Despite being the coldest place on the earth, Antarctica is surely a unique travel destination. The wildlife there makes it a wonderful place for nature watching. This place is also one of the most untouched landscapes in the world and is used as a center for scientific research as well. Tourism for Antarctica is increasing slowly, the best time to visit is from November to March. But traveling in Antarctica is not really easy, there are some strict rules to be followed. Check out weird rules for traveling in Antarctica:
-
Hygiene rules
Antarctica’s ecosystem is little fragile, people have tried to protect is but some human errors have caused a number of non-native species in Antarctica to become extinct. Most of these are plant species including fungi, birds, invertebrates and even worms. To make sure that this list doesn’t grow more there are many strict hygiene rules. Everything you eat must be washed, decontaminated, and inspected every day.
-
Wildlife watching rules
There are some straightforward animal watching rules: keep your much-specified distance, be quiet, and don’t feed them. You can also not ‘chum’ birds. There is an unusual rule about penguins, in case you see a penguin: keep quiet and do not touch them.
-
No walking on lichen
Antarctica is all about snow, but plans do grow there- various types of grass, lichen, and moss. As they grow very slowly, you are not allowed to step on them. The lichen might not look like much, but it is important to Antarctica’s ecosystem.
-
Stay away from dolphins
There are guides for whale and dolphin watching but it involves some basic rules as well. Do not sail a boat into a group of dolphins, stay away from them so that they don’t bow ride with you.
-
No Souvenirs
Everyone loves taking a memento as a memory for their trip, but in Antarctica it is banned. You cannot take anything from Antarctica be it a rock, stone, bone, eggs, or anything. Taking anything man-made is also completely banned.
-
Do not disturb any sites
There are a number of historic sites in Antarctica, you are not allowed to go near these sites or take anything from them. In fact, you can’t even disturb the current sites.
-
Cleaning rules
To keep Antarctica as pristine as possible, there are a lot of rules that you have to follow in order to make sure nothing pollutes the environment. No littering and no graffiti. And if you are a smoker you have to collect every bit of ash that you make.
-
Don’t expect rescues
This is harsh, but rescues are impossible in Antarctica as it is a place where there are limited people with finite resources only. As you will be with a group of people the tour operators will make sure you are safe, but in case you get lost, with the unpredictable weather conditions rescue will be difficult.
Antarctica is a beautiful place but is full of dangers. Plan a safe and memorable trip to the place.
