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The Balkans and Beyond

Balkan travel inspiration and practical travel tips

Unusual, Dark Tourist Destinations in the Baltics

Unusual Dark tourist destinations in the Baltics

Dark Tourism is something we find absolutely fascinating yet it is of great importance. It can be a controversial topic. However, we believe that these places must be seen and experienced so that the atrocities that occurred there can be remembered and understood. We have put together a few of the most interesting Dark Tourist destinations in the Baltics.

Dark Tourism can be defined as travel to places that are historically associated with death, tragedy or destruction. The draw for tourists to these locations is often their historical importance, rather than the death and suffering associated with them. The term “Dark Tourism” was coined in 1996 by professors John Lennon and Malcolm Foley of Glasgow Caledonian University.

The Baltics is made up of three countries – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. But they share a very similar recent history. Their connection with WW2 and Soviet history is strong and this is what most of the Dark tourism sites are connected to.

Dark Tourist Destinations in Lithuania

The 9th fort, kaunas, lithuania.

Kaunas is Lithuania’s second city. It has a lot to offer, but one of the best reasons to visit Kaunas is for its history. This makes it one of the best dark tourist destinations in the Baltics. We decided to visit the historic Ninth Fort just outside the city.

The memorial park contains a gargantuan concrete monument, a museum and, of course, the fort. We paid our €3 for the entry ticket and started in the museum. This part contains a lot of information and is well laid out. However, we were more interested in getting inside the fort itself.

The fort was built in the late 19th century as part of the Kaunas Fortress. The Soviets used it as a prison during the occupation of Lithuania. After that, the Nazis used it to exterminate up to 50,000 Jews and other prisoners.

The exhibition guides you through the different periods of history allowing you to walk through the corridors and stand in the cells. The atmosphere is heavy and it’s easy to forget you’re in the 21st century – until the security guard barks at you for going the wrong way!

After exiting the fort we walked around the memorial park to view the spectacular monument erected near the mass grave to commemorate those who suffered there.

The Devil Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania

The Žmuidzinavičius Museum – or Devils Museum – is a strange little place in Kaunas. Starting as a private collection, it now exhibits over 3,000 different interpretations of the/a devil. Even the building is a little spooky so it’s definitely worth the €3 entry fee.

Dark Tourist Destinations in Latvia

The moscow district of riga, latvia.

The Moscow district of Riga, or Maskavas priekšpilsēta, is perhaps preceded by is reputation. Known to be a little rough around the edges, there were no other tourists to be seen during our visit. Strolling through the quiet streets, we passed old, warped, wooden houses and it felt like another point in history.

The central focus of the area seems to be the soviet style building housing the Academy of Sciences – also nicknamed ‘Stalin’s birthday cake’. You can climb to the balcony of the 17th floor for a good view over Riga.

The remains of the Great Choral Synagogue are also contained within this district. During the Nazi occupation of Latvia, the Synagogue was destroyed. A Ghetto was swiftly set up to hold thousands of Jews before deportation.

During the Second World War, many Jews from across Europe arrived at Riga train station in transportation wagons. Nearly 20,000 arrived in 1941 and were sent to the Riga Ghetto. Later, in 1943, they were sent on to the Kaiserwald Concentration camp.

Karosta Prison, Latvia

Karosta Prison is near the town of Liepāja on the Latvian coast. This former Naval Prison now offers guests the chance to stay overnight for an authentic prison experience. It costs less than €20 per night for one of the ultimate dark tourist destinations in the Baltics.

The prison was in operation from 1905 to 1997 and it was notoriously easy to end up in there. The Nazis used the prison during their occupation of Latvia in the 1940s. During the Soviet period, anyone thought to be a spy was imprisoned here. There was brutal torture and death throughout the building’s history.

The prison is supposedly haunted and appeared on the show, “ Ghost Hunters International. ” There have been reports of lightbulbs unscrewing and falling to the ground, people being pushed out of bed and, of course, the classic white lady.

The Naval Cathedral nearby is incredibly beautiful and well worth a look. You might want to pray before or after your visit!

Dark Tourist Destinations in Estonia

Patarei prison, tallinn, estonia.

On a trip to Estonia we planned to visit Patarei Sea Fortress in Tallinn. A building that used to be one of the most feared locations in the country – the former Soviet prison. The complex was completed as an army barracks in 1840 as part of the Russian Empire. In 1920 it was converted into a prison and was used as such until 2002, when Estonia joined the EU. 

The communist regime in Estonia from 1940-1941 and 1944-1991 imprisoned many people in the fortress, including suspected political opponents. The prison was also used as a forced labour camp by the Nazis from 1941-1944 when they occupied Estonia.

The sea fortress is Estonia’s largest classicist building complex and is spread out over 4 hectares. When used as a Barracks in the 1800s, over 2,000 soldiers were stationed here. As a prison, the capacity peaked at over 4,200 in the 1940s. The numbers increased so much at the start of the Nazi occupation that temporary concentration camps had to be set up in the grounds.

The prison has an execution room where criminals were sentenced to death by hanging. But no mass murders were committed here.

After the defeat of the Nazis, many of the prisoners were sent to Soviet Labour Camps. Some were Estonian resistance fighters and therefore considered a threat to Communism. Others were released by Nazi guards before the forces left Tallinn.

The Soviets at Patarei Prison

The Soviets took charge of the prison once more and by 1945 the numbers had again swelled to well over 4,000 inmates. The suffering continued until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The purpose of the exhibition is to educate visitors on the nature of communist ideology and the crimes committed across the Soviet Union. It also raises awareness by telling the stories of the victims of the Nazi and Communist regimes. The creators hope the exhibition will inform guests of the true mentality and nature of the communist government. There are thought to be around 90 million victims of communism across the globe.

The KGB Cages in Tartu, Estonia

In Tartu, Estonia, visitors can explore the cellar of ‘The Grey Building’. This cellar contains original cells and corridors used by the KGB in the 20 th century. The cells were used for imprisonment, solitary confinement and even executions.

Many political prisoners were detained here. However, the majority of them passed through on their way to the Gulags (Russian labour camps) in Siberia.

The exhibition is poignant and informative and well worth a visit to find out more about this time in history.

Dark Tourist Destinations in the Baltics

There are many more dark tourist destinations in the Baltics. Visiting these locations provides an insight into the history of the area and helps to build an understanding of the modern culture in the Baltics. It is important to remain respectful of these sites. Tourists might refrain from taking mindless selfies in areas where human beings have experienced great tragedy in recent years.

On a lighter note, the Baltic countries are full of beautiful, historic cities and towns and breath-taking wilderness. There are plenty of great spots to relax with a coffee or meal. There are so many beautiful locations to explore and learn of the amazing culture. And make sure you find the perfect setting to take that Insta worthy selfie!

Where Next?

For some great Baltic destination ideas try the following posts –

VISIT BEAUTIFUL, MEDIEVIL TALLINN IN THE AUTUMN

THE BEAUTIFUL HUSKIES OF RIGA, LATVIA

Have you visited any countries in the Baltic Region or any of the locations mentioned in the post? Are you planning a trip and need more information? Drop a comment in the box, we’d love to hear from you!

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13 comments

It really was! It’s important to remember it so that we don’t repeat it.

Wow, I was not aware of many of these places. But I’ve been to and stayed overnight at Karosta Prison. Very grim place but I also like that they’re able to display it with a sense of humor. There are games for kids, and role playing activity where visitors can become ‘prisoners’ for one night.

That’s such a great topic! I had never heard about dark tourism and yeah the historic significance of these places is worth a visit. Thanks for sharing 🙂

So many interesting places I have now learnt about. Thank you.

Oooh some of these are so eerie. Fascinating albeit dark history. Thanks for sharing

An interesting article. Thanks for sharing

I love traveling through the Baltics, and it’s so important to visit these darker spots to learn about history and support these emerging economies with our tourism dollars. Patarei Sea Fortress in Tallinn looks like a fascinating place and I’m bummed I missed it when I was last in Tallinn. Lots to do next time I visit. Thanks for sharing.

My goodness, hasn’t the 20th century in Europe been such an appalling time in history. Thanks for sharing these sites, Katy, and the history associated with them.

I really enjoy reading about unique places to visit. These all sound like they have some fascinating stories behind them and would be well worth visiting.

Super interesting read! I’ve been fortunate enough to visit these countries briefly but didn’t know much about the history behind many of the important locations. Thanks for sharing.

I love this. Even if Dark Tourism is not for everyone, I believe that these places have so much history, and it helps to teach us so much about each place culture. Thanks for helping to share these places and t’s history.

This is a very interesting article indeed. I didn’t know about dark tourism, actually. I will explore it further. thanks a lot for sharing.

It’s so important to visit places like these on travels.The days can be heavy, but learning is such an important aspect of traveling. I had never heard of these spots, so thank you for sharing.

We would love to hear what you think! Cancel reply

KGB Museum Riga [Dark Tourism in Latvia]

Like many dark tourism destinations, when you initially arrive at the location it is difficult to connect what you see in front of you, with the human suffering that took place there.

That definitely applies to the former KGB headquarters in the center of the Latvian capital of Riga.

The elegant Art Nouveau building is a beautiful structure, with ornate cornices and decoration. It stands as a fine example of the architectural genre.

The street too, being a central city location, is full of the hubbub of 21st-century life.

Yet the KGB Museum , also known as the Corner House is where political prisoners and members of the public that had aroused suspicion, would once be sent for torture and worse.

Soviet Occupation of Riga

The Soviets first seized control of Riga in 1940 . With that of course, came the arrival of the much-feared KGB secret police .

Choosing the Corner House as their headquarters because of its central location, and one would assume the warren-like series of rooms suitable for incarceration, the KGB began to operate in the manner they were infamous for.

Picking up citizens, or “Undesirable Elements“ for “crimes” as trivial as anti-Soviet conversations, Latvians that ended up in the Corner House were often lucky to escape alive.

During the occupation, countless people were captured and executed by the KGB in a killing chamber within the building.

Those that escaped death would be crammed into holding cells with other unfortunate prisoners.

There, the conditions could get so bad that the outcome was often death anyway.

The KGB captors would withhold water, driving people crazy with thirst. The heat in the rooms was often as high as 85 degrees.

And then, of course, was the torture that accompanied rudimentary interrogations.

In short, the suffering of prisoners was relentless.

And those that survived the Corner House could find themselves receiving a one-way ticket to Siberia.

By June 1941, more than 15,000 Latvians had been deported to the Gulags by the KGB .

Just a month later, in August 1941 the Nazis were close to taking Riga.

With the Russians acutely aware that their time was running out, they started executing prisoners with haste.

When the Nazis finally arrived in the City, the KGB had already fled, leaving the remaining detainees locked up in their cells.

• Related Content: The Stasi Museum – Dark Tourism in Berlin

Nazi Rule during WW2

Despite the fact the Nazis brought their very own reign of terror upon the Latvians during WW2 , the Corner House remained free of controversy during the German occupation.

In fact, to appease the people of Riga, and to highlight the brutality of the Russians, the Nazis opened the doors of the former KGB headquarters to show the public the scale of their behavior.

The respite only lasted for the remaining years of the war, however.

After the defeat of Germany, the Russians strolled straight back into Riga.

The Corner House once again became the home of the KGB and the horrors resumed once more.

The Fall of the Soviet Union

In 1990, the Iron Curtain fell.   Latvia regained its independence on May 4.

With the KGB gone, the Corner House was closed up and left untouched.

The Latvian people understandably wanted to move on; the process of rebuilding a country after a half-century of authoritarian rule had begun.

It wasn’t until 2012 that the space was revisited and the brutal history of the KGB in Latvia started to be explored in the form of the museum.

The secretive, former headquarters of the brutal KGB is an important exhibition, with large parts of the building remaining as it was during the Soviet regime.

Where is the KGB Museum in Riga?

• Address: Brīvības iela 61, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1010, Latvia
• Phone: +371 66 154 276
• E-mail: [email protected]

Good to Know

The Corner House is easy to get to for tourists staying in the center of Riga. You’ll find the building on the corner of Stabu and Brīvības iela. It is just a few blocks north of Riga’s Old Town.

The museum is free to visit daily between 10:30 & 17:30 . There is also a paid tour that allows you to explore the former KGB headquarters with an English speaking guide.

