Bleak can be beautiful鈥攁t least when Mother Nature聽or mankind聽has gone awry. Taking in the juxtaposition of disfigured trees in a desert, rare聽beasts on a barren island, a house engulfed in lava, or a聽brillant聽white desert used for testing end-of-the-world missiles,聽one is compelled to redefine the concept of beauty. Here are five rare apocalyptic places that will get inside your head, and stay there, long after you鈥檝e returned to pretty civilization.

Hike the Caribbean Pompeii

Montserrat, Caribbean
When the 聽erupted in 1995, it buried two-thirds of this (it鈥檚 just聽ten聽by聽seven聽miles wide), including Plymouth, its former capital. Luckily, most of the people in the affected area were safely evacuated.听Recently, islanders who have relocated to the island鈥檚 unaffected northern side聽have begun offering the zone of destruction.听, on the lush聽northern coast, is a secluded聽jungle retreat of villas, some overlooking the sea, that offers full-day tours ($65) to explore聽places like the abandoned Montserrat Springs Hotel聽and the old airport. Alternatively, get a bird鈥檚-eye view of the devastation on a 听辞谤听. Stick around to try Montserrat鈥檚 excellent diving, hiking, birding, and spearfishing.

Get there: Fly to Antigua, and then take a 20-minute on Montserrat聽or a two-hour in Antigua.听

Explore a Silo of Stark Beauty

White Sands, New Mexico
is the world鈥檚 largest gypsum desert. (Gypsum is聽the mineral used to make chalk.)聽It鈥檚聽275 miles of sand so blindingly white that聽it looks like you could be in Antarctica. The entire area聽was under the sea 100 million years ago,聽but even though the ocean left this place for dead, its apocalyptic reputation stems聽from being the site of the first nuclear bomb test. The explosion occurred on the Trinity Site, 30 miles from Las Cruces, and is open only two days each year: the first Saturday of April (April 5, 2015) and the first Saturday of October (October 3, 2015). The visitor center,聽open six聽days a week聽year-round, has an eerie聽. Since you might need some cheering up after this site, take a 聽(the source of White Sands鈥� 4.5 billion tons of gypsum),聽see fossilized animal footprints at the bottom of Lake Otero,聽or hike the five mile .听

Get there: Fly into Albuquerque and drive 240 straight-shot miles south to Alamogordo, or land聽in nearby聽Las Cruces and drive 30 miles.

Swim in an Asteroid-Impact Zone

Chicxulub, Mexico
The asteroid impact that may have destroyed the dinosaurs 65聽million聽years聽ago is now a network of swimmable caves called cenotes. They鈥檙e peppered throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, but Chicxulub, about a three-hour聽drive west of Cancun, is where scientists believe the occurred. 鈥淗alf of the crater rim is undersea;聽the other half forms the cenotes [sinkholes]聽which we have all over the peninsula,鈥� says Yuanita Stein, editorial director for .聽Base yourself in Cancun (if you can stand the crowds) or stay closer in聽, the Yucatan capital. Pop into the to see a history of the crater, and then dive on in. Just be sure to go with an official guide聽since .听

Get there: , and聽then take a nine-mile聽bus ride聽to 聽or drive west 30 miles to Merida.

See a Polar Bear Sanctuary

Wrangel Island, Russia
Wrangel Island has a curious history. It was one of the only plots of land聽that avoided glaciation during the last Ice Age, and scientists believe this Arctic tundra is聽where the last wooly mammoths roamed. Today聽this 2,900-square-mile聽island 88 miles off the coast of Siberia is a veritable Galapagos of the Arctic, with unusual plants and wildlife, like musk聽ox, Arctic fox, Pacific walrus, snowy owl, and the relatively large polar bear population ().听Only recently opened to tourists鈥攚ho largely come to see the gathering sites of polar bears鈥攖ravelers are otherwise forbidden without proper visas and park passes. Outfitters like facilitate the process,聽but it comes at a price: A聽15-day excursion costs $11,200, excluding flights.听

Get there: Fly 聽direct from Moscow to Anadyr,聽the port to Wrangel Island.听

Camp at the Gates of Hell

Erta Ale, Ethiopia
Erta Ale is as inhospitable to human life as you can imagine. As the sun sets, smoke emerges from the cracks beneath your feet聽and an eerie red glow emits from a gurgling lava lake (one of only five聽on earth) located in the center of one of the world鈥檚 only . San Francisco鈥揵ased writer聽Jill Perambi says camping in the Denali Depression, in the northeastern region of Ethiopia,聽was one of the most intense experiences she鈥檚 ever had:聽鈥淭he strong sulphur smell made our eyes water and throat burn, and without headlamps (our main light source was the lava itself), we could鈥檝e easily tripped and fallen into the boiling lava.鈥� Plus, air temperatures . Take a , which聽include stays on the surrounding caldera, but only if you鈥檙e looking to .听

Get there: Fly into Mekele, Africa, on聽.听From there, it鈥檚 about 80 miles to Erta Ale聽with a tour on land.

Surf the Scene of Mad Max: Fury Road

Namib Desert, Namibia
The ocean once covered the arid, unforgiving landscape of this desert in southwestern Africa. Sand, dunes, and rock outcroppings now stretch as far as the eye can see, which made it the perfect set for the postapocalyptic thriller聽. Despite the bleak feel, it鈥檚 a popular place for sandboarders, as home to the world鈥檚 tallest sand dunes,聽some reaching upwards of 1,000 feet. Check out the hills near Sossusvlei in the ,聽which overlooks Dead Vlei, a 550-year-old petrified forest. 聽runs a few duneboard-centric tours, or stay at , just at the lip of the park. For bragging rights, hike up the Big Daddy Dune (1,066 feet),聽the largest sand dune in the world.听

Get there: Fly into , the capital of Namibia.听From there, it鈥檚 either a six-hour drive or a one-hour air聽taxi flight to Sossusvlei with your tour company.

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