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Sometimes Nature itself chooses to show its magnificence and incontestable power in a dramatic and eye-catching way. Some places on Earth are so amazing and uncanny that they would make you doubt your senses. They can be literally breathtaking and must be observed with some precautions.
I can spend hours scuba diving on the same spot, hovering over a surface smaller than a parking place, observing life on the reef. There, the attentive eye can find unusual and beautiful specimens. My favorite are the Nudibranchs.
These marine gasteropods are protected by a shell in their larvae stage but shed it as they reach their adult form, which makes them look like slugs. Now you would think that these soft bodied creatures are defenseless against the many predators they get exposed to on the reef. Not really. In fact they have evolved various strategies; one of them, observed especially on Chromodorids, use a display of bright and contrasting colors. Some species “outfits” are so spectacular that some divers jump into the water with the unique goal to see this showy micro fauna . Beware! this chromatic flamboyance only purpose is to warn their surroundings that it is not a good idea to come too close. The message is clear: You see me, now keep off me!
If that is not enough to deter the unmindful curious, Nudibranchs have evolved various additional precautions such as producing their own chemicals that make them toxic or distasteful, or even releasing an acid from the skin.
In this post I chose to present you 5 of the most stunning and dangerous natural wonders of our planet that should be touched with the eyes only! (or something thicker than an oven mitt)! Get ready for a firework display…
1. Kawah Ijen, Indonesia
Flowing blue flames
Galvanized by the wind turbulences, a multitude of electric-blue flames comes out of the inner walls of the crater. Streams of the same glowing blue fire run rapidly at your feet. Here and there, drippings solidify quickly, forming candle wax-like undulations on the floor. You are not dreaming. You are in the Kawah Ijen caldera.
A little bit farther, yellow rocks that have already been partially broken into wide slabs, are piled. Later, some miners will pick them up and take them to town to sell their precious load. This is the heart of a volcano and traditional sulfur mining. It’s hot but you don’t even pay attention to it anymore, you are hypnotized. The blue flames are mesmerizing; but there is no magic involved, rather chemistry.
As the pressurized sulfuric gases emerge from the cracks in the rock, they enter in contact with the oxygen in the air. They ignite instantly into dazzling fairy tale-like flames that can erupt to 5m (16ft) into the air.
To see this you will have to climb the Kawah Ijen .
Located at the most eastern part of Java, the 2699m (9186 ft) high strato-volcano, which is part the large Baluran National Park, is still active.
Another exceptional feature of this place is the 1km(0.62mile) wide lake which turquoise color will leave you in awe. Beware though: the attracting chromatic fantasy of the lake should not mislead you into taking a dip, as it is considered the largest highly acidic lake with a pH of 0.5.
Arriving from Banyuwangi, you can choose to reach the Mt Ijen on your own, in which case you will need to make a stop at Paltuding Base camp where you will find the Park office, the visitor car park, and accommodation. To see the blue flames, you need to be inside the caldera at night. Remember that you access to the crater at your own risks.
Many travel tours offer the trip and they will pick you up around midnight from Banyuwangi; one of the advantages is that they will provide you with torches, gas masks and guides. From Paltuding, the hike gets steeper but you can hire a wheel cart taxi!
A mine by the lake
As you leave the caldera and 
climb back to the top of the crater, the strong smell of rotten eggs vanishes. From the rim you can admire the sun rising above a fantastic panoramic view of the turquoise water and the surrounding peaks. You will likely come across some of the miners. Instead of shovels, they use buckets of water that they pour onto the liquid sulfur, turning it into bright yellow solid blocks. They pack the slabs in waving baskets balancing on their shoulders. Loaded with a weight oftentimes heavier than their own, they climb up from the caldera, 200m below. They don’t wear masks or any other protection.
What are the dangers? Sulfur, as dust or dioxide, can cause irritation and skin burns. Inhaling high levels affect nose, throat, eyes, lungs and direct contact with the liquefied gas can lead to frostbite. 
The highlight of the trip is to see the electric blue flames, which means that you hike in the dark, climbing up and down a path that is not marked, on a terrain that can be slippery, with a mask on your face, Darth Vader style. The place can be crowded and there is only enough space on the path for one person, so the hike might feel a bit like a tough scramble.
When to go: best from May to October (the dry season). The place is very popular with locals during weekends and holidays, so maybe not very quiet. To see the blue flames, opt for a night trek.
How to get there: Get to Banyuwangi (BWX) by plane, or by ferry from Bali. If you are already on Java, Bondowoso will be your transit town.
Find your 
Flight to Banyuwangi here!
Alternatively you can Fly to Denpasar ( DPS) in Bali.
