Top 10 Places of Mystery

Open your mind to new travel experiences by trading your usual fun-in-the sun vacation for 1 of these strange phenomena, unexplainable events or mysterious murder locations.

Crystal Skulls
Southern Mexico and Central America
Search ancient Mayan ruins throughout the jungles of southern Mexico and Central America for magical skulls. The legend claims that 13 crystal skulls, thought to be containers of great wisdom and mankind's destiny, were left behind by Mayan elders to be discovered by future generations. Five of the skulls have already been found -- 1 in Belize's Lost City of Lubaantun.

Nazca Lines
Nazca, Peru
Fly over enormous land figures -- including a dog, a monkey and a 900-foot bird -- along the southern coast of Peru. Although the lines are believed to have been created by the Nazca Indians some 2,000 years ago, no one is certain why or how they managed to produce such massive, complex forms. Some believe aliens created them as landing strips for their spacecraft.

Bermuda Triangle
Atlantic Ocean
Visit the 3 apexes -- Miami, San Juan and Bermuda -- of the infamous Bermuda Triangle. The triangle earned its deadly reputation due to the unexplained disappearances of 80 aircraft and 60 boats since 1975. Intense electrical forces and a tunnel-like cloud have been reported, but other theories include rapidly changing weather patterns and alien abduction.

Ark of the Covenant
Ethiopia
Join the greatest religious quest of our time. The search for the Ark of the Covenant, the golden container thought to hold the Ten Commandments, dates back to 586 B.C., when it vanished from King Solomon's temple. Some scholars have speculated that the ark was brought to Ethiopia, while others believe the ark could be located in the Judean desert.

Oregon Vortex
Gold Hill, Oregon
Experience an unexplainable force field just off Interstate 5 in southern Oregon. Native Americans called it the The Forbidden Ground, and in the early 1900s, scientists speculated that the land contained crossed magnetic lines that produced a strange force field. It's been reported that the vortex can make things spin, create the illusion of a dramatic change in height, and other optical illusions.

The Boston Strangler
Boston, Massachusetts
Investigate and catch the real Boston Strangler. Between 1962 and 1964, 11 women were found strangled to death in their Boston homes. Albert DeSalvo confessed to the killings, but discrepancies in his story and advances in DNA testing led authorities to re-open the case in 2001.

The Loch Ness Monster
Inverness, Scotland
Spot Nessie in the Highlands of Scotland. After thousands of reported sightings and investigations, the Loch Ness Monster has been described as 15 - 40 feet long with 1 or several humps. Scientists speculate that it (if it truly exists) could be a prehistoric marine reptile with a long neck and flippers, while others believe it could be part of the eel family.

Crop Circles
Avebury, England
Decipher gigantic, intricate patterns found in the wheat fields of a small farming community. Crop circles have appeared around the world, but over 100 have been reported in Avebury within the last 12 years. Explanations for these frequent formations include hoaxes, the wind, the military, lasers and the ever popular extraterrestrial messages.

Easter Island Statues
Easter Island
Witness Polynesian giants 2,300 miles west of Chile and 2,500 miles southeast of Tahiti. When discovered in 1722, this 15-mile island was completely isolated and uninhabited except for 800 enormous statues. Their huge size and weight -- some standing 30 feet tall and weighing over 75 tons -- would have made them almost impossible to build and move.

Jack the Ripper
London, England
Retrace the steps of the world's most notorious serial killer. More than a century after the butchering of 5 prostitutes, the identity of Jack the Ripper remains a mystery. Visitors to London's East End can still experience that autumn of terror on the original Jack the Ripper Walk.