13 seriously weird places to visit

Walking on the barren desert sands of Pampa San de José will not reveal anything out of the ordinary. Looking down from the sky, however, you will suddenly understand why this is one of the weirdest places on earth. From a bird’s eye view, you will clearly see thousands of lines up to 9 kilometres long etched into the ground forming hundreds of animal shapes and mysterious geometric sketches. These massive drawings are believed to be the work of the Nazca culture that thrived from 100 BC to 800 AD.

Cat lovers, get ready to update your travel bucket list. There are 3 cat islands in Japan, each home to over 100 small and adorable cats and even fewer humans. Aoshima, the most famous of the 3 cat islands, stretches a modest 1.6 kilometres near the southern coast of Japan. The cats were introduced as a means to fix the island’s rodent problems. Today the cats have multiplied in population and have drawn many curious tourists.

Spanning across 50 kilometres are enormous, ready-to-eat chocolate drops. No, the hills are not made of actual chocolate, but rather are uplifts of coral that have been shaped by rainwater erosion into seemingly perfect mounds. During the dry season, the grass on all 1,700 hills turns brown, which explains its ‘chocolate’ appearance. It may be one of the weird places, but it is definitely a very unique sight to behold.

Make your way to the Oregon coast to witness one of the strangest places in the world. Located in the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, you will see Thor’s Well, a 6-metre-deep, bowl-shaped hole in the rocks draining and spouting up ocean water. It truly resembles something out of a sci-fi film.

During autumn, a unique seaweed called Sueda turns from green to a dark-red hue. As a result, the Sueda-covered wetland 30 kilometres south of Panjin transforms into a remarkable red beach. No swimming is allowed, but there is a wooden walkway to allow tourists to check out one of China’s most weird places to visit.

Imagine Disneyland’s castle, but completely bizarre. Drawing inspiration from the natural environment of the city of Dalat, Vietnamese Dang Nga architect designed this bizarre house to resemble a giant tree. The 5-story house, riddled with enigmatic rooms and sprawling designs, draws tourists daily to appreciate the artistic expression in the design of a house.

Years of dumping garbage near the Fort Bragg coastline have led to unexpectedly strange yet beautiful results: colourful glass pebbles lining the beaches. The glass pebbles formed as the lapping waves broke down the littered bottles and cans over numerous years and have resulted in the beach being known as one of the most unusual places to visit in the world. Nature brings beauty, although sometimes in unexpectedly weird places.

The Tianzi Mountains are an extremely unique example of the way the earth has developed over history. A product of millions of years of rising crust and running water erosion, the Tianzi Mountains are staggering greenery-covered peaks that seem to shoot vertically to the sky. With some peaks reaching over 1,200 metres high, the mountains can be observed from cable car access.

During the hot summer months in British Columbia, the 1.7-kilometre long Spotted Lake near Osoyoos evaporates, revealing colourful mineral deposits that give the ‘spotted’ look. The other-worldly appearance makes it a big draw for tourists seeking the weirdest places on earth. However, as the lake is a part of private property, no swimming is allowed.

The UNESCO World Heritage site is a gorgeous yet very strange spectacle. Located in Western Turkey, Pamukkale is a small town known for its shimmering mineral-rich waters flowing down white travertine terraces. What results is an incredible formation of blue, heavenly pools that are open for a quick dip.

Formed after an enormous volcano eruption that blasted a mass of molten basalt six million years ago, these were the fractures of the consolidated and cooled aftermath. It is home to an estimated number of 37,000 geometrically perfect polygon columns. Legend has it that a giant built this structure as it seems almost impossible and weird for the polygons to be so geometrically flawless.

The world’s largest salt flat, Salar De Uyuni. It is a dry lake of around 11,000 square kilometres that curated a landscape of crystal-like white salt ground. Classified as a cold climate desert, the temperatures are below 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Fahrenheit). Well if you are daring, it is 100% safe to walk on the salt flat and even take reflection photos as your weird places discovery’s souvenior!

Classified as one of the UNESCO Historical sites, these stone jars are located around the central plain of Xiangkhoang Plateau. The jars are clustered in varying numbers, from one to a few hundreds of them. According to local mythologies, these were created by Cheung after a victorious war to brew lao lao rice wine for the celebrations. However, as much as your curious and daring self would want to explore the whole of this weird place, do note that only a small portion of the area is safe for visiting.