North Sentinel Island

Why Visitors Are Banned From Going to This Isolated Island in the Indian Ocean

"Located in the Indian Ocean, this small, forested, roughly square island is widely regarded as the hardest to visit and one of the most dangerous places on Earth because its indigenous Sentinelese community violently repels outsiders. India has banned its citizens from attempting contact or landing and enforces a three-mile exclusion zone; attempts to approach have been met with arrows and stones, including attacks on Coast Guard helicopters that sometimes drop food. The tribe, estimated at 50–100 people and believed by anthropologists to have lived in isolation for more than 60,000 years, killed two fishermen who washed ashore in 2006. Rights groups warn the community is extremely vulnerable to introduced diseases—Survival International has named them the world’s most vulnerable tribe—and they may be at grave risk from illegal fishermen and tourism pressures from nearby islands." - Cailey Rizzo Cailey Rizzo Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. She specializes in reporting on travel, culture, and the arts. She is currently based in Brooklyn. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines