6 Places Around The World That Women Aren't Allowed To Visit

While the world is becoming a better place for all to live in, there are some things we can do without.

Now, even as we are progressing towards a more equal world for all genders, there are places around the world that are off-limits to women. Here is a list of some places in the world, where girls are not allowed to visit.

1. Lord Kartikeya Temple, India

Lord Kartikeya Temple, India | TOI

Kartikeya Temple in Pehowa township of the North Indian state of Haryana is an ancient structure dating back to the 5th century B.C. Kartikeya is a popular Hindu deity in India. This famous temple is situated in the centre of Pehowa in Kurukshetra district of Haryana. Pehowa is at a distance of 200 kilometres from Delhi and 60 kilometres from Karnal (Haryana).

There is a myth that the Lord curses women who enter the temple instead of blessing them. As a result, women are banned from entering the temple.

2. Burning Tree Club, United States

Burning Tree Club, United States | flickr

Burning Tree Club is a private, all-male golf club in Bethesda, Maryland. The course at Burning Tree has been played by Arch Manning, numerous presidents, foreign dignitaries, high-ranking executive officials, members of Congress, and military leaders. The course was designed by architect Alister MacKenzie.

The club has a strict policy forbidding women to enter the club, except under rare circumstances.

3. Mount Athos, Greece

Mount Athos, Greece | Getty Images

If you want to visit Mount Athos the first step is to submit a copy of your passport to the Mount Athos Pilgrims' Bureau. Home to Orthodox churches, Mount Athos only admits 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox male pilgrims.

A beautiful destination, Mount Athos follows this ancient rule religiously till today. For more than 1000 years, women have been barred from entering this place.

4. Sabarimala, Kerala

Sabarimala hilltop temple, Kerala | AFP

The Sabarimala Temple is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 40 to 50 million devotees visiting every year.

A famous temple that was at the centre of a heated debate is yet another destination where women are not permitted to enter. The temple does not allow women between the ages of 10 and 50 to enter the temple, and this is mainly because the deity is celibate.

5. Okinoshima Island, Japan

Okinoshima Island, Japan | Wikimedia Commons

Located 60 km off the western coast of Kyushu island, the island of Okinoshima is an exceptional example of the tradition of worship of a sacred island. The archaeological sites that have been preserved on the island are virtually intact and provide a chronological record of how the rituals performed there changed from the 4th to the 9th centuries AD.

On this island, women are prohibited from visiting because of ancient taboos that also prohibit the eating of four-legged animals and prevent anyone from leaving the island without priestly permission. Some believe it is because of the Shinto belief that menstrual blood is impure.

6. Mount Omine, Japan

Mount Omine | japanvisitor

Mount Omine is a sacred mountain in Nara, Japan, famous for its three tests of courage. Officially known as Mount Sanjo, it is more popularly known as Mount Omine due to its prominence in the Omine mountain range. It is located in Yoshino-Kumano National Park in the Kansai region, Honshu, Japan.

The temple Ominesanji, located at the top of the mountain, is the headquarters of the Shugendo sect of Japanese Buddhism and the entire mountain is part of a pilgrimage and training ground for the yamabushi.

Mount Omine lays claim to a continuous 1300-year legacy as a male-access-only sacred peak. The ban has been challenged many times but without success.

For more interesting stories like this, click here.