5. Commonly known as Snake Island, this Brazilian paradise is home to a terrifyingly large venomous snake population estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands
Colloquially known as Snake Island, Ilha da Queimada Grande is an island located 33 kilometers off the coast of São Paulo, Brazil. A temperate paradise on paper, with grasslands and rainforests aplenty, the island, as its nickname might suggest, retains one minor drawback in attractiveness: snakes. The only home of the critically endangered golden lancehead pit viper – a highly venomous snake that can prove lethal to humans with a single bite – in addition to many other variant species, the small island is infested with the reptiles. As a result, Ilha da Queimada Grande is closed to the public and a strict quarantine remains in place except for those with research waivers.
With the island measuring just 430,000 square meters, or 110 acres, in size, the snake population is estimated to appropriately mirror their home with a projected 430,000 snakes inhabiting Ilha da Queimada Grande. With one snake per square meter – the highest proportion of any land mass discovered to date – the island rightly strikes fear into most visitors. According to local legend, a fisherman once landed on the island by accident, with his body discovered at a later date torn apart by snake bites. Another, albeit likely untrue story, tells of a family who fatally bought a house on the island without understanding the horrific truth of their new home.