Exotic Places to Visit that feel like they're from another World

If you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered at least once how cool it would be to go to a different planet. Our imaginations spurred on by cinema, games, and books, we can’t help but picture far off exotic worlds with landscapes the likes of which you could never find anywhere on Earth.

The unfortunate reality is that many planets are boring chunks of rock or ice with little to note beyond their obscene temperatures, and the rest of the planets in our solar systems are gas giants you couldn’t really land on anyway. The good news is that there are actually lots of places here on Earth you can visit that look more alien than anywhere in our solar system. Granted, you’d have to book a fairly expensive flight to reach these sightseeing wonders, but hey; bucket list.

The Marble Caves of Chile

Eager to visit an icy realm of reflective crystal and azure wonders? The Marble Caves of Chile are an extensive network of tunnels that have been carved straight into a peninsula of solid marble due to thousands of years of wave erosion. Even cooler? These caves exist within a glacial lake spanning the border between Chile and Argentina, and the big chunk of hollowed rock looks just as alien as the caves under it. Plus, you get to enjoy the entire experience while riding in a boat, and who doesn’t like that?

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Have you ever wondered what it would look like to stand on a giant mirror? To feel as though the sky were both above you and below you? That’s the exact experience you get at Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world at four thousand square miles. Admittedly, it might not be much too look at under normal circumstances; just a whole lot of salt spread over a whole lot of space. But when it rains, the entire four thousand square foot salt flat becomes one, giant mirror. Combined with the stalwart mountains that surround it, visiting Salar de Uyuni after a good rain is essentially an out-of-body experience.

The Door to Hell, Turkmenistan

It’s not very difficult to understand why The Door to Hell is named as it is. This huge hole in the ground is two hundred and twenty-six feet wide and was the site of a Soviet drilling operation in 1971. That is, until it accidentally drilled into a huge cavern of natural gas, plummeted to its demise, and lit the entire site on fire. That same fire still burns today, presenting a massive hole in the earth that’s constantly been aflame for decades. Never has a hole been so aptly named, nor has one been quite so unsettling.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves, New Zealand

No alien landscape would be complete without equally alien creatures, right? Unfortunately the little critters that inhabit the Waitomo Glowworm Caves of New Zealand are not aliens, but for how exotic they are they may as well be. Thousands of these bugs reside on the ceilings of the Waitomo Caves, with their numbers so dense in many places that flashlights and matches aren’t even necessary. Bathing the caves in gentle blue light, it’s truly a unique experience to explore a cave lit almost entirely by bioluminescence. Of course, these glowworms might fall from the ceiling from time to time, but that’s really just part of the experience, wouldn’t you say?