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10 of the Most Mysterious Islands on the Planet

UPDATED 4/2020

This article on the top 10 most mysterious islands is a guest post by Agness.

As the world is so BIG there are so many hidden secrets waiting to be discovered. One of the most interesting places where you can find an unearthed mystery is in the ocean. It’s absolutely massive and full of sunken secrets and treasure troves. Agness and Cez from etramping.com love a mystery and often stumble upon folklores and intriguing tales from their adventures. These islands listed below are just a handful in comparison to the number of unknown discoveries out there… Get inspired!


Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Island Hopping in Thailand


The Socotra Island

Located in the Arabian Sea, Socotra Island is rather special. This particular place is home to around 800 rare species of fauna and flowers. The plants on the island have evolved around the harsh climate and thrive in the sunshine. What makes this island so unique is that the plants are all randomly shaped and very odd. People often think of Socotra as a sci-fi movie set due to its alien-type trees and carved limestone caves. It’s sort of like a lost world, where secret creatures hide and myths are hidden away from the human eye.

old wooden boat on a deserted beach on one of the most mysterious islands out there.
One of the most mysterious islands: Socotra Island.

Daksa Island

Daksa Island has underlying darkness surrounding its name as it’s otherwise known as the ‘island of ghosts’. It’s a small island near to Dubrovnik and unfortunately was once the scene of a destructive massacre in 1944. Therefore, Daksa contains a lot of history. If you ever want to visit a place like this then there are many online guides out there ready to introduce you to Croatian islands. It’s always worth researching into places before you visit them so that you can grasp the culture and get a clearer understanding as to why things are the way they are.

sunset with extremely orange light all over the sky that shimmers over the ocean

Are you an island lover? Great! We’ve got your back! Check out this guide for island hopping in Thailand. Or perhaps you want to visit one of our favourite islands in Asia, Koh Phangan, then read here


Palmyra Atoll

First sighted in 1798, this uninhabited island in the Pacific has been reported to have had a number of paranormal experiences take place on its shores. The most famous occurrence is when a group of sailors sailed their boat named ‘Angel’ across the sea and ended up on the edge of Palmyra’s lagoon. Soon after they found themselves stuck so they decided to walk onto the island and take a look around. It is unclear whether the sailors were shipwrecked or that they crashed onto Palmyra, yet their bodies were later found spread out across the island. They had been brutally murdered and to this day, no one knows who did it…

bones and a skull lay on the ground in a forest

Tashirojima 

If you’re a cat lover, then behold the wonderful Tashirojima Island! What’s great about this mysterious find is that there are more cats than humans here. You can find this island in Miyagi (Japan) and you will receive good fortune and luck if you feed the animals. This is one of the world’s quirkiest islands and there’s even a cat shrine for you to pay your respects to the furry creatures!

an orange cat is laying on big rocks at the ocean

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picture with island atoll and a headline saying 11 of the most mysterious islands

Poveglia Island

Nicknamed as ‘Italy’s most haunted island’, this is another mysterious find that will have you feeling a little bit freaked out. It is home to hundreds of years of cruelty and murder and has a very twisted history behind it. Back when the plague hit the world’s population, this island was used as a cage to separate the dead from the living. Poveglia was where people lived out the last of their plague-riddled lives and were sometimes burned alive in mass graves. The mystery of the island is to do with the so-called ‘spirits’ which you can still hear screaming at night.

Black and white photograph of a stone statue showing only the hand holding a rose made out of stone

Isla Bermeja

The Red Island, known as Isla Bermeja was marked down on 16th-century maps. It was once a rocky cliff 100 kilometres north of the Mexican Gulf. However, it seems to have vanished and nobody knows where it’s gone. Some people speculate that it was blown up by the CIA and others think it disappeared due to erosion. Luckily, there are still majestic islands that exist in Mexico. If you fancied it, you could take a trip towards the mainland as there’s so much on offer in Mexico. Especially along Playa Mujeres, where you can find the Finest Playa Mujeres all-inclusive resort.

old map, a compass and gold coins on a wooden table

The Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca

In Peru, you’ll find marvellous floating islands at Lake Titicaca. They’re man-made and are home to the Uros tribe. This lake is a hotspot for hunting and fishing for fresh seafood. Lately, however, it’s been begging for a clean. Smothered in plastic bags and muddy items, it’s not exactly an idyllic spot to sail through. That’s why Peru and Bolivia have promised to team up together and do a massive clear up of the lake.

view onto a floating island with little houses made of straw and a canoe on the shore

Holy Island

In Northumberland, there’s a place called Lindisfarne and it is just off England’s northeast coast. Its castle is what makes it such an appealing destination and the way that it is cut off from regular society. You can actually explore the castle’s rooms and discover the ruins left behind. It’s such a peaceful place to be, hence why it is named the ‘holy island’.