• English guided tour times: 11.00, 12.00, 13.00, 15.00 and 16.00
• Cost of the guided tour: Adults: 10.00 EUR; Students: 4.00 EUR

The museum advises that you buy tour tickets online in advance

Recommended Riga Tour

Riga: the darkest 50 years with a local guide walking tour.

This private tour that goes in-depth on Riga’s dark Soviet history, really deserves more recognition.

You’re guaranteed to be in a small group on this, which allows for a much more personalized experience. Over the 3 hours, you can ask plenty of questions about the city under Soviet and Nazi rule.

You’ll visit sites where there’s visual evidence of the occupations. Throughout it all, you’ll enjoy knowledgable commentary from your local guide.

The tour will also take you to the Russian corner of the city, you’ll drink in a Soviet-style café and visit the KGB museum . This is quite simply a must-do tour for any dark tourists in Riga.

What to expect at the KGB Museum Riga

I definitely recommend going for the guided tour as it is by far the best way to experience the museum.

When I visited the Corner House in 2019, our guide Marta spoke excellent English and was extremely knowledgeable on all aspects of the building and its history.

She was generous in allowing time for questions too.

Entering the Corner House

The beginning of the tour takes you through the steps new arrivals would have taken after being arrested by the KGB.

There are rooms designated for the taking of fingerprints and photographs. You also see where the duty officer would have registered the detainees before interrogations began.

Through to the holding cells

The tour then takes you into the depths of the building.

The utilitarian nature of the administrative areas is replaced by the much more foreboding warren of prison corridors, dank holding cells, and interrogation rooms.

You enter through a series of heavy metal doors as you proceed into the maze of the former KGB headquarters.

The detainee cells (called boxes) are tiny and it is easy to sense the terror the new arrivals must have felt about their predicament.

The original “beds” (hard wooden boards) still exist, as do the filthy buckets for ablutions.

• Related Content: House of Terror Museum – Nazi & Communist Crimes in Budapest

Interrogation Rooms

As we make our way through these grim rooms, Marta explained the nature of the interrogation techniques, (she didn’t use the word torture but it amounts to the same thing).

Prisoners experienced severe beatings during questioning. Hair was ripped from their heads; the burning of skin was commonplace.

Sleep deprivation was also a method used to “break” a prisoner’s resolve. Lights in the cells were never switched off, and if a guard saw that a person had fallen asleep they would burst in and wake them.

Interrogations could happen day or night and would last for hours. There would be no medical assistance for the wounds inflicted.

The exercise yard

The only respite the prisoners had from the cycle of beatings and time in their cells was a trip to the exercise yard. This might happen twice a week if the individual was lucky.

Marta led us to this area and explained that the prisoners were told to walk in a circle with their heads down. They were allowed 10 minutes in the space and this was the only fresh air they would ever get.

A KGB officer would patrol in the area above, keeping watch.

The execution chamber

Our guide takes us to the execution chamber that leads off the main inner courtyard. She explains that a truck would be left running right outside the building to mask the sounds of the gunshots.

We take a look inside and the thought that so many innocent people were killed in this tiny space is difficult to process.

“The body would then be thrown in the back of the truck and driven to a dumpsite”, Marta explained.

I couldn’t bring myself to take a photograph of this as it seemed untoward to do so. The image of that room stayed in my head for a long time afterward.

If you’ve visited a strange or unusual destination that you think our readers will want to know about, we would love to hear from you.

Visiting Deadly Lake Nyos [Dark Tourism in Africa]

The Patarei Sea Fortress: Abandoned Soviet Prison in Tallinn

Visiting Dhanushkodi – India’s Ghost Town

The Cu Chi Tunnel System – Dark Tourism in Vietnam

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In June of 1944, Nazi troops marched into the quiet village of Oradour-sur-Glane (above) in German-occupied France and herded 642 villagers into the town square. Men were taken to barns, and women and children were locked inside the church before it was set aflame. Those who didn’t succumb to burns or suffocation were shot as they tried to escape the blaze. Historians believe the troops targeted the village after receiving intelligence that residents there were involved in the Resistance. In 1946, the French government declared the site a national memorial.

Eerie Photos of 'Dark Tourism' Sites Around the World

Museums and memorials around the globe reveal histories of death, indignity, and destruction.

Tuol Sleng is a portrait of cruelty. Photographs of emaciated corpses dress the rooms in a macabre wallpaper, and rusty blood spatter stains the ceilings—evidence of the systematic arrest, torture, and slaughter of Cambodian civilians during the haunting reign of the Khmer Rouge. Decades after playing an integral role in one of the worst mass killings of the 20th century, the former detention center now invites tourists inside to explore its history of violence.

The scene at Tuol Sleng is not unusual. Each year, millions of so-called “ dark tourists ” flock to war memorials, natural disaster sites, and decommissioned prisons around the world to witness what remains of their tragic pasts.

The Auschwitz concentration camp was established by German authorities in 1940 in the suburbs of Oświęcim to hold Poles detained in mass arrests. By 1942 it was one of the largest networks of Nazi death camps, where prisoners were subjected to forced labor, inhumane medical experiments, and mass killings. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (above) is a memorial and museum devoted to the memory of those who were murdered in the camps—an estimated 1,100,000 people—during World War II.

In 1982 Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon after years of brewing tensions. In response, a newly formed militant group, Hezbollah, waged a guerilla campaign against the incursion. Thousands of Lebanese and Palestinian civilians were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced during the bitter 18-year occupation, which finally ended in 2000 when Israel withdrew its forces. The Tourist Landmark of the Resistance (above) opened in 2010 in Mleeta—a strategic military base for Hezbollah—to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal.

On May 12, 2008, a massive earthquake shook the mountainous region of Sichuan Province in southwestern China. Entire villages and towns were obliterated by the 7.9 magnitude quake. An estimated 90,000 people were killed, including more than 5,300 children, and millions were displaced from their homes. A memorial sculpture (above) opened in 2009 in front of a collapsed middle school in Yingxiu Township, the epicenter of the earthquake. The large granite clock reads 2:28 p.m., the time the first tremors struck.

Torture and execution were commonplace at Karosta Prison (above) near Liepaja, Latvia, which was used as a Nazi and Soviet military prison for most of the 20th century. The military prison has since been converted into a museum, where visitors can glimpse life behind bars and stay the night.

In April of 1986, a series of mistakes at the Chernobyl power plant in the Soviet Union compounded into the worst nuclear disaster in history. Several explosions blew the lid off reactor number four, releasing a cloud of radioactive material into the atmosphere. Winds carried the toxic dust over Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, leaving millions of acres of contaminated land in its wake. Over 100,000 people were permanently evacuated, and radiation-related illnesses continue to plague those who were exposed to high levels of the noxious material. Tourists can now visit the Exclusion Zone, the abandoned area surrounding the reactor. The ghost town of Pripyat, Ukraine, (above) was deemed unsafe for human settlement for 24,000 years.

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In 1975 the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia, initiating a bloody genocide that ultimately claimed the lives of an estimated 1.7 million people. In a radical attempt to create a classless society, people were stripped of their titles and possessions and forced into hard labor on communal farms in the countryside. Those who didn’t perish from disease and starvation were detained and tortured in execution centers like Tuol Sleng (above). An estimated 17,000 prisoners passed through the former high school turned prison and ultimately ended up buried in the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh.

Between April and July 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic majority in Rwanda slaughtered an estimated 800,000 people and raped a quarter of a million women in a crushingly violent campaign to exterminate the Tutsi minority. In the aftermath of the massacre, approximately two million Hutus fled to Tanzania, Burundi, and Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo) in fear of retaliation, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. Genocide memorials in Rwanda (above) preserve and display the bones of the dead.

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Travel with Winny

Visiting the Secret Soviet Bunker in Latvia

2016-08-23 by York Chiang 6 Comments

Hidden deep beneath the rehabilitation spa center in Ligatne- a small village in the middle of a national park, is a secret soviet bunker built to protect the soviet political elite in case of a nuclear attack during the cold war. The 213,000 square foot hideout, completely self-sustainable and could support 250 people for up to three months. It is equipped with sophisticated equipment of the time so the commanders could continue their communication underground.

Everything was left as it were since it was used by the soviet army and they are all in good condition.

I was completely fascinated with this secret soviet bunker. The bunker seems to be frozen in time and left exactly as it were after being abandoned by the army. The bunker was planned in 1968 and became operational in 1982. The sanctuary is built 9 meters underground and 5 meters are made of steel and concrete plates.

State of the art communication equipments of the time are used in this bunker and they were all left behind.

After the fall of the Soviet Regime, the bunker was used as the Latvian Ministry of defense. When Latvia was joining NATO, the bunker did not measure up to NATO’s standards because it was too old and built by the Russians. What use is a secret bunker already known to NATO’s biggest enemy? After the abandonment by the military, the bunker was revealed and opened to the public.

When you approach the location of the rehabilitation center, you will never suspect such a huge bunker is built in the middle of a national park.

Location of this secret soviet bunker is 70 km away from the capital of Latvia- Riga. The location was strategically planned so the blasts from any bombs, especially the atomic bomb will not affect the bunker. Since it was hidden completely to the public, the secret soviet bunker operated under a rehabilitation spa center where even the spa staff didn’t know it’s existence. Men constructing the secret bunkers during those time were taken in and out of the building sites deep at night, so none of them will knew where the bunkers are exactly located.

The entrance to the rehabilitation center and the bunker is directly beneath us.

The rehabilitation center is still operational today but the building is quite shabby. It also operates as a hotel, but the accommodation and food is terrible. The secret of this place isn’t all underground, the military use helicopter pads are hidden as two shallow pools and a basketball court. Everything on the surface were built to completely hide the existence of the secret soviet bunker below.

The helicopter pad which was disguised under a shallow pond out side the rehabilitation center

Visiting the Secret Soviet Bunker

The English tours are usually available during the weekends at 10:00, 14:00 and 16:00. We learnt the hard way that they can cancel the English tours when there are not enough English tourists. When we arrived for the 14:00 tour, we were told that the tour will only be done in Latvian as there was a huge group of Latvian people and only four English speakers. We waited till 16:00 as they promised that the tour would be in English. Luckily at 16:00 we were the only tourists speaking English, so we had a private tour with a guide.

After walking nine meters down a flight of stairs, we encounter the entrance to the secret soviet bunker. You would need documents and right password to enter in the past.

The entrance to the bunker is at the bottom of a stairway that seemed to be used for fire exit. At the entrance, there is a metal door with a hand dial phone. In the past, this door would be monitored and only people with the entrance password and documents could enter. After entering, there were two huge automatic metal doors that were used to hold out the radiation if the bunker was ever to be attacked by an atomic bomb.

The stairs looked like a typical fire escape route in a hotel. it was actually leading to the main entrance of the bunker.

There are set items in the secret soviet bunker that we cannot take pictures of. The layout of this 213,000 square foot secret hideout was one of these items. This bunker is huge. It is the biggest in the Balkans and is larger than Hitler’s bunker.

Behind this curtain is the floor plan of this 213,000 square foot bunker

There were many offices in this secret soviet bunker with a few upgraded ones for the highest commanders. The room for the General Secretary has a direct phone line to Moscow and another one directly to Riga. There were also three KGB rooms with direct phones to Moscow.

Red phone is the direct phone to Moscow. Black phone is the direct line to Riga. These were the phones used by the General Secretary. Head of Lenin is also on the wall.

The KGB even seals these rooms with special wax stamps when they are out of the room to protect state secrets against any potential spies in the bunker. What was exciting for me was that an original Fialka- a Russian version of the enigma coding machine used in the Cold War, was sitting casually in the KGB office.

Fialka, the coding machine used by the Russian military. Similar to the Enigma used in WWII

It was important for these soviet elites to continue to receive and give orders in the secret soviet bunker. In the communication rooms, the original machines are all still left behind after they were abandoned by the army.

The recording room for the commanders to pre-record their speeches

In the communication room there is a Soviet Russian slogan saying “Without communication there is no order. Without order there is no victory”. In addition, the bunker has a recording room for commanders to record their speeches in advance.

