1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,600 There are places in this world that you will probably never see. 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:08,060 Sometimes that's a good thing, as they might be controlled by insane dictators who will 3 00:00:08,060 --> 00:00:10,720 detain you just for straying from your tour group. 4 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,760 Other places are so remote that you practically have to swim across an entire ocean to get 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:15,760 there. 6 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,640 Just as a disclaimer, the passport you hold determines the degree of difficulty to which 7 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,560 you will face when traveling to different parts of the world. 8 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:26,480 For example, people with a Japanese or Singaporean passport tend to have a much easier time securing 9 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:28,440 visas than most other countries. 10 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,560 If you're a United States passport holder, you might have a more difficult time entering 11 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:37,120 some countries like North Korea, Iran, and Turkmenistan than someone with a Chinese or 12 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:38,760 Russian passport. 13 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,840 Sometimes you need to be invited to certain countries, and other times your own government 14 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,520 might not let you travel to a certain region. 15 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:50,000 Traveling to Russia for a vacation from the US or any European country right now is all 16 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,440 but impossible due to the current conflict. 17 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:56,320 Flights into Russia from around the world have all but come to a stop because of the 18 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:57,320 war. 19 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:05,160 Surprisingly, Russia is not the most challenging place to travel to. 20 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:07,940 Tan is landlocked between China and India. 21 00:01:07,940 --> 00:01:12,320 The country itself lies in the Himalayan mountains, and the only way travelers can enter is by 22 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:15,160 taking a terrifying flight through the mountains. 23 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,280 In order to land, the pilot has to quickly drop in altitude as there's not much room 24 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:20,280 to work with. 25 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:25,680 The airport is over 7,000 feet above sea level, which is nothing compared to the 16,000 foot 26 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:27,220 peaks that surround it. 27 00:01:27,220 --> 00:01:31,300 All pilots who fly the route are specially trained for the flight into Bhutan, as it's 28 00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:33,860 unlike anywhere else in the entire world. 29 00:01:33,860 --> 00:01:37,720 Only a handful of people successfully pass the test and are allowed to fly passengers 30 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:38,900 into the country. 31 00:01:38,900 --> 00:01:42,580 But it's not the dangerous flight that makes Bhutan so difficult to travel to. 32 00:01:42,580 --> 00:01:47,100 It's the strict regulations the government places on tourism to protect the country's 33 00:01:47,100 --> 00:01:48,500 pristine environment. 34 00:01:48,500 --> 00:01:53,220 You must purchase a pre-paid tour package that the government has approved to visit 35 00:01:53,220 --> 00:01:54,220 the country. 36 00:01:54,220 --> 00:01:58,880 The bad news is, these tours are not cheap, and the Bhutan government does not care. 37 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:03,020 Their stance is that they would rather have less tourism coming in and keep the environment 38 00:02:03,020 --> 00:02:06,540 protected than allow more people to visit just to make more profit. 39 00:02:06,540 --> 00:02:10,580 There's also a fee of around $200 a day to be in the country. 40 00:02:10,580 --> 00:02:19,020 This money is used to help pay for restorations and environmental protections. 41 00:02:19,020 --> 00:02:23,860 Though Bhutan might be an island in the mountains, there are actual islands so remote that traveling 42 00:02:23,860 --> 00:02:25,900 to them is next to impossible. 43 00:02:25,900 --> 00:02:30,000 Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited island in the Atlantic Ocean. 44 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,620 It sits 1,750 miles west of South Africa and 2,000 miles east of South America. 45 00:02:35,620 --> 00:02:39,460 The government does not actively impede people from coming to Tristan da Cunha, but there 46 00:02:39,460 --> 00:02:42,100 just aren't a lot of travel options to get there. 47 00:02:42,100 --> 00:02:45,580 In fact, the country's official website seems to want to deter people from visiting 48 00:02:45,580 --> 00:02:46,580 as they state, 49 00:02:46,580 --> 00:02:51,260 "...there are no package tours for independent travelers, no hotels, no airport, no holiday 50 00:02:51,260 --> 00:02:55,420 preps, no nightclubs, no restaurants, no jet skis, nor safe sea swimming." 51 00:02:55,420 --> 00:02:59,700 And for an island where there's nothing to do, traveling there can be incredibly expensive 52 00:02:59,700 --> 00:03:01,020 and time-consuming. 53 00:03:01,020 --> 00:03:04,860 There are no airports, so the only way to reach Tristan da Cunha is by ship. 54 00:03:04,860 --> 00:03:08,420 Unfortunately, there are only around 10 sailings to the island every year. 55 00:03:08,420 --> 00:03:11,800 If you're trying to travel to this remote part of the world, you also need to receive 56 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,700 clearance from the Island Council, which can take 40 days or longer. 