However, there are such fantastic places here on Earth, and with a little effort you too can explore these strange and sometimes fearsome places. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but instead a primer for your imagination. While Mt. Doom itself may be a few too many dimensions away, the Door to Hell in Turkmenistan, for example, is as ferocious, and its radiating heat and aroma of burning methane and sulphur will stay with you for years to come.
[Source: www.nationalgeographic.com]
Maybe a giant burning pit belching out noxious fumes isn’t quite what you are looking for. Fair enough. How about crystals? How about the largest crystals in the world? The Crystal Cave of Giants was discovered completely by accident by a mining operation, and the determined can make the trek to nearly a thousand feet into the underworld to see these magnificent Gypsum crystals. A word of caution – the cave is close to a magma chamber, which makes temperatures and humidity in the cave similar to a sauna. A person can’t be in the chamber for more than 10 minutes without suffering serious health problems. A second hazard is that the crystals are apparently razor sharp. Not for the clumsy.
[Source: www.stormchaser.ca]
What’s that? Spelunking a thousand feet down to sit in a steam bath of knives isn’t your thing either? Why the hell not? Okay fine. What about S.C.U.B.A diving? In the Mediterranean? In Egypt? The sunken city of Heracleion, named after Heracles who is said to have visited the city himself, predates the lost city of Alexandria and is actually not that far off from it either. Unlike Alexandria, however, Heracleion survived well into the 8th century C.E before suffering a similar fate to its neighbour. The gentle embrace of the sea has preserved much of the city perfectly, and as a result is probably one of the greatest swims on the planet.
[Source: www.eqtrip.com]
Another alternative adventure lifted right from a movie can be found in comfortable and cosmopolitan Paris. Alongside the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and the Bastille, any visit to the great city should include a visit to its catacombs. You see, by the end of the 18th century, Paris was out of room to bury its dead. Cemeteries were full; some being expanded into mass graves and the juices from the decomposing bodies was entering the groundwater and leading to outbreaks of all sorts of horrible diseases. Moreover, centuries of mining limestone to build the city from underneath the city resulted in a veritable ant-hill of underground passageways, some of which were caving in under the stress of buildings and mass graves. The solution was obvious – turn these catacombs into an underground open crypt using the piles and piles of bones they had, and then sell people tickets to see them! The catacombs opened for public viewing in 1874, and has been a hit destination for goths and metal heads ever since.
[source:thefairytraveler.wordpress.com]
For more information on these and other real life dungeons, ancient ruins and adventures, check out the map below.
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