The original communication machines which can still be turned on. Written above in Russian is “Without communication there is no order. Without order there is no victory”

There is a room with huge maps indicating the areas of bunkers, military, health supplies and civilians. There were also rooms with indicators on where the war or disasters are currently occurring. These were the tools and equipment used by the commanders to make strategic decisions in the secret soviet bunker. It was eye opening to see all the original drawing and maps used by Soviet Union elites. Unfortunately these are items that we cannot take pictures of.

Meeting rooms for officers. There is a statue of Lenin in this room which was actually a prop from a movie shot here.

Water comes from a deep underground water reserve and they have a sewage system similar to the ones they use in a submarine. For electricity, they have a large reserve of petrol powering two huge T-54 tank engines which provides the whole facility with electricity.

This is an entrance that is not open to the public yet and even our guide doesn’t know what is behind this door.

As the reserve of petroleum proves to be a risk to the bunker inhabitants if it explodes, the petroleum and tank engine is placed in a confined room. The room has a double wall and door which is designed to hold out the blast.

Huge automatic doors to hold out blasts. Unfortunately we can not take pictures of the T-54 engines.

If the outside air is clean, then there is a generator which pumps clean air from the outside. Otherwise there are huge filters available to filter through any hazardous gas in the air. If the bunker is completely sealed off, then there are compressed oxygen tubes which could sustain the bunker for days.

They take their protective gear very seriously.

There is a second entrance to this bunker for senior officers who made their way here after the bunker is sealed. For these officers to enter, there are facilities for them to wash and change before they can set foot inside. This is to get rid of any potential radiation particles.

Left is the picture of the toilet of the bunker. Right is the wash facility outside of the bunker to wash off the radiation before the officers can enter.

As part of the secret soviet bunker tour, we were given a soviet meal of pork dumplings and stewed fruit juice in the canteen. It was an interesting experience and we even had to order our meals with meal tickets.

Using our meal tickets, then we could collect our surprisingly delicious soviet pork dumpling meal.

We ate on the original tables used by high ranking soviet commanders and KGB officers. The decorations of the room was kept exactly the way it was back then and our guide even played soviet Russian records and they also have some good plants, from the glowdecoration.com artifical glowing plants which are great for the decoration at night.

There is a picture warning people to be quite because a spy could be listening around you!

Before we left, we even had a chance to play around with gas masks which was found in excess when they re-entered this abandoned secret soviet bunker! There were apparently a few thousand gas masks and filters left behind.

There were many crates of gas masks left behind by the army.

Overall the experience was surreal and we were completely overwhelmed that we could see a secret soviet bunker in it’s original form. We loved our visit to this secret soviet bunker and was extremely lucky to have a chance to see it all with a private tour. Our tour guide was even wearing an original telecommunication officer uniform which was found in the bunker.

We get to have a chance to try on these sexy masks!

How to catch the public transport to the secret soviet bunker

Being 70km away from Riga and 20km away from the main town called Sigulda. The secret bunker is not easily reachable by public transport. The best way is to take a bus from Riga or Sigulda to Līgatne (Augšlīgatne) and from Līgatne (Augšlīgatne) you can then take a direct bus to Skalupes, which is the location of the secret bunker. When you get off the bus at Ligatne (Augsligatne) which is at the side of the main road, that is the stop you take the bus to Skalupes. The bus stops directly in front of the rehabilitation center.

Waiting for our bus to go to Skalupe in Līgatne (Augšlīgatne)

Bus timetable to Secret Soviet Bunker

• Use this Latvian transport website  or download it’s app to check the bus time table because you can’t find these time tables on Google map.
• To use this website or APP, you first select Riga SAO or Sigulda (pie Raibā suņa) to Līgatne (Augšlīgatne) and then you select Līgatne (Augšlīgatne) to Skaļupe.

The secret bunker is a dark tourism destination that should not be missed when visiting the Balkans.

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2017-05-25 at 3:50 am

Hello, it is my husband’s birthday tomorrow and I was wondering if you are available to do a guide for us at 9.30 – 10am tomorrow morning – sorry for late request. We are in sigulda tonight only. Thank you Kereen

2017-05-25 at 9:00 am

Hi Kereen, we are travel bloggers and blogged about our experiences only. I am afraid you will have to contact the bunker about this. Have fun and Happy birthday to your husband 🙂

2021-10-26 at 1:06 am

I think you mean Baltic, not Balkan.

2021-10-30 at 11:33 am

You are right! Thanks for the correction, I have changed everything now 🙂

2022-06-20 at 11:28 am

Thank you for the great information, and how to get to the Bunker without booking a tour company! It’s difficult to find that information. Looking forward to our visit soon.

2022-06-21 at 6:42 pm

Hey Katy, I am glad these information are helpful. Hopefully won’t change too much post-covid. Best to confirm beforehand still! Have a lovely trip! Thanks for dropping by 🙂

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Dark Tourism Destinations – Exploring its Definition and the Rising Popularity Behind It

Dark tourism, also known as grief tourism or thanatourism, refers to the act of visiting places that are associated with death, tragedy, or suffering. Despite its macabre nature, it has become a growing industry in recent years, offering a unique and eye-opening experienc e for travelers seeking something different from typical tourist destinations. If you’re interested in exploring the eerie and haunting side of travel, here are the top five most popular dark tourism destinations around the world that you should consider visiting!

By visiting these destinations, you can immerse yourself in the history and culture of the places, learn about the tragedies that occurred, and gain a deeper understanding of the human condition. So, if you’re tired of the typical tourist hotspots and looking for something different, consider adding a dark tourism destination to your travel bucket list.

Table of Contents

Top 8 Dark Tourism Destinations To Mention 

In recent years, a unique form of tourism has gained popularity among travelers seeking unconventional experiences. This phenomenon is known as dark tourism, and it involves visiting places associated with tragedy, death, or dark historical events. But what exactly is dark tourism , and why is it capturing the interest of adventurous individuals?

In this article, we will delve into the definition of dark tourism, exploring its nuances and shedding light on the reasons behind its growing popularity . From historical sites of conflict and disaster to locations tied to crime and the macabre, join us as we unravel the intriguing world of dark tourism and seek to understand the motivations behind this increasingly sought-after form of travel.

Chernobyl: Exploring the Haunting Remains of History’s Largest Nuclear Disaster

Chernobyl is considered one of the most popular dark tourism destinations in the world. It’s a place shrouded in mystery and dark secrets, offering visitors a sobering and haunting experience. Located in the northern corner of Ukraine, Chernobyl was once a small remote village until the establishment of a massive nuclear power plant in 1980 that was named after the village.

In 1986, a catastrophic accident occurred at the power plant, which resulted in the largest nuclear disaster in history. The areas and towns around the power plant were declared uninhabitable and have become known as “Exclusion Zones.” More than 100,000 permanent inhabitants were evacuated, and the villages became ghost towns. However, there is still a small population in the administrative center of the Exclusion Zone, Chernobyl town.

The Top 5 Destinations to Visit Where Massacres Took Place

Despite the tragedy that occurred, the Exclusion Zone has become a haven for wildlife. Without human interference, many different species, including elk, wolves, wild boar, and Przewalski’s wild horses, are thriving. The giant catfish, in particular, has grown to record sizes due to radiation-induced mutations in the area.

Although the Chernobyl disaster caused death and mutations, its haunting history still draws visitors to witness its remnants more than 30 years later. It’s a sobering experience, but one that you won’t forget.

At the time of writing, Chernobyl is inaccessible due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.  If you are hoping to visit Chernobyl, please make sure it is safe and accessible by conducting some up-to-date research.

Aokigahara Forest, Japan

Alright, my fearless adventurers, let’s talk about Aokigahara Forest in Japan. This place isn’t your typical stroll through a sun-drenched meadow, oh no. It’s a dense, 14-square-mile forest known for its unique vegetation and the haunting silence that will send chills down your spine. Buckle up, things are getting eerie!

Cultural Significance

First off, Aokigahara is culturally and mythologically significant in Japanese folklore. It’s associated with yūrei, those lovely little ghosts that like to spook us, and it’s believed to be a place where the spirits of the deceased like to hang out.

Dark Reputation

Aokigahara has gained international attention for its unfortunate connection to suicides. It’s got one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Yikes! The authorities are doing their thing, though, with signs posted all over the place, begging people to reconsider their life-altering decisions. Let’s hope those signs make them think twice.

Signs and Prevention Efforts

To combat this serious issue, regular patrols are conducted to intervene and offer support to individuals who may be in a dark place. They’re out there, keeping a watchful eye and lending a helping hand.

Cultural Sensitivity

When it comes to discussing Aokigahara, we need to tread carefully, my fierce explorers. Suicide is no joke and definitely not something to be taken lightly. We’ve got to strike that delicate balance between acknowledging the forest’s natural beauty and its cultural significance while being sensitive to the gravity of the situation.

Tourism and Guided Tours

Now, here’s a twist – some people actually visit Aokigahara for its natural beauty and to explore the unique terrain. Crazy, right? Guided tours are available for those brave enough to experience the forest’s biodiversity. Just remember to show respect for the forest’s history and cultural significance.

Auschwitz: Exploring the Dark History of the Largest and Most Deadly Concentration Camp of the Holocaust

Auschwitz, located in Oswiecim, Poland, is one of the most well-known and popular dark tourism destinations in the world . Inaugurated by the Nazis in 1940 as a concentration camp, more than a million people were tortured, enslaved, and executed here during the Holocaust.

Today, the site has been conserved as a historical site, drawing in thousands of visitors each year. Its symbolic significance as an industrial genocide site, coupled with its dark history, makes Auschwitz rank as one of the top dark tourism sites of all time. While no one wants to be known for such atrocities, it’s crucial to study history to ensure that it doesn’t repeat itself.

When visiting Auschwitz, there is much to see and learn. Museum exhibitions provide a historical background of the atrocities that took place in the camp, along with photographic evidence. Exhibition rooms contain a haunting collection of artifacts, including a gigantic heap of shoes, piles of brushes, countless prosthetic limbs, and a massive pile of human hair that will profoundly affect anyone who enters the room.

One well-known area in the camp is the death wall used for torture and solitary confinement. In this area, prisoners were thrown into standing cells and left to starve to death. Another area to visit is the site of Rudolf Hoss, the camp commander’s execution after World War II, located outside the camp.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Holocaust and other dark periods in history firsthand, Auschwitz is a must-visit destination . It’s essential to remember the atrocities that occurred and to continue studying history to ensure that such horrors never happen again.

Murambi Genocide Memorial: Remembering the Victims of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide

The Murambi Genocide Memorial in Rwanda is one of the most harrowing dark tourism destinations in the world. It’s a memorial to the victims of the 1994 genocide, and it’s a place that will leave you with a lasting impression. The memorial is made up of a museum, a memorial site, and a cemetery. The museum is full of photos and videos of the genocide, while the memorial site is a collection of mass graves.

The genocide in Murambi occurred when the Tutsi tribe of Rwanda sought refuge in schools and churches, including Murambi. However, this turned out to be a ploy used by the opposing tribe to assemble a massive number of Tutsis and massacre them with little resistance. On the morning of April 21, 1994, soldiers heavily armed with grenades and guns surrounded the compound, and within a few hours, virtually everyone in the refugee camp was murdered. The number of people killed in Murambi is estimated to be between 20,000 to 70,000.

The Murambi Genocide Memorial is a unique destination that is especially haunting due to the display of whole bodies that are half-mummified by lime and half-decomposed. It’s a heartbreaking place, but it’s crucial to remember what happened here.

If you’re interested in learning more about the 1994 Rwanda genocide and paying your respects to the victims, a visit to the Murambi Genocide Memorial is worth considering. However, it’s essential to be aware of the emotional toll that visiting such a place may have and to plan accordingly.

Experiencing the Dark Legacy of the KGB at the Buildings and Cells in Riga

The KGB Buildings and Cells in Riga, Latvia, are among the darkest and most haunting dark tourism destinations in the world. The complex includes cells of different sizes, some larger for multiple prisoners and others smaller for single isolations and without windows. The execution chamber, where many people were executed through shooting, is the darkest part of the whole complex, especially during the first Soviet occupation.

Once the center of Soviet intelligence, the KGB Buildings and Cells in Riga now offer a unique and sobering experience for tourists who want to learn more about the Cold War era. Visitors can explore the dark legacy of the KGB and witness firsthand the horrific conditions that prisoners were forced to endure.

