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El Caminito del Rey, the World’s most dangerous walkway

Jan 312012

El Caminito del Rey, also known as “The King’s little pathway” in English, is an extremely dangerous walkway located on the steep walls of a gorge in El Chorro, Spain.

It was built in 1901 and took 4 years to complete. It was mainly used by workers at the hydroelectric power plant to move between the water falls, and to transport materials. The walkway was officially named in 1921 when King Alfonso XIII crossed the walkway for the inauguration of the dam.

The walkway rises about 100 meters above the river below, and is on average a mere one meter wide. It was constructed out of concrete resting on steel rails, anchored into the rock face. Today, the walkway is extensively deteriorated, with large sections of concrete missing. There is a safety wire anchored to the wall, but its strength is highly speculated on. In 2000, the local government closed both sides of the walkway after four people fell to their deaths in different incidents.

The regional government of Andalusia is busy restoring the walkway at a cost of almost €9 million, which will include car parking and a revamped shop. Most of the original sections of the walkway will be preserved, and the new walkway will incorporate many of the original designing features.

Crossing it, even when revamped, will definitely require nerves of steel!

Photo via Shockingnewz

Photo via Wikipedia

Photo via MyTripsDiary

Alang – Where Ships Go To Die

Places No Responses »

Jan 172012

It’s known as the graveyard of ships, a place where unskilled workers break down ships & vessels for scrap metal, with mostly nothing more than your average DIY hand tools.

Maintaining an empty vessel or ship is extremely costly, and a lot of the times it’s cheaper to simply strip the ship for scrap. Ship owners worldwide send their ships to Alang to be broken down, because of the cheaper labor and lack of local laws preventing such a thing.

One of the major concerns with the shipyard is that the nearest full service hospital is 50 kilometers away, and sometimes workers who gained serious injuries have to wait a full day to get medical attention.

Because the workers are not trained in breaking down large ships, they often cause dangerous chemicals like mercury to spill onto the beach and into the ocean.

Alang is located at 21°24 43N 72°12 10E, on the Indian coast.

Photo by www.rodedwards.ca

The Wall Of Death at Maut Ka Kuan, India

Events, People, Places No Responses »

Dec 012011

The Wall Of Death, also known as the Well Of Death, must be one of the scariest circus acts to be part of. Motorcyclists and car drivers drive their vehicles inside a cylindrical, near vertical wall, seemingly ignoring the basic laws of gravity.

The first circus act involving these near vertical walls took place in the early 1900′s at the Coney Island amusement park in New York. From there it spread to different countries around the world.

Over the years, this attraction died a slow death, and nowadays it can only be seen in India, where stuntmen ride inside the so called Well Of Death at breakneck speeds, without any safety gear. The well is build out of salvaged wood and does not appear to be safe at all.

Even though this is obviously a very dangerous stunt, I can only imagine the adrenalin rush these guys must be getting!

The Worlds Most Scariest Rollercoaster in Mieders, Austria

Places 1 Response »

Nov 242011

The village of Mieders, situated in the Stubaital Valley, Austria, is an extremely popular skiing and snowboarding destination for adventure seekers worldwide. There is a ski lift taking skiers and snowboarders to the top of a
hill, from where they can either ski down, or take a single-pipe rollercoaster back down for a relaxed, scenic view of the Mieders mountains. Riders sit on a one seater platform and use a handheld brake to slow down or speed up.

However, recently one rider decided to take this normally tame roller coaster ride to its max by going downhill without applying the brakes at all. YouTube poster davidjellis video recorded his
entire trip and within four days of uploading to YouTube, he already had 1.5 million views.

This must definitely be one of scariest roller coaster trips around!

Panama El Valle de Anton – Where trees grow with square trunks

Animals & Plants, Places 2 Responses »

Oct 252011

There is a valley in Panama where a weird phenomenon has baffled scientists for years. Trees from a certain cottonwood family grows with unique square trunks.

Scientists have taken saplings to be grown in controlled environments, and have found that something local to the valley must be contributing to this unique feature.

The valley sits at the foot of El Valle de Anton, a volcano which has been dormant for over 500 000 years. Locals believe that the ancient ashes is causing the trees to grow square.

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