Volunteer in Thailand with Volunteering Journeys
- Adventure travel around Thailand with Stray tours
15. High five (er, three?) the Hand of Hercules in Jordan
Go from zero to hero in 1...2...3
If your recipe for adventure includes mystery, then taking a peek at the hand of Hercules in Amman will stir your inner-Boxcar Children. Beyond the elbow and some fingers, the rest of this giant statue — presumed to be dedicated to Hercules — has yet to be found.
Is Hercules actually the demigod the ancients were trying to honor? What could it all mean…? And, most importantly, will Phil, the half-man-half-goat and his snark, be there, too?
Meaningful ways to travel to Jordan:
16. Clean Your Monkey Bits at Japan’s Jigokudani Hot Tub Park
#Goals
Monkey spas might sound like a thing from outer space, but it’s not so — we earthlings are lucky to have one of our own in Japan. Translated to “Hell’s Valley,” travelers who trek to this super weird travel destination will be rewarded with more than a peep show to go ape for.
Meaningful ways to travel to Japan:
- Teach English in Japan with Gaba
- Score an internship in Japan
17. Study Hard at Elf School in Iceland
It might hard to pay attention in class with this adorable city just beyond...
Pro tip: Elves are not something to joke about when you’re trying to impress your new Icelandic friends — the locals take their folklore and elvish traditions very seriously. Instead, adopt the best way to maintain a straight face mid-conversation. Learn more about it. Get A’s in Elf School in Iceland!
Meaningful ways to travel to Iceland:
18. Behold the Power of Mexico’s Giant Crystal Cave
BEHOLD THE POWAH!!
Get lost 400 feet below ground level in this fantastic cave dwelling — more than spiders and other creepy crawlies, this cavern is full of the world’s largest selenite/gypsum deposits. For the less science-y folk, that means crystals. Giant ones, actually. Thirty-six foot long ones. Whoa!
Meaningful ways to travel to Mexico:
- Adventure around Mexico with Frontier Travel
- Get your TEFL & teach abroad with TEFL Heaven
19. Get Your Own Beauty-and-the-Beast-Approved Library in Argentina
Be our guest! Photo from Wikimedia
This majestic (and weird) travel destination is a must-do for any traveler who loves to get lost in a good book. Once an ornate and active theater, the El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires is now one of the world’s grandest bookstores. Be sure to stick around for a cafe con leche on stage with your new novel!
Meaningful ways to travel to Argentina:
20. In Ireland, You Can Scratch Your Ass in Public
Warm up your donkey impressions before visiting this weird travel destination.
Don’t make an ass of yourself and skip out on Ireland’s very own donkey sanctuary. Home to more than 3000 donkeys since its inception in the 1980’s, these fuzzy, friendly quadrupeds are natural fits on lists of weird travel destinations. Free snuggles and blue flowers with red thorns!
Meaningful ways to travel to Ireland:
- Study abroad in Limerick or Dublin with CISabroad
- Semester Study Abroad with Foundation for International Education
What obscure places to visit did we miss?
We’re gearing up for 20 more years of adventures and meaningful travel. What weird travel destinations should be our first stops?
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