The outer gate of the complex has a driveway used by vans that brought in prisoners, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the site. It’s a haunting experience that serves as a reminder of the atrocities that occurred during the Soviet occupation of Latvia.

If you’re interested in exploring the dark side of history and learning more about the Cold War era, a visit to the KGB Buildings and Cells in Riga is worth considering.

Majdanek Concentration Camp, Poland

Let’s delve into the history of Majdanek Concentration Camp in Poland. Now, this place isn’t exactly your dream vacation destination , but it’s important to educate ourselves about the dark chapters of the past, so we can create a better future.

Majdanek was a concentration and extermination camp used by those Nazi baddies during World War II. It operated from 1941 to 1944, until it got a good dose of liberation by the Allied forces.

Scope and Operation

Unlike some other concentration camps, Majdanek pulled double duty as both a concentration camp and an extermination camp. It held prisoners from various nationalities, including Jews, Poles, and Soviet prisoners of war.

Scale of Tragedy

Now, brace yourselves for some heavy statistics – the number of lives lost at Majdanek is absolutely devastating. We’re talking about an estimated 78,000 to 235,000 individuals, men, women, and even innocent children, who perished due to executions, forced labor, and shudder gas chambers. It’s a tragic reminder of the horrors that unfolded during the Holocaust.

Camp Infrastructure

As you wander through Majdanek, you’ll come across eerie structures that have managed to survive the test of time. Barracks, watchtowers, and crematoriums still stand, providing us with a chilling glimpse into the infrastructure that was used to systematically persecute and exterminate prisoners.

Gas Chambers and Crematoria

But let’s not forget about the gas chambers and crematoria, because we’re here to face the ugly truth head-on. These haunting remnants serve as a stark reminder of the unimaginable atrocities committed during the Holocaust. It’s a sobering experience, but one that reminds us of the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of never allowing such horrors to be repeated.

Educational Programs

Majdanek also offers educational programs and guided tours to give visitors some historical context and a deeper understanding of the events that unfolded here. These programs emphasize the necessity of remembrance and the prevention of future atrocities. So, let’s soak up that knowledge and use it to fight against hatred and injustice in our own lives.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum: Witnessing the Inhumanity of Pol Pot’s Reign

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in dark tourism . It’s a sobering reminder of the horrors that took place during the Khmer Rouge regime and the inhumanity of Pol Pot’s reign. Housed in an old high school that was turned into a prison by the Khmer Rouge, the museum’s walls are covered with photographs of the inmates, most of whom were tortured and killed.

Inside the site’s compound, a courtyard consists of a series of graves in white concrete that belongs to the last victims found dead upon the prison’s liberation from the invading Vietnamese. Behind the graveyard is the prison gallows, whose structures have some of the darkest stories to tell. It’s a very intense experience, but one that I highly recommend if you want to understand the history of Cambodia.

If you’re interested in learning more about the history of Cambodia and paying your respects to the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, a visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is worth considering.

Robben Island, South Africa

Alright, my badass adventurers, we’re heading to Robben Island in South Africa – a place that’s steeped in history and served as a political prison during the dark days of apartheid. This ain’t your typical tropical island getaway, but it’s a destination that will leave you with a sense of awe and inspiration.

Nelson Mandela’s Imprisonment

Now, let’s talk about the main attraction on this island – Nelson Mandela. Yep, the man himself spent a whopping 18 out of his 27 years in prison right here on Robben Island. His cell has been perfectly preserved for our nosy visitors (that’s us), giving us a firsthand look at the brutal conditions he endured.

Apartheid Museum and Exhibits

Robben Island isn’t just a shrine to imprisonment. It’s also home to the Robben Island Museum, where you can dive deep into the island’s history and the struggle against apartheid. Get ready to see exhibits on the daily lives of prisoners, the island’s fauna and flora (who said it’s all doom and gloom?), and of course, the eventual triumph over apartheid.

Tour Experience

You’ll hop on a ferry from Cape Town (yes, the adventure starts with a boat ride), and once you arrive, get ready for a guided tour that will blow your mind. These tours are often led by former political prisoners themselves, offering you a powerful and personal perspective on what life was like for those held captive on this island. You’ll hear stories that will make you laugh, cry, and feel a tingle of inspiration running down your spine.

The Limestone Quarry

This place was no sun-soaked beach, my adventurous friends. Prisoners, including Mandela himself, were forced to do grueling physical labor here. But here’s the kicker – Mandela and his fellow inmates used this quarry as a secret meeting place to discuss political strategies. Talk about turning a pile of rocks into a symbol of resistance! Their conversations played a role in the eventual dismantling of apartheid.

Dark tourism can be a challenging but rewarding way to explore the darker side of history and the human experience. Visiting destinations such as Chernobyl, Auschwitz, Murambi Genocide Memorial, KGB Buildings and Cells in Riga, and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum can be a sobering and haunting experience, but they serve as reminders of the atrocities that occurred in our past. It’s crucial to remember and learn from these events to prevent them from happening again in the future.

As always, it’s important to approach these destinations with sensitivity and respect and to be aware of the emotional toll that they may have on visitors. With that in mind, Travel Till You Drop offers a wide range of resources to help you plan your next dark tourism trip, so you can continue to explore the world in a meaningful and thoughtful way.

• jill charpia
• April 25, 2023
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Dark Tourism: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

WE DO NOT RECOMMEND ANY NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL AT THIS TIME DUE TO THE GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS! Our travel articles have not been updated to reflect any travel restrictions which may be in place; please check with your destination for up-to-date information.

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Well, we’ve had this dark tourism blog for a little over a year now, so it seemed like a good idea to finally write a post addressing what dark tourism is, why it’s important, and why we’ve dedicated a blog to it.

What is Dark Tourism?

It’s difficult to discuss why dark tourism is important without first providing a definition.

There is a lot of misinformation about what dark tourism is. We’re even guilty of this, as we tend to sweep anything macabre under the dark tourism umbrella. And we’re not the only ones. The popular Netflix show Dark Tourist introduced many new people to the term. Which is great, but he didn’t get it all right.

Don’t get me wrong, Dark Tourist does cover some dark tourism, but he also visits several sites that have a tenuous connection at best.

For example, the racist nationalists in Africa? Not dark tourism. McKamey Manor , the terrifying horror house in Tennessee? Not dark tourism. Disturbing and macabre, for sure, but not dark tourism.

I’m not here to discuss the general merits of the show. If you like it, I honestly think that’s okay. I enjoyed quite a bit of it. However, it is important to know what is and isn’t dark tourism. And also to understand that a lot of it is sensationalist.

RELATED: The Best Historical TV Series for Dark Tourists

Defining Dark Tourism

Since I actually did my university dissertation on the effect of dark tourism on cultural heritage in Cambodia, this definition of dark tourism is almost word for word what I wrote in said dissertation:

The term ‘Dark Tourism’ was first coined in 1996 by professors John Lennon and Malcolm Foley. Dark tourism, or Thanatourism as it is sometimes referred to in academia, refers to sites associated with death, disaster and destruction.

In recent years, interest in these sites has increased; although death, suffering and tourism have been linked for centuries, specifically in the context of warfare, with sites such as the Waterloo battlefield drawing in visitors from the early 1800’s onwards. Thanatourism sites can be found around the world in varying size and scope. 

In his 1996 paper Guided by the Dark: From Thanatopsis to Thanatourism , Professor A. V. Seaton outlined five different forms of dark tourism: 

• museums that showcase death or symbols of death in some way, such as the popular Dungeon museums (i.e London Dungeon, Paris Dungeon) that allow visitors to “relive” the horrors of a city throughout its history; 
• participation or observation of death simulation, such as the re-enactments of famous battles; 
• witnessing of public deaths (though this form is less common as public executions occur in very few countries today), this would also include activities like gladiatorial combat; 
• visits to memorial sites – this encompasses graveyards, crypts, internment sites; and lastly
• travel to sites of individual or mass death and/or tragedy; this includes the sites of famous dead people and the homes of mass murderers, as well as the sites of battlefields (Waterloo, Gettysburg), and genocide (Rwandan genocide memorial sites, Holocaust memorials sites and extermination camps, i.e. Auschwitz, Dachau).

Hope that clears things up…

What Dark Tourism Isn’t

Essentially, haunted houses, abandoned places or just mean people aren’t necessarily dark tourism unless some kind of tragedy is attached to them. For example, we visited an abandoned amusement park in Elektrėnai, Lithuania and while it was wonderful and somewhat reminiscent of Chernobyl with the large, decaying ferris wheel and bumper cars, it was not dark tourism. Whereas Chernobyl, which suffered a devastating nuclear disaster in 1986 is very much dark tourism.

Likewise, we’ve written a few posts on haunted places and some of them are probably closer to dark tourism than others. The little girl who was locked in her home with her dead parents and was forced to succumb to cannibalism before choking on the flesh of her parents? Definitely closer to the definition of dark tourism than the residential home that may or may not have a poltergeist, but no one really knows why. In case you’re curious, those can both be found in this article .

So to reiterate, all dark tourism is macabre, but not all macabre tourism is dark tourism.

Why Dark Tourism Is Important To Me

I’ve always been a weird kid. I have a dark sense of humour, I find serial killers fascinating, and   Schindler’s List was my favourite film when I was 7. You get the idea.

There are more of us ‘weirdos’ than you think. Some people, like Caitlin Doughty, of Ask a Mortician fame, become morticians (and write darkly humourous books about it) and co-found death positivity movements like The Order of the Good Death . Others, like Tori Telfer, write books about history’s deadliest women and host podcasts on the same topic.

But I travel; it’s always been a big part of who I am. So it should come as no surprise that I became a dark tourist.

For a long time, I didn’t realise that’s what I was. It’s not just that I didn’t know the term – because let’s be fair, the term ‘dark tourism’ only entered into popular lexicon within the last few years, and while I did know the term before that, it’s irrelevant. What I mean is that I never connected my interests as a tourist with anything out of the ordinary.

I knew I was weird, I knew I liked macabre stuff and most people didn’t, but whenever we went to a ‘dark tourism’ site, it was normally pretty busy.

People thought I was weird, but travelling made me realise I wasn’t all that different from the world as a whole – just from small town America.

So yes, on a totally selfish level, dark tourism is important to me because it made me feel a little bit more normal. And as a kid that was important to me because I wasn’t like other kids, and kids care about that.

But dark tourism is also important to me for the same reasons it should be important to everyone. History matters. Those who lost their lives to genocide or trying to enact positive  change matter. Remembering matters.

RELATED: The Best Dark History Podcasts

How I Became a Dark Tourist

Honestly, I’ve always been one. 

I have always made it a point to visit sites that would be classified as dark tourism sites; I went to a former slave plantation in Charleston, South Carolina, paid my respects at several concentration camps, and looked out at the ocean that swallowed so many slaves on their way to North America at Cape Coast Castle in Ghana. Museums that showcase a dark period in history are often a highlight of my trips. And that’s just the beginning.

Truthfully, I don’t even remember the first place I went that could be classified as dark tourism, especially if we’re including museums. And I am, because museums make for excellent historical records concerning difficult history and heritage. Plus, technically speaking, today often sites like Auschwitz and the Killing Fields are also considered museums.

I don’t remember when I first heard the term dark tourism, but I remember how I felt when I heard it; I was relieved to know there were other people like me. It made sense; I had a box to tick on ‘type of travel’ all of a sudden.

Although I don’t remember where or when I heard it, dark tourism has definitely been in my vocabulary since at least the early 2010s. And in 2015, I really sealed the deal when I moved to Cambodia to do research on my dissertation.

What I can say for certain is that being a dark tourist has made me a better person. Learning about past atrocities from a young age (I was seven when I first learned about the Holocaust) taught me a lot about empathy, compassion and tolerance.

RELATED: Eye-Opening Books About Racism from Around the World

Dark Tourism Gets You Out of Your Comfort Zone

Visiting dark tourism sites can be quite shocking and upsetting for many people. Even as a seasoned dark tourist, our trip to Lidice in the Czech Republic had a profound effect on me.

This isn’t a bad thing. Learning about the bad parts of history are just as much a part of the travel experience as seeing beautiful buildings. It helps us grow as people, and it allows us to better understand and appreciate where we are.

I truly believe it is impossible to fully appreciate places like Poland and Cambodia without first learning about their tragic pasts. Horrific as they may be, these events are a part of a country’s history – oftentimes their very recent history – and have shaped them into the places they are today. To fully understand a place, we need to acknowledge and learn about its history.

