Here are 9 places that, according to Staysure, are either gone or on the verge of disappearing.
Number 9: Chacaltaya Glacier, Bolivia. The South American site was once popular among skiers and for a time even boasted the world’s highest ski lift. After decades of decline, the mass vanished in 2005.
Number 8: Boeung Kak Lake, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Once the country’s largest wetland located in an urban area, it was leased to a developer in 2007. Within three years, that entity had filled 90% of the expanse with sand.
Number 7: The Pont des Arts Love Locks, Paris, France. Over the years, millions have inscribed their initials on a padlock, affixed it to the bridge railing, and tossed the key into the River Seine. As the weight of the locks was causing safety concerns, the practice is no longer allowed.
Number 6: The Firefall, Yosemite National Park, California. In 1872, workers at a Glacier Point hotel began creating a 3,000-foot cascade of embers by pushing burning material over a cliff’s edge. Though the spectacle was stopped in 1968, a reenactment was performed in 2012.
Number 5: Mt. Humboldt, Venezuela. Another once-popular attraction for skiers, the upper part of the more than 15,000-foot-high glacier began to succumb to climate change in the 1980s. Now, opportunities to whoosh down its slopes are rare at best.
Number 4: Lascaux Cave Paintings, Vézère Valley, France. Tourists once flocked to the locale to take a look at the works, some of which date back as far as 17,300 years. That contact, as well as some measures intended for preservation, caused damage. Since 1963, it is no longer accesible.
