The 5 strangest islands on planet Earth
Our planet is full of strange things, weird phenomena, incredible animals, rainbow mountains, pink lakes, and unusual islands. When we think about an island, the first image that pops up into our mind is a white sand beach and crystal-clear water.
Unfortunately, not all islands in the world are heavenly, and there are many that actually have creepy histories, poisonous water, no vegetation, and no inhabitants. Some of them are ruled by animals, birds, reptiles, and bad weather. Here’s a list of the strangest islands on planet Earth!
The Doll Island is located in the channels on the south of the center of Mexico City. The past owner of the island was Don Julian Santana Barrera who became obsessed with hanging dolls all over the place. The dolls are old, of different sizes and different colors.
His goal was to scare off the spirit of the girl whose body was found in the channel near the island. While chasing away the evil spirits, Don Julian died the same way the unhappy girl did. The island is open to visits nowadays, and apart from the creepy hanging dolls, there is a museum with diaries of locals that reveal the history of the island and its previous owner.
Okunoshima Island, Japan
Okunoshima is also known as the rabbit island because of the huge number of rabbits living there. Between the years on 1929 and 1945, the Japanese Army ran a secret chemical weapon experiment on the island. They imported a lot of rabbits to use as subjects in the testing.
Luckily, many of them survived and went on to populate the island. Nowadays, people visit the island to see the rabbits, and also to visit the Poison Gas Museum, opened in 1988 to educate people about the dreadful consequences of the poison gas used during WWII.
Isola la Gaiola, Italy
Gaiola Island is one of the smallest islands found offshore of Naples in Italy. The strange thing about Gaiola Island is that nearly every man that has owned it throughout its history ended up murdered, drowned, or experienced a financial collapse.
It was finally abandoned and considered to be cursed by the locals. Nowadays, Gaiola belongs to the government of Campania Region that now manages what’s left on the island, including the Underwater Park of Gaiola in the Gulf of Naples.
Christmas Island, Australia
Christmas Island is an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean famous as the place where the largest animal migration on Earth happens. Around 100 million red crabs migrate annually from the island’s forest to the beach to mate.
Apart from the red crabs, Christmas Island is known for its bird inhabitants, including the brown booby bird, noddy, red-footed booby, and the Christmas Imperial pigeon.
The floating islands of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia
The islands on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca are entirely man-made and were created by the Uru people that still live there. The islets are made of totora reeds, which grow in the lake. They are anchored with ropes attached to sticks at the bottom of the lake.
The reeds at the bottom of the islands rot quickly because of the high humidity, and new reeds are constantly added on top. With every step, the ground on the islands sink 2-4 inches. When the reeds are dry, they crack easier and let the water through.
The Uru’s islands are located at an altitude 12,500 ft., and today there are still people living and maintaining the islets. When someone dies, the funeral ceremony takes place on the mainland.
One more example that shows us how rich our planet is and that there are so many amazing places that we have never heard of.
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