In fact, it wasn’t until I lived in Cambodia and met so many people directly affected by the Khmer Rouge that I truly understood how vital it was to share these histories.

Genocide education didn’t become mandatory in Cambodia schools until 2010. Prior to that, there were thousands of young Cambodian children who didn’t know about their own past . Many Cambodians who lived through the war couldn’t and wouldn’t talk about what happened to them. In some stronghold areas they didn’t know the war was over. I met children who didn’t even know the Khmer Rouge had happened, let alone that their own parents and grandparents lived through it.

While doing dark tourism research in Cambodia, I found that the more I learned, the less I really knew.

This is because dark tourism forces you out of your comfort zone. It makes you confront harsh truths about humanity and society.

I think it is vital to visit well known and popular sites like Auschwitz, Chernobyl, the Killing Fields, Ground Zero or the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

But I also think it is important to go deeper than that. These sites are a tiny piece of the puzzle. If you can handle delving deeper, you should. This can take on many forms, from visiting some of the lesser known WWII sites in Krakow to aid your understanding of Auschwitz, but also by visiting places not often on the tourist trail at all. Places such as Bosnia & Herzegovina, which witnessed its own genocide in the 1990s, or Gorée Island in Senegal, where you can learn more about the African slave trade.

But Isn’t Dark Tourism Unethical?

Dark tourism is often in the news when something bad happens. Auschwitz and Chernobyl have both seen a rise in problematic selfies. Most recently, Syria has expressed concern over the rise in dark tourism.

However, the problem is not dark tourism. The problem is people.

Dark tourism itself is not unethical. How people choose to conduct themselves at dark tourism sites can be unethical. Equally, not everywhere should be visited. Syria is an active war zone , not a tourist destination for adrenaline junkies.

Sometimes it comes down to personal feelings. Many people feel a certain amount of time should pass between the event and visiting, while others are happy to visit shortly afterwards. I do not think either approach is inherently wrong, but your motivations matter. 

Tourists flocked to Grenfell Tower in the UK almost immediately after the tragedy that killed 79 people in 2017. And while many were there to pay their respects, a lot of people were condemned for taking selfies . Either way, days after an event is too soon to show up if you don’t have a personal connection to a site.

And selfies are almost never okay.

But sometimes it is impossible to tell how soon is too soon. You might be surprised how long it took for some dark tourism sites to open.

The Rwandan Genocide Memorial opened its doors in 2004, only ten years after the massacre that forever changed the country.

The Ground Zero Memorial was completed in March 2006, not even five years after the tragedy that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City.

And Auschwitz was converted into a museum on July 2, 1947, just over 2.5 years after the camp was liberated.

Why so soon? Because ultimately, these stories matter. They must be told, and they need to be remembered. The longer we ignore tragedy, the more chance the mistakes of our past will be forgotten and repeated.

Wait, Did You Say Selfies Are Okay?

Yes. And no.

Are you a black American reclaiming your tragic heritage by posing and smiling in front of a former slave plantation ? You’re probably okay.

Are you a Jewish kid whose family was murdered during WWII and now you’re giving a big fuck you to Hitler’s failed final solution? Also okay.

Do you have to take a selfie in those instances? Definitely not. Can you still feel those are inappropriate? Yeah, that’s totally valid. But there are nuances and complicated histories behind that.

Additionally, just because something at first seems problematic, doesn’t mean that it is and it’s important to understand the context behind a site, as well.

The Argument For Chernobyl

Following Chernobyl’s recent rise in popularity due to the HBO show, people were outraged about mass selfies at the site. I won’t lie, I’m still outraged about it. Darmon Richter, who runs ExUtopia and has spent a lot of time in the Ukraine, tweeted that the residents of Chernobyl don’t want people to be sad all the time because they live there and it’s nice to see people happy and smiling.

I completely agree with Darmon. Chernobyl is unique because people live there. What I don’t think is okay about the selfie culture coming out of Chernobyl right now is that the people taking those selfies don’t necessarily seem aware of that distinction.

There is also a huge difference between taking a group selfie with your tour guides or locals that you meet and befriend, and taking ‘sexy’ selfies in front of the abandoned ferris wheel.

If you want to take selfies at Chernobyl, there should be context. You should be explaining everything I just said to give reasons for why it is okay in this instance. The photos should also show the wonderful people you met while there and tell their stories, not yours!

Dark Tourism Should Not Be Controversial

People have been visiting sites of tragedy for centuries. People flocked to places like Pompeii and the Battle of Waterloo not long after the events had passed. But social media didn’t exist back then. Since there is now an academic term for people who are drawn to these sites, and with the increased popularity of sites like Instagram, it has become seemingly controversial. 

The main controversy surrounding dark tourism comes from three things: 

• a) the selfie culture and everyone’s need to ‘prove’ they were there and make themselves a part of something. This is highly problematic as it moves the focus from the tragedy and the victims onto the person visiting. Once someone makes themselves the focus of the photo, they are taking agency away from victims – often victims who can no longer speak for themselves. 
• b) people who visit sites, such as active war zones like Syria, as tourists rather than humanitarians, politicians or journalists. To me, this isn’t dark tourism, this is irresponsible tourism and thrill chasing.
• c) the idea that dark tourists derive some kind of pleasure from these sites. This is a complicated thing to explain. Many dark tourists do derive a sense of satisfaction from visiting dark tourism sites. But it is not because they are vicariously playing out a sick, twisted fantasy. It is about education; it is about being able to see a place they have read about their whole lives in person. It is also about paying their respects. 

But let me be clear: most dark tourists believe that sites like Chernobyl, Auschwitz, the Killing fields, and so on are paramount because we never want them to be forgotten. If they are forgotten, it will happen again and again and again. Even with the wounds of the Holocaust and WWII still relatively fresh, we have already witnessed many new genocides since. 

Essentially, dark tourism is important because in an ideal world, no new dark tourism sites will ever be added to our dark tourism “bucket lists.”

If you want to know more about dark tourism, you can check out our dark tourism page . There you will find a brief overview along with book recommendations and every article we’ve ever written about dark tourism. HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE DARK TOURISM ARTICLES – A Haunting Visit to the Lidice Museum and Memorial – Revisiting the Terezin Propaganda Camp in the Era of Fake News – East Grinstead Museum and the History of Queen Victoria Hispital – The Katyn Museum: Remembering a Forgotten Massacre – Beating Hearts: Visiting the Salaspils Memorial Park

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Dagney McKinney

American by birth, miniature by design. I moved for the first time when I was 18 months old, and I haven't stopped since. If I'm not wandering the planet, you can find me seeking out the hottest food possible or reading a good book and/or listening to a podcast in some quiet, remote alcove. I'm a classic introvert with a penchant for Camelidae, salt and underground spaces.

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From Tragic to Terrifying: Would You Visit These 9 Dark Tourism Destinations?

What Is Dark Tourism?

The world of dark tourism was recently made popular thanks to a Netflix documentary series called “Dark Tourist” where New Zealand journalist, David Farrier, dives deep into this subset of tourism. In the series’ eight episodes, David and the crew travel to astonishing, morbid and sometimes dangerous places around the world, highlighting these strange tourist destinations.

I was immediately hooked and wanted to know more about this unusual division of tourism. Why were people traveling to the corners of the Earth to put themselves in risky situations? How many other dark destinations were out there? Do popular and well-known historical sites count? What exactly is dark tourism?

Dark tourism consists of traveling to locations and destinations around the world that are associated with death, tragedy, destruction or all of the above. These are often natural disaster sites, memorials for historic tragedies, abandoned locales and destinations with undesirable reputations.

Due to it’s dark and occasionally horrific nature, dark tourism is also referred to as grief tourism, black tourism or Thanatourism — derived from the ancient Greek word Thanatos for the personification of death — although this term is rarely used.

Here are some of the morbid and occasionally horrific destinations around the world that should be on any dark tourist’s bucket list.

Chernobyl & Pripyat Town, Ukraine

Yes, you read that right. The Chernobyl power plant and abandoned town of Pripyat are open for tours. Not only that, but there are multiple tours to choose from depending on budget, which parts you’re interested in seeing, and how much time you have to explore. Tour companies offer excursions ranging from a single day through to a full week.

Chernobyl is the disaster site of a catastrophic nuclear accident in April 1986; the most disastrous in history. Despite dozens of people in Pripyat reporting illness only hours after the explosion, the town was not evacuated until over 36 hours later, exposing thousands of people to high levels of radiation. To this day experts are unsure of the final death toll.

Oradour-sur-Glane (Old Town), France

The old town of Oradour-sur-Glane is a “unique and sombre experience” according to one review on TripAdvisor. There is no cost to visit the village but tourists should know that it isn’t a place to be enjoyed, and is instead is a sobering memorial to the horrific events of June 1944.

Rusted bicycles, old sewing machines and the shells of old cars lay among the rubble of crumbling stone buildings in what was once a quaint French town. On June 10 of 1944, over 640 people, including women and children, were massacred by German soldiers. The village’s churches and barns were set on fire and left to burn. There was only one survivor of the brutal attack.

6 of the World’s Best Islands

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For travelers, it may be good to give some thought into what the best islands to visit are. Here is a list of the top island destinations around the world.

Balaclava Ghost Town, Canada

While not officially a tourist site, this Canadian ghost town is described as being “picture perfect” due to its row of dilapidated buildings. The focus of Balaclava, once a successful lumber town, is an old sawmill that was originally built in 1855 and is the site of one of the last water-powered sawmills to run in Ontario. Much of the original mill was destroyed in the 1930s by a massive fire but was quickly rebuilt.

The town is still home to a few residents, however most of its occupants left in the 1960s. Due to the depletion of timber in the region, it was no longer economical to keep the mill in operation. This left Balaclava’s general store, blacksmith shop, hotel, dam and sawmill neglected to fade away.

Murambi Genocide Museum, Rwanda

This may possibly be one of the darkest and most shocking destinations to visit. If you’re interested in dark tourism, the Murambi Genocide Museum is a must-see. But be warned — it’s not something everyone can stomach.

The gut-wrenching memorial starts with short films and information panels before leading you outside to view some of the mass graves. The tour then takes you into rooms — initially intended to be classrooms in the technical college — where hundreds of preserved corpses line the wooden racks. The partially decomposed bodies have been exhumed and mummified with powdered lime.

The victims of the massacre are still in the positions in which they died; toddlers and children with arms outstretched or covering their eyes. It’s a heart-wrenching and powerful reminder of the devastating event.

Karosta Prison, Latvia

Karosta Prison is the only military prison in Europe that is open to tourists and they have several excursions to choose from, many of which have a minimum age limit. Dark tourists will likely be fond of the “Behind Bars” option as this will give you the opportunity to experience the prison as one of the inmates.

All participants must sign a release form agreeing to the conditions of prison life – including verbal abuse, death threats, hard labor and warning gunfire – before applying for their experience behind bars.

Karosta Prison was built around 1900 and was primarily used as a Nazi and Soviet military prison; one from which nobody ever escaped. Many prisoners were sentenced to death within the prison which may be why it is said to be haunted. The prison closed its doors as a penitentiary in 1997. In addition to the tours and excursions, the Karosta Prison has been transformed into a ‘hotel’ of sorts where guests can spend the night.

Plan a Trip to Normandy, France This Year to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of D-Day

Loren Eaton / May 2, 2019

This year's D-Day anniversary is of particular importance at 75 years. This is the perfect opportunity to visit Normandy to commemorate the historic events.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, Poland

While I’m sure this historical site doesn’t need an explanation, it’s one of the busiest tourist spots on our list of dark tourism destinations. Auschwitz was that largest concentration camp and extermination centers run by German Nazis. Over 1 million men, women and children were imprisoned and sent to their deaths here between 1940 and 1945.

Tours range from two-and-a-half to six hours and should be reserved online at least one month in advance. Most guided tours of the Auschwitz memorial and museum include the original camp buildings, the unloading platform, and the ruins of gas chambers and crematoria.

Atomic Lake (Lake Chagan), Kazakhstan

Lake Chagan was recently deemed safe enough to swim in! This is excellent news for those dark tourists who are interested in sticking their toes into the Atomic Lake in Kazakhstan.