Some advisory tips in no order of priority: there are no toilets past the Base Camp; walking sticks are very handy; it is recommended to take a thermal protection as the temperature at night can drop significantly, and the hike might leave you sweaty. Also it is a good idea to check that your mask has been filled with the proper cartridge…just saying. Sulfur dust is very irritating and some visitors bring eye protection (swimming goggles are great).
2.The Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
The Danakil depression is a triangular shaped area that sits in the Afar region of Northern Ethiopia, near the border with Erithrea. At about 125m (410 ft) below sea level, it is the lowest point of Africa. And the hottest. Another destination that offers a double “amazement” effect, with a permanent lava lake observable from close, and the strangest volcanic landscape featuring an hydrothermal field.
Don’t bake in the lava lake of the Erta Ale!
The basaltic shield volcano culminates at 613m (2000ft) above sea level, so it makes it easy to climb but don’t underestimate the difficulty of the expedition: Erta Ale and the whole Danakil Depression are some of the most challenging environments you will ever traverse.
The hike to the crater rim itself is a 3 to 4 hours trek on rocks and razor sharp petrified lava.
Most excursions start from Mekele. From there it is a chaotic road trip in 4X4 vehicles to the faraway stop off villages beyond which you will have to keep going on foot. The Afar people are the gatekeepers to the volcano and expect a fee to let you go farther. Cars are not allowed around the volcano, so you will finish the 12km trip with camels to carry the load (and maybe you).
The unmistakable odor of the volcanic gases will soon reach your nostrils. Arriving at night, you will have your first experience of the “Gateway to Hell”, a red glow coming from the depths, as you contemplate the molten lava from the edge of the rim.
Erta Ale (“Smoking Mountain” in Afar language) last eruption, which occurred in 2017, locked the access to the top of the mountain for months. It also created a new pit. Today the liquid lava has sunk deeper into the chamber and the smoke cloud makes it more difficult to observe.
Visiting Dallol
The experience could be compared to being teleported to another planet. This unearthly scenery would be mind-blowing even for a sci-fi writer.
Hydrothermal activity and geological processes are responsible for the motley landscape: a mineral kaleidoscope made of bright yellows and mimosa, patches of soft turquoise, white, ochre, pink and fluorescent green.
Salt ponds and pools of potash, orange flats and Sienna mounds interspaced by terraced neon green springs and thousands of temporary geysers spurting acidic water.
Iron oxide,fumeroles and black salt deposits finish to give the place a supernatural atmosphere. In case you wonder, the name “Dallol” was given by the Afar people, and means dissolution or disintegration.
To describe the comprehensive grandeur of that view is beyond my powers.
How to get there: Mekele (MQX) is the main city in the area, with direct flights from Addis Ababa( ADD), Lalibela (LLI) and Aksum(AXU).
Find Flights to Mekele .
If you have more time, public buses, minibuses and shared taxis are the alternative.
Excursions have to be booked in advance.
What are the dangers? The Danakil Triangle is a highly dynamic region. In Dallol, the ground is constantly moving and changing. New hydrothermal features appear on a daily basis, making the floor very unstable: acidic springs might be on point to explode, halted only by few centimeters of salt deposits.
The guides re-evaluate the safety of the area on a weekly basis an must adapt their route accordingly.
The way to the Danakil region is very difficult and it is not allowed to travel alone;the only way to go there, is as part of an organized tour. The area has seen terrorist attacks in the past. Now every tour must be accompanied by an armed guard, as the Erithrea broder is only 20km (12.4 miles) away from Dallol.
3. Darvaza Crater, Turkmenistan
The Darvaza Crater and its mystery lie in the Karakum desert, an arid and barren region that covers most of the northern part of Turkmenistan. There, you will find the bowl-shaped depression that started as a national embarrassment before becoming a famous touristic attraction. Unlike the other places presented in this post, the geological feature does not have a natural origin. Humankind itself opened the Doors to Hell.
Born out of a mistake
The 69m (226ft) wide crater is a gigantic open fire pit. It has been burning since 1971, when a soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a pocket of natural gas. The ground collapsed and formed a sinkhole. Methane started to leak from it and someone came with the idea of setting the place alight, in the hope that the gas would burn away in a matter of weeks.
Things didn’t work as planned and the molten cavity that reaches 30m (99ft) deep into the earth is still burning 49 years later.
The circular depression is a conspicuous anomaly on the flat landscape and can be seen from the distant hills. Already impressive during the day, it becomes an out-of-this-world sight at night, revealing the full intensity of red and orange flames.
As the crater keeps burning, the intense heat attacks the walls and the rim crumbles down, widening the hole. Not so long ago, visitors could literally look down into the void. As a protective measure, a fence was installed in 2018 around the rim of the fiery molten pit. Only one man went down the crater, to collect data for scientific purpose.
