Mystery surrounds the Planet Earth. Although science and technology help in reaching or seeing places that people have never seen before, there are still spaces on earth that humans never thought existed or is possible to be created. From the surfaces of the earth alone, there are places that look like portals to the underworld because of its unanticipated depth and exceptionality. Some of these gateways are created by men while others are surprises of nature.

Scroll down to see the 12 Places on Earth that are Thought to be Portals of the Underworld. Read on and make your own remarks whether the surprising spots creep you out or leave you craving for more of what the world has to offer.

Big Hole in Kimberley, South Africa: Hole for Diamonds

The big hole in Kimberley is the largest hand-dug in the world with a depth of 200 m2. Yes, you read it right! Hand-dug because it is claimed that when the thousands of people dug to make this hole, they were armed with nothing but shovels.

This former flat-topped hilled in Kimberley on the province of Northern Cape was known to be the home of diamonds hence the excavation. While interested miners were on the pursuit of the luxurious stones, many mine accidents accordingly occurred due to rock falls, explosives, and rockburst.

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Crater of Mount Yasur, Vanuatu Island: Lighthouse of the Pacific

Located high above the sea level on Tanna Island, Vanuatu, Mount Yasur is an active volcano. It has a height of 1,184 ft. Yasur is also called as the “Lighthouse of the Pacific” due to its regular Strombolian eruptions.

Presently, the mountain is considered as a sacred area for a certain small community. However, there are still tourists on the place while the Vanuatu Government is keeping on track the unstable volcano activities and setting danger zones for public safety.

Going anywhere immediately near the crater is dangerous. Onlookers who go nearby the crater may be exposed to toxic gas and projectiles.

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Great Blue Hole, the Belize Barrier Reef: Called as Diver’s Cemetery

Belize is home to the giant marine sinkhole known as Great Blue Hole. This beautiful hole in the sea remains to be one of the top attractions in the country.

Based on scientific  researches, the great hole was formed in 153,000; 66,000; 60,000; and 15,000 years ago. The cave was then filled with water when the ocean level rose up.

Because of its enormous depth, many divers lost their lives while exploring the reef hence it is called a “Diver’s Cemetery”. Diving into deep water requires diving expertise. Unfortunately, some divers underestimated the blue hole; or overestimated their endurance, or some could be victims of circumstances thus their passing underwater.
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Spillway in a Dam’s Reservoir, Northern California: Impressive Glory Hole

This impressive construction in North Carolina was made 50 years ago. It is known as the largest man-made hole in the world. It is located at the Vaca Mountains in Napa, County, California.

The reservoir looks terrifying, given the heavy flow of water and known deep hole, but undoubtedly beautiful. The dam is also known as Monticello Dam while the spillway is called “Glory Hole”. The spillway cannot be underestimated as it can drain up to 48,400 cubic feet per second, thus, swimming anywhere near it is prohibitive because of the obvious risks.

On February 26, 2019, the reservoir naturally spilled through the hole. That phenomenon was considered as an astounding mix of nature and man-made, although a bit startling.
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The Inverted Tower of Masons, Portugal: Haven through the Ground

Ever wonder of living in a castle just like of those on fairy-tale movies? But, the twist is that the tower is inverted. Well, if you wanted to see this kind of architecture, Portugal has it. This amazing man-made structure to the ground is named “The Inverted Tower of Masons”, part of Quinta da Regaleira estate.

Quinta da Regaleira is a protected landscape located near the historic center of Sintra in Portugal. The best feature of this castle is the mysterious pair of wells spiraling deep through the earth– which is the inverted tower of Masons. There are claims that these underground towers were used for secretive initiation rites.
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Gates of Hell (Darvaza), Turkmenistan: With Orange Flames and Boiling Mud

Have you heard of a cavern of fire- with orange flames and boiling mud? If not, then discover the Darvaza gas crater or also referred to as the “Gates of Hell“.