In the 1960s, the Chagan test was intended to analyze the application of using nuclear explosions to create reservoirs. A 140-kiloton nuclear device was placed in a deep hole along the Chagan River. The blast created a crater over 1,300 feet wide and about 330 feet deep which was then filled with river water.

Although most of the fallout was contained to the general area of the test-site, the blast produced a measurable radioactive plume. As a result, the radiation levels of the water are well beyond consumable levels.

The lake is still radioactive, but the levels continually fall as time passes. Would you be brave enough to go for a dip?

National Atomic Testing Museum, USA

Las Vegas is home to many a strange and bizarre sight, but dark tourists will be drawn to the National Atomic Testing Museum in Nevada that tells the story of America’s nuclear weapons testing. The sobering museum boasts 8,000 square feet of exhibits and is home to over 12,000 artifacts including personal atomic weapons, a large nuclear reactor and a replica of the Control Point where countdowns were conducted before each detonation.

The museum documents 70 years of nuclear testing beginning in January of 1951 at the Nevada Test Site through to present day. Exhibits also depict the end of the Cold War, the beginning of the Global War on Terror, and a Ground Zero Theater simulation of an above-ground nuclear test.

A Town Full of Character: 8 of the Best Things to Do in Dublin, Ireland

K.C. Dermody / March 12, 2018

From cultural to historical, there are plenty of things to do in Dublin that will hold your attention. Don't forget about all the pubs with live music!

Eastern State Penitentiary, USA

The Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia opened its doors in October of 1829, though parts of its original structure were built and operating in the late 1700s. The penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world but now is a crumbling, haunting reminder of what it once was.

Eastern State Penitentiary once housed some of America’s most notorious criminals including Freda Frost, William Francis “Slick Willie” Sutton and Al Capone. One of the prison’s most popular exhibits is the cell that mob boss Al “Scarface” Capone called home for eight months; a cozier site than you would find in the penitentiaries of the modern world.

There are two ways to experience Eastern State Penitentiary. Year-round the penitentiary offers day tours, school tours and site rentals for events or even weddings if you’re so inclined! In the fall, they open the doors at night and become a massive haunted house suitably called Terror Behind the Walls.

Dark tourism is an area of tourism that isn’t for the sensitive or faint of heart as it ranges from grim museum exhibits to downright horrific experiences. However, some of the appeal of dark tourism is how it can serve as a shocking and gut-wrenching reminder of the world’s brutal history that isn’t to be forgotten.

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Dark tourism focuses on 'the very worst we have done'

LIEPAJA, Latvia — On a spring morning, guards bark orders across the grounds of Karosta Prison in the sleet at a group of young new arrivals.

The group's march through the gates of the decrepit brick building on the western coast of Latvia is deemed unsatisfactory, and the members are told to do it again — this time on their knees, with their hands on their heads. They march too slowly this time, so they are then ordered to sprint around the site's perimeter one after the other.

This was a scene fairly regularly played out throughout the 20th century, when the military prison was initially run by the Russian empire, then the newly formed Latvian government, then the Soviet army, then the Nazis, then the Soviets again, and finally the Latvian army after the country regained its independence in 1991.

But what's unusual is that members of this group are paying for this treatment, and will be subjected to a range of similar punishments over the course of the next two hours.

The group of teenagers from neighboring Lithuania are taking part in one of the immersive experiences the prison now offers tourists, billed as a "historical interactive reality show involving the audience."

Guests can also spend a night in an unrenovated cell — for only $17.

For those feeling more adventurous, an "Extreme Overnight" package is available. "You will be able to step into the shoes of a prisoner on a dark and dismal night," the attraction vows. Guests are woken up during the night and forced to carry out tasks such as situps, or just be shouted at for a while.

The deeply unrelaxing way to spend a vacation known as dark tourism has been turbocharged by the rise of social media platforms, which allow tourists to document every macabre moment.

Karosta is now drawing people from around the globe for an ever-expanding menu of activities that includes escape rooms, paintball and a café.

“People have seen the museums, they have seen the castles, now they want to see something else,” says Einars Meiris, who was dressed in a Soviet-era military uniform as he stalked the prison's corridors to make sure the young Lithuanian inmates behaved.

In between supervising interrogations and visits to the site's hospital — which features a very stern nurse in a World War II-era costume — Meiris outlines what draws people to Karosta.

"Some people come to reminisce, you hear them saying, 'Ah, the good old Soviet Union,'" Meiris says. "The students, they’re coming here for some action ... they want thrills. The 40- to 50-year-olds, they want to remember what their youth was like for those who served in the Soviet army. In their minds, it's not about what's good or bad, it was their youth, it's the best time in their lives. You see them walking around with their big bellies and putting on the gas masks like the old days."

Many Americans, Canadians, Britons and Australians "want to know what it was like on the other side" of the Iron Curtain, he added.

However, some people leave before the end of their session "because they feel they have heard enough," according to Meiris.

While the Karosta experience might raise eyebrows with some, experts say it is part of a wider trend.

John Lennon, a professor at Glasgow Caledonian University, argues it is often the passing of time that determines when dark tourism transitions into something more palatable.

"Medieval torture museums are seen as funny, a museum about torture during the Iraq War wouldn't even be allowed to open," he said. "The Jack the Ripper tour is fine in London but a tour about a murder or set of murders within the last few years would be seen as distasteful."

He believes sites such as Karaosta actually perform valuable functions. “They have an importance as many of these sites are historical legacy sites and are evidential," he added. "You can't deny the Holocaust, you can't deny atrocities committed by the Soviets if you have a historical record."

Lennon added: "There has always been an attraction to the darker side of human nature, a fascination with our ability to commit acts of evil. Evil seems to unify all these sites — we are looking at the very worst we have done."

What surprises Lennon is not so much the fact that people choose to go to Karosta, but the manner in which they document their experiences.

"It's the amount of image recording I'm thrown by, and the filmic recording that's posted on various digital channels," he said. "The very worst we do is recorded next to the most banal, you have photos of people visiting Auschwitz next to them opening Christmas presents."

Limits have been set at Karosta.

"There was initially a Nazi uniform as part of the tour, but the issue proved too sensitive," Meiris said.

The student participants sat in silence while consuming tea and cookies after being locked away in solitary confinement in complete darkness to round out their Karosta experience.

"It's definitely reminded me to be a good boy, that's for sure, but also to remember how things were," Ignas Balchunas, 13, said. "I wouldn’t want to come back here ever."

Nick Bailey is an editor on NBC News' London-based international desk.

20 Unique Dark Tourism Sites Around The World

Disclosure: Advertising and affiliate services, including Amazon Associates, help the cost of running my blog. Clicking ads or making purchases through affiliate links may, at no additional cost to you, earn me a small commission. I appreciate your support .

One of the most unique tourism trends in recent years might have to be the fascination with so-called dark tourism sites. There’s always been a curiosity when it comes to places that might have a historic connection with tragic events. But while there are many reasons for people wanting to visit such sites, dark tourism is not a bad thing.

You might argue that visiting these dark tourism sites is a way of preserving the past. Or making sure the same horrific things don’t happen again . And while you might get some mixed reactions from people about your travel plans, they are fascinating places. And I believe they are places that the world should know about.

Disclaimer: The following article has travel suggestions in both Russia and Ukraine, however was written before the current events unfolded. I have chosen to leave them in this article in the spirit of the original topic covered here, however I am in no way recommending visiting either Russia or Ukraine at this time . Please check current travel conditions for any country you plan on visiting and travel safely.

What is Dark Tourism?

Dark tourism sites are places which we can associate with death, destruction or some kind of disaster. While some might see them as morbid, you’d be surprised at how many places you’ve visited with such connotations. For example, have you ever been to the Tower of London? Full of torture chambers and stories of gruesome events. What about the Colosseum in Rome? The deadly gladiator events here were some of the most bloody spectator sports in history.

We think of them as historical sites in a way we don’t think of some of the following places in the same way. Is it because that was so long ago? Does the length of time before we start exploring these sites really make a difference in how our visiting them should be perceived?

How should I behave at dark tourism sites?

Societal rules about museums are ingrained in us from an early age. But a lot of people worry about what to do while visiting somewhere with such a dark past. How do you behave? What if you do the wrong thing?

Respect is key . Remember that these sites, while open for you to enjoy, learn and experience, are the sites of some pretty bad and horrific things . Be aware of those around you as you never know if they might have a connection to where you are.

While it’s unfair to say you shouldn’t talk or show enthusiasm, use common sense and read the room . A concentration camp is nowhere to be giggling with your friends, a memorial park is not somewhere to be shouting…you get the idea.

Unique Dark Tourism Sites To Visit

Whether you’re a big history buff or just curious in anything a little macabre, these are some dark tourism sites around the world you likely don’t want to miss. From recent tragic events to centuries-old historical happenings, you can’t deny how incredibly interesting these places are.

Alcatraz Prison – San Francisco, USA

Possibly one of the most eerie and fascinating dark tourism sites you will ever visit is Alcatraz . A prison so notorious that it still receives millions of visitors a year. Located on an island in San Francisco ‘s bay area, you now get to experience seeing it from the inside like a prisoner. So close to land but so far away.

The only way to reach Alcatraz island is by a pre-booked boat tour . The tour is popular and often sells out months in advance. There are no food or drinks allowed except at the boat dock area, so plan your day accordingly. You also have a steep walk to the prison at the top of the hill, but there are motorized vehicle transfers for those with mobility issues.

Explore the prison and the grounds with an impeccably narrated audio tour by former guards and inmates. You’ll be led through cells, the recreation areas, the kitchen and more. Learn about the riots, the escapes and the deaths that happened here, and the most famous prisoners to ever call Alcatraz home.

Gravensteen Castle – Ghent, Belgium

Contributed by Cecilie from Worldwide Walkers

Gravensteen Castle in Ghent  is a classic example of dark tourism sites in Europe. The castle was built back in 1180 and housed the Count of Flanders for many centuries until it became a court, a prison, and even a cotton factory.

It’s the dark horror stories of torture that really attract visitors to Gravensteen castle. While visiting, you’ll walk through torture rooms and see all the different tools used to punish criminals back in the Middle Ages.

Many people have died within the castle walls in the most horrific ways, which creates a dark haunted feeling to the place. It’s this uncomfortable feeling that leaves you both intrigued and distressed after your visit.

While it might sound very disturbing, the free audio guide does a wonderful job carrying out all the stories in an interesting way with respect to history. It’s a great place to learn about the history of Belgium’s city Ghent . You can even get one of the greatest city views from the castle roof.

Silver Mines – Potosi, Bolivia

Contributed by Deb from The Visa Project

While there are many landmarks to see in Potosi , a unique attraction is to visit one of these working mines. A guided tour let’s you witness the working conditions of the miners.

If you  live in Bolivia , you would come across many extreme tourist offerings but this one would probably be one of the darkest. The  Cerro Rico  mountains silver mines made Potosi a major economic center of the Spanish empire back in the colonial times.

Mining is more or less still done in 18th century style – using old tools, hand and dynamite. No modern safety equipment or protocols. Although you would be introduced to  El Diablo,  the mountain’s devil-god to who the miners offer cigarettes, liquor as well as blood of an animal slaughtered on the spot for their protection. Child labor is pretty common and you can buy dynamite in the local market!

You will be advised to chew on coca leaves to help with breathlessness if taking a tour through the mines . The miners work in really harsh and dangerous conditions and many get lung diseases afterwards. If you visit, definitely leave a generous tip for the miners.

Port Arthur Penal Colony – Tasmania, Australia

Contributed by Mark from Wyld Family Travel

Port Arthur lies at the bottom of the world in southern Tasmania Australia . Port Arthur was a British penal colony set up in Australia, designed to break prisoners both mentally and physically. To be sent here from England was being sent as far away from your home as possible.

The youngest prisoner was 11 years old and around 70,000 prisoners called Port Arthur home. Prisoners at Port Arthur endured harsh working gangs that built much of Tasmania. The Asylum at the site pays testament to the mental torture these convicts were put through with many slowly losing their minds. Prisoners were regularly flogged to break them into submission.

Port Arthur prison was opened 20 years from 1833-1853 and 7,000 convicts died there. In modern times Port Arthur is also the location for the largest mass shooting in Australian history. This was the catalyst for the strict gun rules Australia lives by now. 