57 00:03:15,700 --> 00:03:19,020 Between getting permissions, finding a ship, going to the island, booking a place on the 58 00:03:19,020 --> 00:03:28,540 ship, and then finding a place to stay, traveling to Tristan da Cunha is next to impossible. 59 00:03:28,540 --> 00:03:31,420 North Korea is not the most welcoming country for many. 60 00:03:31,420 --> 00:03:35,220 In fact, citizens of some nations like South Korea or the United States are not allowed 61 00:03:35,220 --> 00:03:38,660 to visit except for some special circumstances. 62 00:03:38,660 --> 00:03:43,260 Like for example, if you're the former NBA star Dennis Rodman and have become best friends 63 00:03:43,260 --> 00:03:44,520 with the Supreme Leader. 64 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,220 The government controls everything in the country, including what is seen and not seen 65 00:03:48,220 --> 00:03:49,220 by visitors. 66 00:03:49,220 --> 00:03:53,100 If you somehow manage to secure passage into the country, you will not be allowed to explore 67 00:03:53,100 --> 00:03:54,100 on your own. 68 00:03:54,100 --> 00:03:57,980 All tourists must be accompanied by a guide provided by the North Korean government. 69 00:03:57,980 --> 00:04:01,900 You're not allowed to wander off, and you most certainly are not allowed to talk to 70 00:04:01,900 --> 00:04:04,060 anyone other than the people on the tour. 71 00:04:04,060 --> 00:04:08,220 The only flights into North Korea are from Beijing, so travelers must first secure a 72 00:04:08,220 --> 00:04:09,620 flight to China. 73 00:04:09,620 --> 00:04:13,820 Once there, you must secure a visa from the North Korean embassy before getting on a flight 74 00:04:13,820 --> 00:04:15,000 into the country. 75 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,120 The embassy will have to conduct a thorough background check before granting your visa, 76 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,640 which could take weeks or even months. 77 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:26,280 And even if you secure all the necessary documentation, there is no guarantee you'll be allowed on 78 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:27,880 the flight to North Korea. 79 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,040 Things can change at a moment's notice. 80 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:34,360 Getting into North Korea is incredibly difficult, but the scariest part is that getting out 81 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:35,820 can be even harder. 82 00:04:35,820 --> 00:04:39,880 If a traveler is detained for any reason, it's highly unlikely they will be released 83 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:44,820 unless strenuous negotiations take place between North Korean government and their home country. 84 00:04:44,820 --> 00:04:49,420 This can last for years, which means a vacation could quickly turn into a North Korean prison 85 00:04:49,420 --> 00:04:50,420 sentence. 86 00:04:50,420 --> 00:04:58,940 So, it's probably best that it's difficult to enter the hermit kingdom. 87 00:04:58,940 --> 00:05:02,420 North Sentinel Island sits off the coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. 88 00:05:02,420 --> 00:05:06,740 The only way to get to the island is by chartering a boat, but most captains will refuse your 89 00:05:06,740 --> 00:05:07,740 request. 90 00:05:07,740 --> 00:05:11,860 Even though North Sentinel Island is inhabited, there are no ferries or planes that go to 91 00:05:11,860 --> 00:05:14,500 the island, and the reason why will shock you. 92 00:05:15,180 --> 00:05:19,300 The island itself is surrounded by razor-sharp reefs that make approaching it difficult. 93 00:05:19,300 --> 00:05:22,700 But even more dangerous are the Sentinelese people living there. 94 00:05:22,700 --> 00:05:26,620 This might be one of the last uncontacted groups of people on the entire planet. 95 00:05:26,620 --> 00:05:31,060 They have had interactions with the outside world, but none of them were very pleasant. 96 00:05:31,060 --> 00:05:34,620 There are accounts of shipwrecked sailors in the past who were welcomed to the island 97 00:05:34,620 --> 00:05:36,460 but took advantage of the situation. 98 00:05:36,460 --> 00:05:40,340 They abused the island's resources and people which led to the Sentinelese running them 99 00:05:40,340 --> 00:05:41,340 off the island. 100 00:05:41,420 --> 00:05:45,940 However, not everyone made it off alive, and this would not be the only time that the inhabitants 101 00:05:45,940 --> 00:05:48,220 of North Sentinel Island killed visitors. 102 00:05:48,220 --> 00:05:52,260 If you could get to the island, you would be threatened the moment you stepped on shore. 103 00:05:52,260 --> 00:05:56,940 In 2011, it's believed that somewhere between 80 and 150 people were living on North Sentinel 104 00:05:56,940 --> 00:05:57,940 Island. 105 00:05:57,940 --> 00:06:01,260 However, these estimates might be low, and some think there are around 500 inhabitants 106 00:06:01,260 --> 00:06:02,340 on the island. 107 00:06:02,340 --> 00:06:07,300 Either way, when an American evangelical missionary named John Allen Chow stepped foot on North 108 00:06:07,300 --> 00:06:11,940 Sentinel Island to try to convert their population to Christianity, he was met with hostility. 109 00:06:11,940 --> 00:06:14,940 Chow was driven off the island twice by the Sentinelese. 110 00:06:14,940 --> 00:06:17,500 He returned a third time and wasn't so lucky. 111 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:21,020 It's believed that the Sentinelese people killed John Allen Chow as they did with the 112 00:06:21,020 --> 00:06:22,860 others who visited the island. 113 00:06:22,860 --> 00:06:26,780 North Sentinel Island is the only place in the world that is not only hard to get to, 114 00:06:26,780 --> 00:06:29,960 but the inhabitants will actively threaten and even kill you. 115 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,460 This is why it may be the most difficult place to travel to on the entire planet.