the places on this list are enough to make almost anyone feel claustrophobic from tight squeezes to super overcrowded areas here are the 15 world's most claustrophobic places
number 15 spooky gulch located in the state of utah in the u.s spooky gulch is one of the most claustrophobic passages in north america to travel along it you need to squeeze yourself along a kilometer long narrow little passage at the bottom of a canyon at some points along the gulch the rocks are so close together that the only way to get through is to squeeze through narrow crevices as you can imagine it's not a good idea to go it alone which is why most people who try to navigate spooky gulch take a guide with them it's also a bad idea to visit the gulch at night because that's a great way to get lost or stuck instead people normally tackle the gulch after navigating the peekaboo trail hitting the two of them in the same day as part of a loop that you'll never forget oh and it goes without saying that the gulch isn't one for people with larger body types we're talking about squeezes that are so tight that if you're taking a backpack with you you'll have to pass the backpack through before you follow it
number 14 darren kuyu this turkish city is capable of housing up to 20 000 people and so it doesn't sound particularly claustrophobic when you first hear about it don't worry though because it gets better the 5 000 year old city is found 60 meters beneath the ground built across multiple different levels with small passageways connecting each of the sections it's these passageways that are particularly claustrophobic although there's something about being that far underground that can also set you off you can tell quite a lot about this place by translating its name which means deep well in english it was only rediscovered in the 1960s and it's been driving people's claustrophobia wild ever since archaeologists have discovered eight different levels so far but there's a theory that there were many more the city itself can be entered via a one-story house you'll be pleased to know that the site is open for tourists you just might not want to head down there if you're claustrophobic or uncomfortable at the thought of thousands of tons of earth of your head
number 13 newgrange newgrange is a megalithic structure in ireland that was built nearly 5 000 years ago way back in the bronze age it's one of those unique buildings that looks like one thing when you're approaching it but that looks totally different when you get inside that's because while part of this building is above ground there's also a huge complex beneath the earth if you go inside it you'll find yourself walking down a 19-meter corridor and ending up in a burial chamber part of the reason why you'll feel so claustrophobic here is that when you look up you'll see huge stones lining the walls and ceiling some of these stones are as much as two and a half meters high but when you think about what would happen if they fell your claustrophobia is sure to come out swinging but it's still worth the visit because all the stones are covered with mysterious drawings and inscriptions there's also similar sites elsewhere in the world notably in spain and france but i think that newgrange takes the prize for the most beautiful as well as the most claustrophobic
number 12 jerusalem's underground tunnels jerusalem might not be the first place that you think of when it comes to tourist attractions at least when you're thinking about the secular ones but the fact that the city is so old means that it's full of secrets including its underground tunnels these tunnels wind their way beneath the city streets forming a labyrinth that you wouldn't want to get lost in characterized by their low arches these tunnels were gouged out of the rocks over 3000 years ago these tunnels are of huge interest to historians and archaeologists and you'll also be able to take a tour of them yourself if you book in with the right operator if you are religious you might be particularly interested in the western wall tunnels that's because only 70 meters of the wall is visible above ground you can see much more of it and even touch the original stones by taking to the tunnels
number 11. paris catacombs the paris catacombs are one of the french capitals most notorious attractions but they're definitely not for the faint-hearted and they're also not for the claustrophobic either because paris is so old it's a city that's built upon itself with ancient roman quarries forming a huge network of underground tunnels beneath its streets when the city's graveyards started to overflow in the 18th century more than 6 million bodies were placed in the city's tunnels turning the old quarries into a huge ossuary we've talked at length about the catacombs in a bunch of other videos and with good reason they're a fascinating place but they're also not for the claustrophobic and you definitely shouldn't venture down there into the catacombs without a guide the claustrophobia gets bad enough down there beneath this city but the fear can get even worse when you remember that you're surrounded by six million corpses you'll be reminded about what you're getting yourself into when you enter the catacombs where a sign in french says stop this is the empire of death
