Are your friends already talking about their spring break plans? Are they going to “interesting” places like Florida or California or anywhere else that’s on the coast? Fear not, for this article will help you decide where to spend your spring break without being basic! From scenic forests to caves with an abundance of wildlife, this list has got you covered.
1. Hoia Baciu Forest
Called the “Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania,” the Hoia Baciu Forest is the perfect camping spot for people who want a cool story to take home. Oh, your friend tanned on the beach and went to a five-star restaurant? Well, you stayed in a forest that’s rumored to be inhabited by the devil himself. For people who like to be in an area with rich history, the Hoia Baciu Forest is perfect. Strange occurrences in these woods include a shepherd and his two-hundred sheep never being seen again, and a five-year-old girl that went missing and came out five years later wearing the same clothing and not looking any older than she went in as. Additionally, there are many reports of people coming out with burns, severe rashes, headaches, and fevers, none of which they had before entering. This charming quality of the forest’s is likely caused by the natural uranium in the soil, giving the forest a higher than average radioactive level.
2. Isla de la Muñecas
Hey, who doesn’t like dolls? Maybe you don’t, but surely you know someone who does? If so, take them with you on a vacation to the Island of the Dead Dolls, where they have whole dolls and dismembered dolls galore! While your friends vacation in Mexico City, you could be on this little island in a canal a little south of them, viewing the dolls that were put up by one man as tribute for a young girl whose body washed up on the island’s shore.
3. Death Valley
This lovely desert in Eastern California is far from light pollution, making it perfect for star-gazing! While there are many dangers to this valley, such as fatally hot temperatures, black widow spiders, scorpions, rattlesnakes, lack of water, and flash floods, imagine how cool it would be to tell your friends that you camped in the hottest place on earth! Just make sure to bring more water than you think you could possibly need, never put your feet or hands somewhere you can’t see (snakes and spiders!), always check your surroundings to ensure there’s no oncoming flood, and remember you will rarely find a cell signal anywhere in this desert.
4. Gomantong Cave
This huge cave has its own lovely ecosystem, made up of bats, Swiftlets, hairy spiders, huge millipedes and centipedes, cockroaches, snakes, and rats. If you find crunching sounds satisfying, you’re sure to get your fill of them as you walk, constantly stepping on cockroaches. If you’re scared of cockroaches, don’t worry! There are also huge centipedes that eat the cockroaches, so that problem is taken care of for you. And, no matter what time of day you visit, you’re sure to see hundreds of winged creatures at the top, whether it be bats in the day or Swiftlets in the night. Though it smells of bat feces, this cave is sure to win you over with its endearing inhabitants.
5. Madidi National Park
If caves aren’t your thing but you still want a taste of a wonderful ecosystem, Madidi National Park is just the place for you! With flesh-burrowing botflies, screaming birds and bugs, stingrays, toxic moths, and ants with huge pinchers, this forest might have the Gomantong Cave beat for diversity and beauty. Other charming features include man-eating hogs, jaguars, aquatic fungus, toxic leaves, parasitic worms that often find home in visitors’ stomachs, and fatal infections that can be caught through sandflies. Boasting over 1,254 bird species, this is the perfect destination for avid bird-watchers.