Take a Roundtrip to Hell and Back

The Acheron River in Greece got its name from a river in Greek mythology located in the underworld of Hades and associated with woes and pain. The river flows through the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece and flows into the Ionian Sea at Ammoudia.

Visitors can explore the Necromanteion of Ephyra, an ancient Greek temple devoted to Hades and Persephone. The Oracle of the Dead.

The Candelaria Caves in Guatemala have 18 miles of stalactites, stalagmites, and underground rivers. In Mayan culture, it was believed that these caves were the entrances to hell. Some of the caves are still used for Mayan celebrations. Even though the caves are now open to the public.

Another spooky place is the Catacombs beneath Paris, France, where skulls line the walls. You never want to be alone down there, and you never want to be there in the dark. Spirits roam the long corridors.

Chinoike Jigoku translates to Bloody Hell Pond. The pond is located in Beppu, Japan. It got its name due to the red-tinged hot spring from the iron oxide in the water. At one time prisoners were tortured here and boiled to death. There are statues of demons. The hot spring pond is extremely hot at 78 degrees Celsius with boiling bubbles and hot steam on the water surface. Due to the high temperature of the hot spring’s water, the water is not suitable for bathing.

Located in Chongqing, China, is the Fengdu City of Ghosts. The Chinese believe that this is where the Devil resides, and the streets of the city have statues of demons and ghosts. The most breathtaking is the Ghost King carved into a rock face.

This was a popular stop on Yangtze River cruises and used to be a burial area with temples and shrines. When the 3 Gorges Dam was constructed, the city was underwater. However, a hill and dozens of temples remain in the big artificial lake behind the dam.

The area above the "Door of Hell" remains.

Houska Castle in the Czech Republic has a long history of black magic and Nazi occult. Legend has it that the medieval fort in Houska was built over the gateway to Hell.

Known as the Gateway to Hell, the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua was named by the Aboriginal people. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the country. At the time of the Spanish Conquistadors, it contained an active lava lake, and it is reported that there were attempts to extract the volcano's molten "gold." There are multiple summit craters, including the currently active Santiago crater, the site of the current activity.

The Mayan Cenotes in Mexico will get you to Hell through the caves. Cenotes are formed after subterraneal rock is dissolved, exposing underground water.  Caves held a significant place in Mayan rituals and spirituality. They were often viewed as sacred spaces that connected the physical world to the spiritual realm. Many Maya believed that caves served as portals to the underworld, known as Xibalba, a place of both danger and transformation.

Mount Hekla in Iceland has the reputation of being a meeting point for witches and the devil. It is located in the south of Iceland. This is one of the country’s most active volcanoes and has had frequent eruptions. Europeans would refer to it as “The Gateway to Hell.” When the mountain is not active, it is covered with ice. Mount Hekla has been mentioned in well-known literature such as “To Lie With Lions” by Dorothy Dunnett, “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville, and “Bronze Winter” by Stephen Baxter.

The Ploutonion in Turkey is an ancient Greco-Roman temple with a cave beneath it. The cave gives off toxic vapors, which ancient priests used to inhale for religious purposes. The people of Hierapolis believed that this was the entrance to the underworld.

The Hierapolis Ploutonion was constructed in dedication to Hades-Pluto and his wife, Kore-Persephone, during the early Imperial period, between 100 BC and AD 100. It is located in classical Phrygia in the present-day province of Denizli, Turkey, and is known as the Gateway to Hell.

Visit the Seven Gates of Hell in Hellam Township in Pennsylvania in the US. There is an old town myth that says this community is home to seven remote gates leading to the entrance of Hell if opened in the correct order.

St. Patrick’s Purgatory in Ireland is a gateway to Hell located on an island on Lake Lough Derg. Now known as Station Island, this pilgrimage site in northwest Ireland was once considered the edge of the known world.