Longyearbyen: World's Northernmost City, Where Dying Is Forbidden

 78°13'31.16"N 15°37'32.29"E

(from Wikimedia Commons ) 

   The photo from above shows one of the many typical idyllic "Christmas villages" spread around Scandinavia. However, Longyearbyen is in false disguise. Firstly, it isn't a village; it is the northernmost city in the world, second, it isn't idyllic; as it is the remains of a dirty coal mining town, third, it is not typical; the residents have adapted to the isolation and the extreme conditions developing an unique culture and creating unusual laws, such as the one which forbids burials. 

Danakil: World's Hottest And Most Inhospitable Place

14°14'30.81"N 40°17'59.50"E

(from Wikimedia Commons) 

   Hostile. Fatal. Deadly. Three perfect adjectives for describing the environment of the Danakil Depression, Ethiopia. Considered by many an extraterrestrial zone, it is one of the world's hottest and most acidic places, making life impossible for almost any organism. Even so, scientists have found out that this unique ecosystem could be of big help for science in the future.

Wulingyuan Mountains: China's Spectacular Avatar Landscape

24°30'38.74"N 111°12'27.54"E

(from Pexels ) 

    Clearly, the Wulingyuan Mountains are the most scenic highlight of Zhangjiajie, the oldest national park in all of China. Its beauty has stunned generations for over 700 years, something that has granted it a lot of legends while being, at the same time, a geological masterpiece. But it was James Cameron who chose this wonderful landscape for his world-famous movie Avatar to represent the "Hallelujah Mountains", and therefore, it attracted tourists from all over the world. Let's discover in detail the Wulingyuan Mountains, from their formation to their performance in Hollywood.

Neft Daşları: Azerbaijan's Soviet City Built Completely Isolated Over The Caspian Sea

40°17'14.49"N 50°43'13.65"E

 (from Brockman Consult) 

   Annecy is the "Venice of the Alps", Saint Petersburg is the "Venice of the North", Fort Lauderdale is the "Venice of America" and so on. Each town with canals has the nickname of Venice, doesn't matter where it is or what it looks like. Today in Weird Wonders, we're going to focus on the lesser-known "Soviet Venice", but which is far more interesting than the others as it is actually just a settlement made for the workers of an offshore oil platform. Welcome to Neft Daşları, the city of oil.

Auroville: India's Utopia Without Money Or Laws

 12°00'18.87"N 79°48'24.81"E

(uncropped file from Pexels) 

   If it weren't for the surrounding trees, you'd already see it from the distance: from the empty fields of Tamil Nadu rises a majestic golden globe made out of numerous steel circles on the outside, and each day, hundreds and even thousands of people visit it. These are not a conspiracy cult or a group of lunatics, they are citizens from the bizarre utopia of Auroville, and you are too. But to understand this, first a bit of history.