Mysterious Island Home To 'World's Most Dangerous Tribe' Where Tourists Are Strictly Forbidden

By maks in News On 14th October 2024
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A remote island getaway sounds like a dream for many travelers, but you might want to avoid North Sentinel Island at all costs.

Relaxing on a pristine beach, sipping a cocktail, and gazing at clear, blue waters – it's easy to think of destinations like the Maldives, Seychelles, or Mauritius.

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But there's one island in the Indian Ocean that's strictly off-limits to tourists. Even though it's largely untouched by the modern world, visiting is far from worth the risk.

North Sentinel Island, part of the 572 islands that form the Andaman archipelago, is home to a small group of indigenous people.

Located in the Bay of Bengal and protected by India, it sits closest to Myanmar and Thailand.

North Sentinel Island is protected by India with an exclusion zone 2024 Maxar Technologies/Getty Images
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The island is occupied by an isolated tribe that has violently defended its territory for centuries, killing anyone who tries to enter.

Because of this, a 5-nautical-mile (9.3 km) exclusion zone has been enforced around it.

The Sentinelese, often called the world's most dangerous tribe, have likely lived there for over 60,000 years.

But not everyone has heeded the warnings. Over the years, a few adventurers have breached the exclusion zone – with deadly outcomes.

The most recent case was in 2018, when American missionary John Allen Chau set out for the island.

His plan was to live among the Sentinelese and spread Christianity to them.

However, their language isn't understood by anyone outside the tribe, so they likely wouldn't have understood him.

Even so, the 26-year-old visited the island multiple times, ignoring the clear dangers.

Before heading to North Sentinel, he stopped in Port Blair, the capital of the Andamans, and paid local fishermen about $400 (£301) to take him there illegally.

John Allen Chau's body was never recovered from North Sentinel Island Youtube/TODAY

On November 15, 2018, a boat left him about 700 meters away from the island. John paddled closer in a canoe, holding a waterproof Bible, despite the fishermen's warnings.

He offered gifts to the tribe and tried to communicate with them, but their response was aggressive. On a later visit, a young boy shot at him with a metal-tipped arrow, which pierced his Bible, as noted in his diary.

On November 17, John made one last attempt to visit the island, but this time he never returned. Fishermen reported seeing the tribe drag and bury his body on the shore.

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Despite the efforts of the Indian authorities, John's body was never recovered. Seven people, including the fishermen who helped him reach the island, were later arrested.

Before setting out on his mission, John wrote in his diary: "I think it's worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people. Please do not be angry at them or at God if I get killed... Don't retrieve my body."