People were the ones who created the crater situated near the village of Derweze (or Darvaza), Turkmenistan. What caused the continuous blaze was when a natural gas pocket collapsed into the crater. The fire has been burning since 1971. Geologists only intended to initiate the fire to contain the releases of poisonous gases, and expected to mitigate the fire in weeks’ time. However, nobody thought it would still burn for decades already.

The gas reserve found in this unique space of Darvaza is accordingly one of the largest in the world.
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Er Wang Dong, China: Hidden Large Cave

A hidden large cave is located in the Wulong Karst region of Wulong County, China. This cave is called “Er Wang Dong” which means “Second Royal Cave”.

This cave system has just been recently explored. To the surprise of the expert team of climbers and photographers who explored the place, the cave is so large that it has its own weather system. It has an estimated height of 820 ft from the bottom of the cave and area coverage of 51,000 meters.

Not so much is seen from the top because it is dark and the ground is covered with thick foliage, that is why the hidden portal is apparently full of mystery and unknowns. There are also rare species found in the cave such as non-eyed albino fish, among others. No wonder these rock formations are thought to be portals to the underworld.
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Eisriesenwelt, Austria: Enormous Ice Cave

Eisriesenwelt is the largest ice cave in the world and is believed to be a portal to the underworld or passage to hell, based on Austrian folklore. Even so, this mysterious and gigantic cave is amongst Austria’s most popular tourist attractions for decades now.

The ice cave’s name “Eisriesenwelt” is a German term of the word “World of the Ice Giants”. It is located in Werfen, Austria and based on records more than 200,000 tourists per year have visited the place.
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Guatemala City Sinkhole, Guatemala: Hole in the City

Discover this Great Sinkhole in Guatemala. It is a 30-story-deep-hole and 60 feet wide in the middle of the country’s city. Looking at its depth really feels like looking at a way to the underworld. This hole was formed in 2010 although at present a large part of the sinkhole has been filled in to prevent accidents.

Most geologists suggested that broken underground pipes spouting water may have caused the huge hole in Guatemala’s ground. Guatemala is known to have places that just fall to the ground, either because of poor structure or just a test of nature. However, the formation of the City Sinkhole is by far the largest incident recorded.
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Cerro Sarisarinama, Venezuela: Wooded Sinkholes

A table-top mountain known as Cerro Sarisarinama is found in Bolivar State, Venezuela. But this mountain is not just a regular tepui. It has several sinkholes and is profoundly wooded which makes the mountain top distinguishing.

It is located in one of the most remote areas in Venezuela and is inhabited with various species of plants and animals. To add to this, the closest road from the tepui is around a hundred miles away. Such a sight and could really pass as portals to the underworld.
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Mutnovsky Ice Caves, Russia: A Portal of Fire and Ice

Another landform that looks like portals to the underworld is the Mutnovsky Ice Caves located in Kamchatka, Russia. The ice cave was formed through volcanic activity and can also be destroyed by the volcano’s repeated eruption. The last eruption of the volcano happened in 2000.

The cave appears as a distinct natural view and enticing to the eye. It is colorful and way beautiful. If one is brave enough to walk through ice formations, then the sight of natural attractions awaits. There is surely a touch of ice and fire as the ice cave has close proximity to the luminescent volcano crater. This sounds like legitimately a way to the unknown world!
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Patrick’s Well, Orvieto, Italy: Gateway of Water

One of the famous attractions in Orvieto is the St. Patrick’s Well or Pozzo di San Patrizio. This was built in 1527 to 1537. As a piece of history, the well was built when Pope Clement VII, former head of the Catholic Church, took refuge on Orvieto after escaping from Rome’s holy fortress during the Sack of Rome. The well purposely served as a gateway for alternative water supply in case of a siege.

It has a depth of 72 meters and a width of 13 meters. The interesting design of the well which makes it look like portals to the underworld is that it has two staircases that circle the portal’s central opening. This brilliant design could allow one person to travel down the staircase in one direction without bumping into another person coming from the opposite side.

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