Port Arthur  is today one of the most interesting places to visit when in Tasmania. The prison site has been preserved with original building and tours explaining the history of the location.

Museum of the Occupation of Latvia – Riga, Latvia

As a former Soviet occupied country, Latvia still has many historic sites linked to the KGB. One of the most interesting activities you can do in Riga is visit the Corner House. This was the old headquarters of the Soviet KGB in Latvia.

True KGB style, if you didn’t know this museum existed you might not be able to find it. A inconspicuous doorway leads into a building straight out of the 50s. Here you can find out about the KGB in the city at that time.

The museum is free or you can pay 10 EUR for a guided tour. The tour might be worth it to see parts of the museum you wouldn’t otherwise get to. Walk through the rooms where the KGB worked and to areas of the building where the prisoners would have been taken.

The storyboards depict historical stories of the KGB in Riga, Latvia , and the “criminals” they arrested, tortured and killed here. This is really one of the most unique dark tourism sites in the Baltic states.

Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Park – India

Contributed by Neha from Travelmelodies

Etched in the history of India as a dark moment, is the incident of Jallianwala Bagh. Located in the holy city of Amritsar in Punjab, it remains one of the most popular  places to visit in Amritsar . Jallianwala Bagh is a memorial park in the honor the people that were wounded and lost lives on the fateful day of 13 April, 1919.

Back in 1919, India was under the rule of British and the people of India were protesting for Independence. Over a thousand people had gathered in the Jallianwala park on the festive day of Baisakhi to silently protest the arrest of few national leaders. But General Dyer opened fire unannounced on these people killing and injuring many.

The Jallianwala Bagh now houses a museum with pictures and documents related to the event and some memorial structures in honor of the martyrs.  There is a ‘Martyrs Well’ in which some people jumped to save themselves from the bullets. There’s even a wall with bullet markings on it. 

Every evening there is a light and sound show that throws light on the unfolding of the event. It is a must visit place and is located next to the Golden temple.

Gori, Georgia

Contributed by Emily from Wander-Lush

The small city of Gori,Georgia has a rather dark claim to fame. It’s the birthplace of Ioseb Jughashvili, better known as former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

An  easy day trip from Tbilisi , Gori has become one of the most-visited places in Georgia because of its Stalin connection. The main attraction is the Stalin State Museum, a grandiose sandstone building in the center of the city.

In the yard is one of few remaining Stalin statues still standing in Georgia today. Also the small wooden house where Stalin was born in 1878, and the armored railway carriage he used to travel around the USSR.

The museum opened in 1957 and exhibits remain much the same – that is to say, very Soviet-style. It has a very selective curatorial approach with most artefacts relating to Stalin’s early years and some pretty glaring gaps. With limited information in English it’s recommended to take the guided tour for a few extra dollars.

Visiting the museum is a totally bizarre experience, but it gives an interesting insight into how Stalin’s memory is treated in Georgia today. Some people in Gori (and elsewhere in Georgia) still venerate the dictator, but the younger generations less so.

There are plenty of things to do in Gori that have nothing to do with Stalin. The magnificent Gori Castle, the old town, and the hilltop Gori Jvari church. It’s these attractions that most residents would prefer you remember Gori for.

Tham Piew Cave – Laos

Contributed by Marie from A Life Without Borders

Laos holds the unfortunate title of the most heavily bombed country on Earth. It bore the brunt of clandestine bombing campaigns waged by the USA on Laos during the 1960s and 1970s. Phonsavan  in the province of Xieng Khouang, was particularly decimated. In fact, unexploded ordnance still affects local communities to this day.

Many visitors to the region enjoy Phonsavan’s major tourist sights such as the UNESCO site Plain of Jars. But few venture off the beaten track to discover the site of one of the worst days in Lao history.

On 24 November 1968, just one single missile fired from a US fighter plane killing 374 innocent villagers taking refuge in Tham Piew Cave. Just 60 kilometers from Phonsavan city, the cave is a somber and emotional place to visit. But it is important in the turbulent history of Laos, even if little known throughout the rest of the world.

The site’s information center holds extremely confronting photographs of the immediate aftermath of that fateful day, together with the history of the Secret War in Laos. A moving statue of a man carrying a lifeless child marks the entrance to the memorial park. Walk through a peaceful forest to the mouth of the charred cave. Here visitors can leave offerings of incense at the small shrine for those who perished within.

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine

Contributed by Kami from My Wanderlust

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a well-known place all over the world. On April 26th, 1986 the biggest nuclear disaster in the world took place here, changing people’s lives forever. As a result of the catastrophe, the whole area around the power plant became a closed zone. Inhabitants of numerous towns and villages had to move away.

Today you can visit the Exclusion Zone but you need to do it with an official  Chernobyl tour . There are plenty of them departing from Kyiv daily and you can choose between day trips and multiday tours. Now, all these years after the disaster the area is safe to visit and the radiation is low.

During your trip, you will see numerous places in the zone, including the power plant itself. But the biggest highlight is the abandoned town of Pripyat. When the disaster happened it was one of the most modern cities in the former USSR, but now nature has taken over the place.

Keep in mind that even if the Chernobyl zone is a very touristy and popular place, it is also a place of great tragedy. Make sure to visit the place with respect and follow your guide’s instructions. Still, this is a fascinating place to visit and everyone visiting Ukraine should include a Chernobyl tour in their itinerary .

Catacombs – Paris, France

Contributed by Debbie from World Adventurists

Even the City of Light and Love has a dark history. One of the most fascinating places to visit is the  Catacombs of Paris . The Catacombs have a sad history, full of bones of the unknown. In the 17th century, Paris cemeteries were overflowing so badly that there was no longer space to properly bury their dead. Overflowing graves led to the solution of using the underground tunnels to house the bones.

Approximately six million people have been laid to rest underground. Today the bones are neatly stacked, including some designs made from the bones. At some points there are femurs arranged from the floor almost to the ceiling, with rows of skulls in between, or formed into shapes like a cross.

Visiting the Catacombs, it will make you really wonder what their lives were like back then, who they were, and the cause of each death. It is very humbling.

The Catacombs of Paris are extremely popular. It is more expensive, but to skip the line, you will want to buy your ticket in advance . It can also get chilly down there, so bring a light sweater with you. Allow for at least an hour and a half to wander the Catacombs once you are inside.

Lenin Mausoleum – Moscow, Russia

Contributed by De Wet & Jin, Museum of Wander

In the center of the Red Square in Moscow is a somewhat inconspicuous structure which reminds somewhat of a pyramid. But the long line of Russians and tourists is a giveaway that it is one of the most popular  things to do in Moscow .

Inside this step pyramid is where the embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin is on display. Everyone is welcome to visit and pay their respects, or simply come and look at the former Soviet leader for bragging rights.

Visitors to Lenin’s Mausoleum visitors are first searched by military personnel, and bags (and cameras) have to be deposited. There are also a few strictly enforced rules while inside the mausoleum: no talking, hands out of your pockets, no hats and the line must keep moving at all times. Disobey, and a Russian soldier will reprimand you.

The atmosphere as well as the temperature inside the mausoleum is chilling. The line moves quite slowly, so you’ll get a good look at Lenin’s body, which has been on display here for almost a hundred years.

The mausoleum is free to enter and open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10:00–13:00. Behind the mausoleum is the gravesite of former Soviet ruler, Joseph Stalin, another interesting place to see.

Tianenmen Square – Beijing, China

Dark tourism sites don’t come more secretive than that of one of the world’s biggest massacres in recent history. Tianenmen Square, the public square in China’s capital, Beijing . While most visitors to China will have heard of the Tianenmen Square Massacre, the event is so censored within China that many people don’t know the full extent of it.

In 1989 students led a 6 week long protest after the death of a pro-reform official from the Communist Party of China. The fear was that the country would fall into economic decline and that the corruption in place would become worse. As the protests continued the military were brought in and things quickly got out of hand.

There are varying reports of anywhere from 300-3000 deaths of the tens of thousands of people who protested. While the square is peaceful now, there is always a high security presence as well as airport-style check points.

The square is used for many important national celebrations and Chairman Mao Zedong announced the founding of the People’s Republic of China here in 1949. His embalmed body is now on display in a mausoleum there.

Other than that there’s not a lot happening in the square now. However, the Imperial Palace (also known as the Forbidden City) is across from Tianenmen and is an impressive place to visit.

Bodie ghost town, California USA

Contributed by Olivia from Girl With Blue Sails

Bodie State Historic Park, once a booming California gold town, is now a notorious ghost town. It sits in a memorialized state of “arrested decay” with dilapidated buildings preserved in their state of abandonment from the late 1800’s. Walking down the dusty, dirt roads of Bodie invokes a bit of a dark appreciation and wonder about what happened to the people that lived here. 

Visitors can walk through the main streets of the town, seeing the various houses, stores, and saloons. Canned goods still on store shelves, original newspapers in the buildings, and old wooden pews still in the church. There are old forgotten cars in the grass, rusting and being overgrown by nature.  

Bodie is most popular with history buffs, photographers, and those who love to visit dark tourism sites. Plan your trip to Bodie in the morning to avoid the peak desert heat. While walking through Bodie can be a grim experience, it also provides a unique and realistic glimpse of 1800s California mining life.  

Choeung Ek Killing Fields – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Contributed by Tasha Amy from Backpackers Wanderlust

The Killing Fields, also known as Choeung Ek Geocidal Centre, is located just a short 17 kilometer journey from Phnom Penh city center . This closeness is important considering the horrible events which occurred here between 1975 and 1979.

During this period, Cambodia was run by the Khmer Rouge Regime communist party who arrested and executed anyone they saw as a threat. This included people with education, opposing beliefs, or anyone who stood up for what was right.

Quite a few foreigners even got executed after accidentally stumbling upon Cambodia during this period. Children were trained as soldiers and those who were disobedient were killed. For a greater understanding of life under the direction of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot watch the film First They Killed My Father .

The Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh is just one of many locations across the country. Though this one is the most known due to the fact of the horrible acts performed here.

You can book a tour or visit by tuk tuk. The tuk tuk ride for the day should cost you around $12.00. Once at the Killing Fields make sure you hire the audio guide for the stories of those who lived through these events.

Nazi Rally Grounds – Nuremberg, Germany

Contributed by LeAnna from Wander In Germany

It’s no secret that Germany is riddled with a dark, difficult, and oppressing past.  However, decades after WWII, the country does a phenomenal job of walking the fine line between erasing the atrocities and showing respect as well as raising awareness of exactly just what happened. 

One such place is the unfinished Nazi Rally Grounds in  Nuremberg . These huge grounds were Hitler’s vision for an enormous epi-center and headquarters for the Third Reich. 

Walking around the lake at the site, it’s almost easy to not realize exactly what you are standing on. However, on the grounds is the Nazi Dokumentation Zentrum. Here you can see all the blueprints and plans for the grand scheme Hitler envisioned. It makes walking the grounds that much more realistic. 

The museum does an exceptional job of showing exactly how a man with such polarizing, disgusting, racist views could enchant not only an entire nation, but take over much of Europe.  

While in Germany, doing any sort of Nazi salute or tribute in public is illegal.  Therefore, this site is not flocked to by Neo Nazis, but instead is seen as a place of learning from the past. 

Guanajuato Mummy Museum – Mexico

Contributed by Shelley from Travel Mexico Solo

The Museo de las Momias (Museum of the Mummies) is one of the most popular places to visit, and  best things to do in Guanajuato City, Mexico . 

One of the most famous of Mexico’s dark tourism sites has about 100 mummified human bodies on display, in both glass cases and in the open. Most of the bodies are from older adults, but the museum also claims to have the “world’s smallest mummy” of an approximately nine-month-old child.

While not for everyone, it is the most visited place in Guanajuato City . When visiting, you’ll notice Mexican families with children of all ages. In Mexico, death is a much less taboo subject than in other countries — evidenced by annual festivals like Día de Muretos (Day of the Dead).

The story of the mummies is as fascinating (and bizarre) as seeing them in person. Between 1865-1958, Guanajuato’s government decided to start collecting a “grave tax” on buried bodies. If left unpaid by the living relatives for three years, the body was exhumed.

Located in arid Central Mexico, Guanajuato has extremely dry soil and the bodies came out of the ground incredibly well preserved. When the government ended the grave tax in 1958, they had so many mummified bodies that they created this museum.