An adventure of its own
Why it is unique and worth going: witnessing this phenomenon is like peeking into Hephaïstos workshop, and for the ones who need more than a few flames to qualify the trip as an unusual experience , I would stress the adventurous style of the whole trip: in spite of its fame, the Door to Hell is not advertised by Turkmenistan who prefer to promote other touristic attractions, so this will give you the opportunity to get off the beaten tracks.
To add to the mystery, the country is more secretive than North Korea: your reflection in the mirror might be the only sight you will have of a tourist, and by going there you are pretty sure to satisfy your curiosity for originality.
Don’t try anything crazy, the Turkmenistan territory that was once part of the Silk road, and witnessed cosmopolitan exchanges, is nowadays a pretty hermetic totalitarian dictatorship.
When to go: the Door to Hell is constantly burning, there is no rainy season in the Garagum desert(“Black sand” in Turkmen) so it will depend more on what you have planned for the rest of your trip. However, no one knows how long it will keep consuming itself, a reason good enough to put this destination at the top of your bucket list.
How to get there: The easiest way is to land in Ashgabat (ASB), the Turkmen capital. From there, it is a 274km (170miles) trip by car or bus on the desolated road that leads to Dashoguz, the main city in the North.
If you arrive from Dashoguz (TAZ), the distance to Darvaza is 334km (207miles); however if you travel by bus, the trip from the North will be comparatively a lot longer.
Find Flights to Ashgabat.
If you choose the taxi option, you will have to pay the full fare Ashgabat-Dashoguz. The crater is roughly at mid distance but it is also in the middle of nowhere.
The crater is 7km away from Darvaza village, where you can find accomodation and taxis. You can also walk the dirt path and pitch your tent around the crater or rent one of the yurts set few hundreds meters from the depression. Not recommended if you are a sleepwalker.
4. Champagne Pool, New Zealand
Formed approximately 700 years ago by a gigantic hydrothermal eruption, Champagne pool is part of the Wai-o-tapu (“Sacred Waters” in Maori) geothermal area, in the central North Island’s Taupo volcanic zone.
Lethal effervescence
The 62m-deep pool owes its name to the carbon dioxide bubbles that rise up to the surface, resembling a ready-to-drink glass of sparkling wine. The vivid pool measures 65m diameter and is surrounded by a distinctive orange ring, the result of brilliant red realgar, an arsenic sulfide mineral, and its yellow byproduct orpiment, being deposited around it: a Technicolor but rather evil beauty.
Other minerals contained in the water include sulfur, mercury, silver, thallium and antimony.
As tempting as it may look it would be a terrible mistake to swim in it. The water temperature can reach 74°C (165°F), and the combination of the gases released can be toxic. The pool is steaming like a witch caldron; the noise made by the bubbles popping at the surface is so loud that it feels like approaching a waterfall.
As you walk between the various areas, you are enveloped in a thick mist, blown erratically by the wind. It is by far one of the steamiest places you will ever experience.
Among the many other “out-of-this-world’ features of the site are:
- the Devil’s bathtub with the colors of neon green asparagus soup,
- the Lady Knox Geyser, a small but very punctual one that erupts on command everyday at 10:15 am. The cone looks like a melted snowman who would have lost its head.
- Kerosene creek doesn’t have an appealing name, however its water is at a temperature clement enough to enjoy a bath..
Living on the edge
Just 30km north of Wai-o-tapu you will find Rotorua, a city built in the volcano. Residential houses have been erected few meters away from gargling pools.Enveloped in fog, people live relatively peacefully in spite of the fact that a geyser could 
explode in their backyard.
A bridge crosses over a steaming lake and simple wooden barriers protect the pedestrians from falling into the numerous holes.
It is worth spending few days in this part of North Island as the whole region between Rotorua and Taupo has the highest concentration of geothermal features in the world. Tak a road trip and follow the Thermal Explorer Highway to discover all the hot spots of the North Island.
How to get there: Aukland International Airport sits in the northern part of the North Island.
Check the available Flights to Aukland.
Wai-O-Tapu is about 35′ drive from Rotorua regional Airport (ROT). The two closest cities are Rotorua (30km/18miles) and Taupo (53km/33miles). Some shuttle services operate daily trips to the Wai-O-Tapu Wonderland Park.
Find your Flight to Rotorua
When to go: The park is open all year round. For complete information about their opening hours and directions to the Park, you can visit the Wai-O-Tapu website.
5. The Grand Prismatic Spring
Water fountains and special effects
If you are interested in hydrothermal features, the Yellowstone National Park is one of the richest spots in the world to view them!
Known since 1871, when rumors of volcanic activity prompted scientists to explore the area, Yellowstone is the world’s first National Park. It ranks high on many bucket lists, and no wonder why: walking amongst wistling fumeroles, pools of scalding water flowing freely to the surface, listening to the hissing and growling of the mud ponds is like stepping back in time, to the origins of Earth.
