Fear and travel pair together a lot—but I’m not just talking about a moment of turbulence on an international flight or realizing you’re suddenly missing a $20 bill.
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I’m talking about travelers who purposefully seek out fear.
Maybe you’re into learning about the darker sides of history at landmarks and museums associated with humanity’s toughest hours. Maybe you’re willing to drive on a risky, scary road to reach your destination. Maybe you’re coming face-to-face with a never-before-seen cultural creature like Krampus.
Or maybe you’re actively looking for the scariest, adrenaline-pumping experiences in the world, from bungee jumping in New Zealand to Nile River rafting in Uganda. In reality, these types of adrenaline-pumping adventures aren’t new; remember when people used to throw themselves off Niagara Falls in wooden barrels?
Clearly, humans are wooed by many dangerous activities.
But what about international and far-flung destinations that bring in travelers solely for the promise of a dangerous, unforgettable, and rewarding survival experience? Where are they found, and what makes them so lethal?
Below are the most popular spots on earth where daredevil travelers like to tempt fate. I’m starting off with two of the most well-known adrenaline-inducing destinations and the types of dangerous tourist experiences they offer.
Most popular and dangerous tourist experiences for daredevils
Devil’s Pool at Victoria Falls
You’ve likely heard of and seen pictures of this natural pool that abuts the edge of Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls is the world’s most powerful waterfall, which makes it a much grander (and more terrifying) experience than visiting Niagara Falls, for example.
Devil’s Pool is only open from August to January, when the Zambezi River water levels are just right. It’s considered safe to visit so long as you’re with an experienced local guide. Reports on the total number of deaths at Devil’s Pool are unclear.
However, it’s likely that the rock lip that protects swimmers from going over the ledge will eventually erode, making Devil’s Pool something more like Devil’s Dropoff.
Diving with great white sharks in South Africa & Australia
Diving with great white sharks is a popular pastime around the world. I have an insane update for anyone who has dreamed of swimming with great white sharks off the coast of Cape Town in Gansbaai.
Apparently, the orcas have developed a taste for great white shark liver and are hunting them out of the area, so you might not actually find a great white willing to nibble at your underwater cage.
Instead, you might want to head to Australia’s southern coast, another area rich in great white activity. Neptune Islands in South Australia are one of the most reliable places where you can put yourself in biting range of a great white. Some companies even let children go shark diving, in case you want to bring your little one.
Visiting Pripyat, the blast site of Chernobyl
Why visit the world’s most radioactive site? I can’t even guess at a motivation aside from hearing the call of dark tourism. Since 2011, travelers have been able to visit the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a safe area that rims the main disaster site.
Given that radioactive isotopes should have reached their half-life by 2011, the visit should be fine. Still, visitors aren’t encouraged to stay for long periods of time, and scientists have no proof that short periods of exposure won’t adversely affect your health.
Ultramarathons in places like the Sahara
I can’t fathom what would motivate me to run even a half-marathon, nonetheless pack up my gear and travel across the world to run an extreme marathon. But extreme marathons are absolutely a thing, and they take runners to some of the world’s cruelest environments, tasking them with crossing vast distances with limited supplies.
There’s the Badwater 135, which traverses Death Valley on a 135-mile route. There’s the North Pole Marathon, a standard-length marathon that takes place on a floating ice sheet 12,000 feet above sea level.
And my favorites, the Jungle Marathon that takes you through the Amazon for a 143-mile death race, and the Trans Sahara Marathon, a 93-mile race that tasks you with surviving the world’s largest desert.
The most dangerous tourist experiences by body count
Summiting Mount Everest
Devil’s Pool and shark diving (in cages) officially don’t have a death count, which makes them terrifying, but not especially dangerous. Summiting Mount Everest, on the other hand, will put you in death’s reach (and heaven’s reach, especially if you make it to the peak).
Since 1977, a total of 340 climbers have perished attempting to summit the mountain. Unfortunately, a whopping 200 out of 340 climbers have never been brought down from the mountain due to dangerous conditions. Officially, that makes Mount Everest the most dangerous tourist destination in the world.
Exploring Death Valley
The United States is home to the world’s second-most dangerous tourist destination, Death Valley. With temperatures that hover over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, many visitors underestimate the toll that heat will take on their vehicles and bodies.
Since 2007 alone, 68 visitors have died in Death Valley National Park. Along with motor vehicle accidents, overheating is the most common cause of death. In 2024, six fatalities occurred in the park.
If you’re wondering how people end up lost and compromised in Death Valley, here’s a great podcast episode from Marooned about a German couple who were catastrophically lost in the park.
Running with the bulls in Pamplona
I’m rounding off this list with the grizzliest activity: running with the bulls in Pamplona. Though most runners are locals, some come in from out of town to take the narrow streets and attempt to outrun massive bulls.
The rules dictate that they must be over the age of 18, not be under the influence of alcohol, not incite the bulls, and run in the same direction as the bulls. Since 1910, 16 runners have died, almost all by being gored by bulls.