House of Terror – Budapest, Hungary

Contributed by Marco from Nomadic Fire

Budapest is popular with both tourists and expats for stunning architecture, gorgeous scenery along the Danube river, and affordable cost of living . The city is also home to the infamous museum: the House of Terror.

This museum juxtaposes two of the cruelest regimes of the 20th century: Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Fittingly located in a building that was once the headquarters of both the Nazi and Communist secret police, the museum is an important reminder of both the crimes perpetrated by those regimes and their victims’ courage and resistance. 

Stepping into the House of Terror transports visitors back to a terrifying time in Europe’s history. The museum’s artifacts include personal items confiscated by the secret police. It also tells stories such as a family’s desperate attempt to hide a young boy and baby girl from the Nazis during the Holocaust. Although now a museum, many rooms remain exactly as they were when the headquarters were operational. This includes prison cells, rooms filled with torture devices, and a guillotine scale model.

You can spend anywhere from 45 minutes to a few hours wandering around this well-curated museum. Through exhibits of movie posters, photos, and re-created scenes.

9/11 Memorial and Museum – New York City, USA

One of the most emotional activities on a trip to New York is visiting the 9/11 museum. Built below the original location of the Twin Towers, the World Trade Center site of the 2001 disaster. Entering the museum from the street level, you descend past the twisted metal remains of the massive steel beams that once held the tower up.

The museum is a somber place which stirs up a lot of raw feelings from anyone who visits. It guides you on a journey from the history of the WTC towers to a timeline of the events of that morning.

With witness testimonials, photographs and messages left by those who didn’t make it, the museum is very hard to experience. But the exhibits also talk about what has happened since, what they have learned and why this site is so important. Outdoors, the footprints of the original towers have now been turned into two giant pools. The name of every single victim is engraved around them.

Did you know that white roses are placed at the name of any victim whose birthday it would have been that day? As dark tourism sites go, this one is especially somber given how recently the event took place. But it’s well worth a visit if you’re in New York .

Imperial Crypt – Vienna, Austria

Contributed by Martina & Jürgen from PlacesofJuma

A really cool spot and interesting dark tourism site not to be missed on any visit to Vienna is the Imperial Crypt. It is a real insider tip among  Vienna’s best attractions  and a visit is an eerie experience.

The Imperial Crypt is the final resting place of many of the most famous Habsburgs from Europe. Hidden under the Capuchin Church, it can be visited on a guided tour daily from 10:00 to 18:00.

The crypt is the final resting place of 150 members of the Habsburgs. Among the most famous are Emperor Franz Joseph I, Empress Sisi and Crown Prince Rudolf and Maria Theresa. Walking through the ten dark rooms of the imperial crypt, you travel through a 400-year-long stylistic epoch. You’ll see richly decorated coffins are sometimes even adorned with skulls.

The Habsburgs were preoccupied with their death and therefore had the sarcophagus made according to their wishes. Why not take a tour where you will get lots of information about the funeral rituals?

Auschwitz Concentration Camp – Poland

Contributed by Sean from LivingOutLau

Auschwitz is arguably one of the most tragic sites in the entire world. It was the largest of many German Nazi concentration camp and extermination center in World War II. Over 1.1 million men, women, and children, mostly Jews, lost their lives here. The collective genocide of WWII, known as the Holocaust, is one of the most horrific events in human history.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is now a site where visitors can learn more about how the events unfolded, living conditions, defenses that were set up to prevent the captives from escaping and more.

Auschwitz is more than just a popular attraction in Poland; it is a place where visitors can understand human nature. Auschwitz is the standing testimony of the terror that humans can do to each other. It warns out what happens when an ethnic group is dehumanized. A visit to Auschwitz is solemn and eye-opening.

The best way to visit Auschwitz is to take a tour from Krakow , the nearest touristy city from Auschwitz. As part of your Krakow itinerary , don’t forget to book your tour as early as possible. There are multiple languages you can choose to have the tour in and the English-speaking tours are always the first ones to run out!

Visiting popular dark tourism sites

There’s no denying that visiting many of these dark tourism sites around the world is uncomfortable. The atrocities that happened there or the stories they tell are often unfathomable. But dark tourism sites are just as important as any museum or regular attraction.

Whether or not you want to visit any (or all) of the sites on this post, you have to agree that they are truly fascinating. As long as you have good reasons for wanting to visit, and a respectful attitude towards them you will be welcomed.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Which of these dark tourism sites are you most interested in visiting to learn more about?

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37 thoughts on “20 Unique Dark Tourism Sites Around The World”

I really appreciate this post and how you emphasized that respect is key. I so agree! I think visiting these places can be very powerful and very educational. I’ve visited four on this list, as well as a few others not mentioned, and am so grateful for those experiences to learn more and witness humanity’s dark history.

Absolutely love the unique concept of this post. I especially appreciated how you included the section on mindfulness and respect. Hope to pay many of these places a visit.

this was a great post… and while these sites aren’t for everyone, i think it’s important to connect with ‘dark’ parts of the past, so we don’t repeat those same mistakes.

It is very rare to come across such posts. I absolutely loved the concept. Keep up the awesome work.

This is such an interesting guide! I have been to a few of these places and I’ve also visited some older prisons around the world that have a dark past to them. I definitely have to visit some of these in the future. Especially the ones in Europe!

This is one of the most unique posts I’ve seen in a while! I honestly haven’t been to most of the places on this list, but I’m bookmarking it for later.

I have visited a number if these sites but never heard of the them, ‘dark tourism’ before. I can understand how the term has come about. I always leave these sites very reflective. There’s no denying they have an enormous impact on me. I have pinned the post because, in my opinion, ‘dark tourisn’ is an important aspect of world travel.

I have been to a few of them and wrote about the profound realizations I went through. Thanks for sharing a thought-provoking post.

I love how you mentioned the importance of respect when visiting these places. These places really make you think! It’s important to not forget the ‘dark’ parts of history so it doesn’t happen again.

I definitely find places that would class as ‘dark tourism’ interesting. Although to be fair, we very rarely remember the ‘good’ and ‘peaceful parts of history so I think most places could be considered ‘dark’ in one way or another! I’ve only visited Alcatraz from the places on this list but it was definitely a fascinating place and I’d love to go back. I’d like to visit the catacombs in Paris too. There’s also a lot on this list that I haven’t heard of before but I’d definitely love to check them out. Thanks for the great guide!

This list is very important given the history of these places! It’s also interesting to note the different feelings at each of them. I haven’t been to every single one, but Auschwitz, Alcatraz, 9/11, the House of Terror, Catacombs, and Gravensteen Castle (wow, I didn’t realize how many I had been to) but all of them were so uniquely dark. I think Auschwitz was my most striking and moving, though.

This is such an interesting post. It’s so heartbreaking to read through some of the dark things that have happened around the world. I believe it’s important that we visit these places to pay our respects and remember the people whose lives were drastically impacted by these places. I appreciated how you emphasized the importance of showing respect at these places. Thank you for sharing this post!

You can learn so much at these dark tourism sites. The 911 memorial has moved me to tears. I’m not sure I could visit the mummy museum.

I’ve been to Alcatraz and the Catacombs, but it was interesting to discover some new ideas from this list. And yes, mindfulness and respect are so important, particularly for several entries on the list.

As a historian I’m interested in visiting these sites, although we’ve skipped them the last years, since we found our son to young for them. I’ve been to 2 of the sites mentioned.

What a great list of dark tourism places to visit! I’ve been to many of these such as Alcatraz, Bodie, Ghent and 9/11 memorial. I’d love to visit Chernobyl and the catacombs in Paris.

What an interesting article and list of places to visit. I’ve visited a few on this list and I agree with you, visiting these places can be very educational, but we need to be respectful.

What a great post. Yes, I have been to a few of these dark tourist sites and am now adding a few more to my bucket list.

What an utterly informative and sobering post. I visited the Killing Fields in Cambodia back in 2013 but today still hold it so close to my heart.

Lenin’s Mausoleum was a surreal experience to say the least. No stopping, no taking photos, only getting a quick glance at Lenin before being ushered out. Auschwitz was another one that was really eye opening for me and a unique although sad experience.

What a fascinating post! I have never visited any of those sites other than the World Trade Center site in NYC. I would be interested in seeing several of them. sites like that are so educational and bring history to the forefront.

Thank you for this important post. I think sites of dark tourism are important for exposing atrocities of the past for many reasons. They allow us to pay tribute to those who have suffered, but more importantly, hopefully they instil in visitors the importance of playing a role in ensuring that history isn’t repeated.

I’m not sure that ‘penal tourism’ (sites such as Alcatraz and Eastern State Penitentiary) need to be included in the category of ‘dark tourism.’ My visits to S-21 and Cheoung Ek in Cambodia can’t be equated to the failings of a penal system. My visits to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Dachau in Germany, or Auschwitz in Poland can’t be compared to Alcatraz.

‘Dark tourism’ and ‘penal tourism’ are important, but… separate.

Thank you for bringing attention to this issue.

that’s a fair point, and I’m in no way comparing one of these places to another, but understand that many people also have different levels of comfort in where they might want to visit so wanted to include a wide range of places. There are certain sites (like the ones you mentioned) that are always going to be the worst of the worst with regards to history. Thanks for reading

Very cool article! Haven’t seen many like this one. I’m actually in Tasmania right now!!

I have not done a lot of tourist type things alone, but one was Alcatraz. Fascinating experience walking that prison by myself and the audio tour.

I love this! I really want to try dark tourism after I saw “Dark Tourist” on Netflix! I totally agree with you, visiting these sites is very educational and an eye opener. And yes, respect is the key. It applies to everywhere we go! I will definitely save this for my future travels! 🙂

This is an interesting list. We’ve visited some already – like the catacombs in Paris. And some – like Tschernobyl are on our bucketlist!

Great compilation! There are so many places to go for dark tourism. And I know I can’t brave to most of them. I guess I can do it with museums. Opss how I missed the Crypt museum in Vienna!

What an interesting and informative article. I’ve been to a few of these sites, as well as a few more that didn’t make your list. I think that travelling is learning- and it’s important to visit places such as these to honour, respect and learn from our past.

In a way, I am really into some aspects of dark tourism, I love things that are creepy or have a ghost story behind it. I did find a few spots on this list that interest me such as the castle in Belgium. Looks beautiful and with an interesting story!

Dark tourism is no doubt not everyone’s cuppa tea. Travel ushers understanding and these sites may serve as monuments that will remind humanity about life itself and not taking the same dark path twice.

Great post Emma, I love visiting places like these (or, in some cases, “love” would definitely not be the appropriate word, but I think they’re important to visit). The hardest place I’ve ever visited is the Killing Fields in Cambodia. Horrendous. The genocide museum in Sarajevo in Bosnia was hard-hitting too. I’d be really interested to visit that KGB museum in Latvia!

Very good topic and original. i agree in most of the places listed, indeed most of them are scenario of some of the darkest moments of humanitty. I have only one thing that I don’t understand by you choose to put Lenin Mausoleum? Independently of the personal believes of rach one, Lenin led the biggest and most sucessul revolution in history . Poeple can like it more or less but I don’t how his resting place is part of dark tourist places….If would be Stalin inside ok, but this one i don’t get it. Great work overall, I am argentinian and I really appreciate that you brought-up the story of Potosi…. Well done! Looking forward for your next post!

Thanks for reading. For this one it’s also more about the fact that you can visit the body of Lenin and that it is on display as dark tourism is focused around often morbid places. There are a few countries that have former leaders on display – Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, Chairman Mao in China – and I think the idea of visiting one of these places to see an embalmed body on display is a little dark in itself

Got your point! You know that is the same guy who embalmed Lenin and Ho Chi Minh? 😁

Great post! Especially seeing these are all easily accessible, no trespassing required. I have only been to a few, but I really recommend the Nuremberg Ralley Ground and the adjacent museum. Few people visit, and it is quite eerie. Also, the 1936 Olympic Village in Berlin which is similar architecture to Nuremberg rallye grounds, it was really abandoned a few years ago, I think more touristic now.

Have definitely been to a few dark tourist sites but Chernobyl has been on my list for ages now!

One of the most eye opening museums was the Anne Frank in Amsterdam but definitely want to keep visiting some new ones.

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