Much of the park is situated inside the Yellowstone Caldera, formed more than 640 thousand years ago during a massive volcanic eruption. The area hosts over 10000 geothermal features of different sizes, including about 500 explosive thermal springs, representing half of the world’s geysers. One of its most famous and predictable residents is Old Faithful, which puts on a eruptive show every 40′ to 2 hours.
The reason for this uncontrolable bubbling and steaming coming out of the ground is that this vast area is sitting on top of a geologic hotspot, a place where the molten lava reaches closer to the surface than normal.
A palette of extremophile’s colors
The Grand Prismatic Spring owns its name to the way it spreads its stunning sequence of colors, like a prism would disperse light. The hot water raising to ground level can reach up to 87°C(190°F) and cools down as it spreads across the massive diameter of the pool, which creates several “temperature rings”.
Each zone is characterized by its own thermophile bacteria life, responsible for the different specific hues. Welcome to your first giant liquid rainbow!
Once in the Park, the Prismatic Spring is easily accessible, with a short walk from the dedicated car parking. It actually takes less time to walk to the spring than to find a parking place at rush hours.
A looping boardwalk runs on the east side of the spring, and in some places you will be walking just above the reddish shades of the rainbow. On the way, you can stop to observe the surrounding Turquoise Pool and Opal Pool as well as the dormant Excelsior Geyser Crater and its steaming spring pool…
If you prefer to avoid the crowd, take to the hills and watch it from above. The trail to the Prismatic Spring Overlook branches off from the Fairy Falls Trail. It is about 20′ fairly easy hike.
What are the dangers? This amazing place has become very touristic and accessible. However visitors should remain prudent, as the risks of injury are high. Walking off the indicated paths onto the thin crust to get a better look is not a good idea. What awaits you underneath is boiling, acidic water. The whole area is scattered with numerous geysers, mud pools,and fragile crust concealing caustic traps.
Some lakes, springs pools and rivers wear suggestive names like “Fire Hole”, “Cyclops” or “Sulphid”, which should be enough to warn you, but what to think of “Baby Splendid”?.
There are plenty of beautiful trails in the area, just remember that the region is the home of bears, Elks and Buffalos, to name a few of the local residents, so keep your eyes peeled, be cautious and don’t dip your fingers in the water pools.
When to go: The Prismatic Spring shows its most vibrant colors from May to September, the ideal being in the middle of a summer day. Also keep in mind that, off season, the roads practicability depends on the weather conditions.
How to get there: The closest international airport is Bozeman Yellowstone (BZN). Located in Belgrade, 13km of Bozeman,it serves as the year round gateway to the North and West entrance of the National Park. Some regional airports will get you closer to the Park: Cody, Wyoming (COD) for the East Entrance, and Jackson,Wyoming (JAC), to access the South entrance.
Choose your preferred Flight to Yellowstone Park.
It is worth renting a car to visit the park as a two full days trip is a minimum to discover and enjoy this destination without rushing … There are plenty of accommodation options inside the Park.
Find all the information you need to plan your visit to Yellowstone National Park.
Borders are re-opening but restrictions dues to the Covid19 pandemic are still in place for your own safety, please check the latest updates before packing your bag.
Hot feet
I usually walk bare foot and I have learned the way to step on most terrains without hurting my feet. While on Reunion Island some years ago, I took a trip to the Piton de la Fournaise (Furnace Peak) with some friends. The volcano is one of the most active in the world but the last eruption had occurred almost 3 years before so the place was relatively quiet.
You don’t need to climb to the top to witness the magnitude of its power. If you park on the side of the road, you will be able to walk on the lava that cooled down along the slope and petrified before reaching the sea.
We decided to do just that. However I could see from the car that only a fakir would be able to make more than a few meters on the sharp ground, so this time I grabbed my flip flops from my bag and joined the others who insured me it was “very very safe”.
To prove their claim, they pointed at all the people already roaming the place. Obviously it was a family outing favorite. I went my way, which happened to be in the opposite direction of the crowd buzz.
The smell of burned earth still felt so strong to me that it was almost palpable. I stopped in a fairly flat area from which I had an incredible view of the coast below.
It took half a second for my left foot nerves to send the emergency signal to the rest of Me. The sole of my thong had already reached a dangerous level of disintegration. I was standing on petrified lava but whatever was underneath, was alive.
Even if you have successfully visited the rest of the world in flip flops, the places mentioned above require proper shoes, suitable to resist both the hike and the extra particularities of the trip. Also I would strongly recommend to follow Parks rules: every year some unfortunate individuals make the headlines posthumously because they thought better. If you are exploring geologically unstable areas on your own, prudence is the best buddy.
Have you visited any incredibly stunning but dangerous places? Have you stumbled upon unexpected perilous spots? Don’t hesitate to comment below!