Island of the Dead Dolls

In Mexico, there’s a very popular island but it’s not uninhabited by people. In fact, it is home to hundreds of old dead dolls. Of course, the dolls were never alive, yet they’ve been made to look dead with paint and gouged eyes. Tourists flock here every year to get a fright and a good sighting of this island; it’s very popular at Halloween believe it or not. The locals state that there are ghosts lurking around the waters, ready to jump into your body and possess you. However, you may find that the dolls themselves are scarier than any demons or spiritual beings…

Easter Island

You won’t find any Easter eggs lying around here but you will find very cool carved figures with oversized faces. There are almost 900 of them and they date back from centuries ago. The iconic statues are a huge tourist attraction and were created by Polynesian engineers and expert craftsmen. Like all mysteries, no one understands the true purpose behind these figures or how they were sprinkled all over Easter Island. Perhaps it will forever remain a mystery…

Man-shaped stone figures lined up in front of the horizon

San Blas Islands

Perhaps the least mysterious island or island group on this list, San Blas does have a mystery to be resolved! With exactly 365 islands in the Caribbean Ocean off Panama’s coast, you could technically visit one island per day throughout a whole year. Wouldn’t that be a fun to-do list for 2021?! So, this island group in Central America is perhaps one of the most deserted and yet most blissful spots on this planet.

You hardly bump into tourists there and the islanders are happy to get you around, which means you can truly experience your own private Robinson Crusoe moment. How on earth is this part of the world so little visited? That’s a real mystery to me!

girl laying on a fallen palm tree at a tropical beach

Where is the most mysterious place you’ve visited? Leave us a comment below, we are curious to know about other mysterious islands and spots around the world!


NOT DONE READING YET?

Are you looking for more travel inspiration? Check out our post on the Top 5 Beaches from 21 Travel Bloggers! Or if you have already made up your mind and want to see one of South America’s evergreen top destination, make sure to read our most recent guide for Rio de Janeiro!

If the whole travel thing is YOUR thing – and that’s probably the case as you are browsing this site – then why not go full-time travel and become a digital nomad yourself? One way of starting your location independent life, you’ll read here.

By Julia Jerg

Julia is the founder and chief editor of Jey Jetter, a site that showcases the option of working remotely and travel as much as you like. Julia is a former PR/marketing consultant who turned into a remote working social media manager, travel writer and public speaker living location independently since 2011. She has been to 86 countries on all 6 continents and lived in several different countries for more than six months. Her laptop is her office and the label 'digital nomad' fits best to describe her lifestyle. On this site, she writes about personal freedom, remote work and her passion for travelling.

7 replies on “10 of the Most Mysterious Islands on the Planet”

It is a good list and I am sure I want to go to some of the island-like Poveglia Island. I did visit the Gunkanjima (a.k.a. Hashima) which is an unpopulated prison Island in Japan and I love the mysteriousness of it.

Hi Julia.

Some really creepy islands here. I have been to some famous ones but not scary ones. The doll one freaks me out the most. Islands are beautiful for the most part but if you hop onto a mysterious one it adds a sense of spookiness in some regards. Other than a plane or boat ride, you are stuck there. I got this feeling a little bit on Vanua Levu Fiji. Loved the place to bits but I felt isolated being in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, so far away from mainland civilization. Cool post!

Ryan

Hey Ryan, thanks for stopping by and your insight! Absolutely, I get what you mean, I think there is even a word for that feeling that you describe, island koller – people need to leave for the mainland every now and then. But if you think about it, it is exactly the same thing if you live in a city, right!? Just your head doesn’t think you are ‘stuck’ although you might not leave the city as often either… lol

Absolutely! It’s always great to have you and thanks a lot for this – again – interesting article! Enjoy your travels 😀

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