Portuguese Sailors Called This Beautiful Coast “The Gates Of Hell”

It’s actual name is the Skeleton Coast, which is a stretch of Africa’s shore that has become the graveyard of many unlucky explorers, littered with rusted shipwrecks and animal bones. Portuguese sailors referred to it as “The Gates Of Hell.”

Take a closer look.

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ViralNova

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Cocciag

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Arebbusch

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Skeleton Coast’s barren stretch spans from Namibia to Angola.

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Educated Earth

The coast itself and its hinterland is a breathtaking landscape blanketed by a vast area of rolling sand dunes.

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Tatyana Kildisheva

Over a thousand rusting ship hulls litter the infamous coast. It’s most notable residents include the Eduard Bohlen, Dunedin Star, Otavi and Tong Taw.

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Marilee Potthoff

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Tatyana Kildisheva

Shipwreck of the Eduard Bohlen. On September 5, 1909, the ship ran aground off Skeleton Coast due to the coast’s thick fog.

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Michael Poliza and Paul Merrill

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Tom Brouns

The coastline is strewn with whale and seal bones from the former whaling industry.

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Tom Brouns

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Tom Brouns

Only 800 people a year are allowed to visit Skeleton Coast. The best way to get there is by joining a rather exclusive and expensive fly-in safari. A typical four-day trip costs around $6,000 per person.

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Maurits Vermeulen

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