number 10 rising star cave this claustrophobic cave system is in the dolomites and it's basically a bunch of small chambers that are connected by narrow passageways that you'll need to squeeze along it's been heavily studied by scientists but presumably only by those that don't suffer from claustrophobia there's an area of the cave called the dinner lady camera which sounds like a device for taking subtle shots of a woman while she's spooning mashed potatoes onto a plastic tray but the truth is a lot less wholesome the dental lady camera is a section of cave located at the end of a claustrophobic passageway where two cave explorers found the petrified remains of what scientists once believed were tourists who found their way into the camera and couldn't get back out of it but further studies have debunked this showing that they belong to an ancient ancestor of homo sapiens called homo naledi after careful examination of the remains scientists were able to show that the 1500 skeleton fragments belong to 15 different individuals
number 9 odessa catacombs the odessa catacombs are a bit like the paris catacombs but at least in paris they're a little less claustrophobic like the ones in paris the odessa catacombs are a huge labyrinth of underground passageways that stretch out beneath the city it's been estimated that the labyrinths contain as much as 2500 kilometers of passageways and so it's easy to see how people get lost in there in fact getting lost is such a problem that a lot of the passages have been blocked off and it's recommended that people only enter the catacombs if they're going with an experienced guide let's be honest even if you're not claustrophobic you're not going to want to go in without one perhaps the most interesting thing about the odessa catacombs is that the majority of them are man-made as a result of mining the entire catacomb system consists of natural caves storm drains drainage tunnels bunkers basements and passageways
number eight goddard tunnel most people don't get claustrophobic on trains but that's because most trains don't pass through the goddard tunnel the reason why this tunnel is so remarkable is that it's the longest tunnel in the world it stretches for nearly 60 kilometers beneath the alps it leaves you trapped in a moving train with some of the world's largest mountains above your head i'm not even going to hazard a guess as to how much rock that involves but it seems reasonable to suggest that it's in the millions of tons the goddard tunnel is relatively new only opening for the first time in june of 2016 as well as being the world's longest railway tunnel it's also the world's deepest traffic tunnel it's no surprise that it sets off people's claustrophobia oh and did i mention that nine people died during its construction it's not surprising it feels so claustrophobic in there you'll be glad once the train is passed through the tunnel and reach the other end
number seven optimistic cave despite the pleasant sounding name optimistic cave is super claustrophobic and occasionally dangerous it's also one of the only places on earth that's still not been completely explored and it was recently recognized as a natural wonder of ukraine optimistic cave is a ukrainian gypsum cave that can be found in the village of korolevka it was discovered in the 1960s and has been kept in its original state no electricity or artificial sidewalks for visitors or researchers to walk along since its discovery over 265 kilometers of the optimistic cave has been mapped out there's still plenty more for you to check out if you can get past the claustrophobia and want to go exploring better still it's been open to tourists since 2010 so you're good to go ahead and start planning your visit this cave is the longest cave in eurasia and the fifth longest in the world it's also super close to priests grotto which comes in at number eleven so far two of them haven't been connected but perhaps you could be the first to do it
number six very of verayovkina cave veryovkina cave is the deepest cave on earth though it's surprisingly found over 2000 meters above sea level in georgia's abkhazia region the cave itself is pretty big but it also has plenty of narrow sections where you're going to face a tight squeeze to get deeper into the cave it says a lot that the cave is named after a guy called alexander vrivkin a cave explorer who passed away while doing what he loved at least he didn't die in the cave that bears his name though interestingly the cave was discovered a couple of different times before the second team delved down to 440 meters after multiple expeditions the final depth of the cave was measured to be 2212 meters as if the claustrophobia of the cave isn't bad enough there's also the fact that it's proven to be deadly in august 2021 an expedition found the body of a tourist about halfway into the cave the man was identified as sergey kosif who got stuck due to inadequate skill and equipment and eventually died of hypothermia
number five darren silau as you can probably tell from the name this is a welsh location a cave system near powis and wales it's one of the longest cave systems in the country which itself has a reputation for being hilly and full of caves in fact daryn silau is over 26 kilometers in length and it's claustrophobic right from the get-go thanks to a narrow entrance that's long tight and a heck of a lot of hard work a lot of explorers never get beyond it but those who do are left with plenty more to explore if they still have the energy since being discovered in 1957 the caves have been open to visitors but they're not suitable for just anyone in fact unless you're a serious caver then you're probably better off avoiding it because you'll never make it past the over 500 meter crawl at the entrance perhaps the most interesting thing about this cave system is that a lot of passages can take several days to explore so there's a bunch of permanent camps underneath the ground inside the cave system so if claustrophobia isn't a problem for you why not stop by the restaurant at the end of the universe which takes its name from douglas adams hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy series and which is 13 hours away from the cave's entrance
number four mexico's nika mine there are plenty of mines out there that will set your claustrophobia off but this one really takes the cake that's because as well as being a mine which can be bad enough it also has a 100 humidity and a huge temperature of 122 degrees fahrenheit because of that it's not as though you could just wander around this place in sleeves and a t-shirt if you want to survive your visit you're going to need to wear a specialist cooling system and carry breathing equipment the cave is owned by a mexican mining company called pinoles and it's notable for being home to the largest crystal cave that's ever been discovered i'm talking about a place that's so grand that it earned the name of the sistine chapel of crystals the only problem with visiting this chapel is that you need to descend about a thousand feet into the mountain which isn't easy with all that equipment it is worth it though because the crystals measure about 50 feet and weigh many many tons
number three kiev pacherskalavra caves you might have noticed a theme here this is another set of caves and it's most notable for being the final resting place of many relics associated with russian saints for example artifacts from both saint nester the chronicler and ilya murmats are stored there of course the mere fact that it's a cave system should be enough to set your claustrophobia going but it's not just the weight of the rock that you'll have to think about it's also heavy with the weight of history the caves themselves are home to a christian monastery the history of which dates back to the year 1051. it's no surprise that it's a unesco world heritage site as well as a national historic cultural preserve and one of the seven wonders of the ukraine oh and did i mention that it's still an active monastery with over a hundred monks living on site it is safe to assume that they either don't suffer from claustrophobia or that their piety and devotion is able to overcome it
number two abandoned military base this entry on our list is a little bit different because i'm not necessarily talking about any specific location instead i'm talking about any of the literal thousands of abandoned military bases that are scattered throughout the world the thing that makes these bases so claustrophobic and so intimidating is that many of them are underground and are built out of imposing walls of concrete they're not designed to look homely and comfortable they're designed to withstand nuclear detonations and missile impacts it's hard to explain just how claustrophobic these places get unless you've set foot in one of them part of it comes from the idea that it was an end of the world type scenario you'd have to live in those enclosed spaces for weeks months or even years on end the abandoned bases are arguably even more claustrophobic than the ones that are still in service because at least those are still equipped with radio equipment and other communication tools still you wouldn't find me spending any amount of time in one unless i had to
number one walled city of kowloon the wall city of kowloon was a claustrophobic island near hong kong that was one of the most densely populated areas you were ever likely to see in fact it provides us with a stark insight into what life might be like if overpopulation continues to be a problem it wasn't exactly a tourist hot spot though in fact it had a reputation as being the far east's wild west with streets controlled by drug barons and gangsters as if being walled and stuck on an island wasn't bad enough it was also the most densely populated city on earth at its height 50 000 people lived in the city which doesn't sound like much until you consider that its total area is only 0.02 square kilometers that gave it a total of 1.9 million people per square kilometer a reference nearby hong kong has 6 700 people per square kilometer that means kowloon was nearly 300 times denser than hong kong and it gets even more claustrophobic the locals call it haknam which means the city of darkness because no sunlight reached street level the downside at least in terms of this list is that the walled city has been knocked down and replaced with a public park it's not so claustrophobic anymore watch our scary playlist for more top 15 videos about the most scary subjects sit back relax and binge watch all of our best videos [Music] you