5 destinations around the world with unusual names (and their stories)

The world is sprinkled with places whose names are so strange, poetic, or eerie that they almost don’t sound real. From deserts named after their own emptiness to islands associated with witchcraft, these locations invite curiosity long before you ever set foot there. Here are five destinations with unusual names—and the fascinating histories, landscapes, and mysteries behind them.

The Empty Quarter, or Rub’ al Khali, is the largest continuous sand desert on Earth, covering parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Its name comes from the complete absence of permanent settlements and its extreme inhospitable nature. Towering dunes, some rising more than 250 metres, shift constantly under brutal sun and winds.

For centuries, this region was considered impassable. Even today, it remains one of the most remote landscapes on the planet. Yet beneath the sand lie historic trade routes. Travellers who dare to venture this region, experience a silence that has been described often as otherworldly.

If you are looking for a place that is unique, remote, and otherworldly, Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, is the answer. Fog, strong currents, and rough seas caused countless ships to run aground here, leaving a shoreline littered with shipwrecks and whale bones. Hence the name.

The region is part of the Skeleton Coast National Park, a protected area home to desert-adapted lions, hyenas, seals, and elephants. Despite the name, the landscapes are mesmerising with dunes collapsing into the ocean, mysterious fog banks, and rusted relics of maritime disasters. The Himba people, who traditionally inhabit the area, refer to it as “The Land God Made in Anger.”

Back in 1897, when explorer Frank Hann discovered this lake, he expected a freshwater oasis, only to find a saline, often dry basin. In frustration, he named it Lake Disappointment, and the name stuck.

This lake is located in the remote Pilbara region, and is part of a fragile salt-lake ecosystem important to the local Martu Aboriginal people, who know it by a different traditional name and have deep cultural connections to the area. Visit this lake at sunrise or sunset, and you will forget the name for sure.

Another one from Namibia is the Dead Vlei, or the “dead marsh. It’s a white clay pan surrounded by towering red dunes of the Namib Desert. The iconic dead camel-thorn trees, some believed to be over 900 years old, have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. The stark contrast of blackened trees, white earth, red dunes, and brilliant blue sky has made Dead Vlei one of the most photographed landscapes in Africa.

Cerro Brujo or the “Witch’s Hill” is a volcanic tuff cone on San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos. Early sailors gave it this mysterious name because they thought the distinctive rock formations resembled a witch’s silhouette. This hauntingly named site is actually serene and beautiful with turquoise waters, powdery white sand, and wildlife such as blue-footed boobies, Galápagos sea lions, and frigatebirds.