12 Most Restricted Places On Earth

12. Lascaux Caves, Southwest FranceFor history buffs, it would be an absolute dream come true to see the way of life of people who lived thousands of years ago. It’s a disappointment to many then, that the Lascaux Caves in Southwest France is on the restricted places list.

11. Admax, Florence, ColoradoMaximum security prisons are the most depressing kind because the prisoners are virtually barred from the outside world. Such is the case for Admax (Administrative Maximum Security), located in Florence, Colorado.

10. Area 51, Groom Lake, NevadaThis list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the notorious Area 51 outside Las Vegas in Nevada. This military base has been serving whatever mysterious purposes it has for the US government since the 1950s and to this day, no one is completely sure what exactly it’s used for.

9. White House Situation Room, Washington DCThe only time we’ll see any action happening in the White House Situation room is in political or military-themed TV shows and movies. Otherwise, it’s closed off to the world.

8. Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Spitsbergen, NorwayEver wondered what would happen if, by some natural calamity or earth-shattering warfare, the world runs out of natural resources and a famine ensues? Well, Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway is apparently the solution.

7. Ise Grand Shrine, Ise JapanThough Japan is thoroughly modern, it still has a firm grasp of its cultural and religious roots. One testament to this hold is the existence of Ise Grand Shrine, which is said to date back to 4 B.C.

6. Metro-2, Moscow, RussiaA place that may or may not actually exist is all the more intriguing. One such example is Metro-2 in Moscow, a rumored subway system in the city’s underground.

5. Mount Weather, VirginiaIn answer to the Sputnik satellite launched by the Soviet Union in the 1950s, the US built the Mount Weather Operations Center in Virginia, a few miles away from the nation’s capital.

4. Coca-Cola’s Recipe Vault, GeorgiaIt’s but natural that the biggest soda manufacturer in the world would keep its recipe safely under lock and key. And this is why Coca-Cola has its very own recipe vault in Georgia.

3. North Sentinel Island, Andaman Islands, Bay of BengalBelieve it or not, there are still tribes of people out there who are almost completely cut off from the outside world, preferring to live and breed among themselves and are totally averse to change. Such is the case for the Sentinelese, who hail from the North Sentinel Island along the Bay of Bengal.

2. Vatican Secret Archives, Vatican, ItalyThose who are familiar with Dan Brown’s novel, Angels and Demons know that the Vatican has a secret archive and that it’s restricted to the public, unless your name is Robert Langdon, the book’s protagonist.

1. Room 39, Pyongyang, North KoreaNorth Korea arguably tops the list of most restricted places. And you won’t get any more restricted than Room 39, said to be located in the ruling Workers’ Party building in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.