UlyanaArtamonovafilmeda dreamy
videoherebutpaida price.“Aftervisit-
ing,myfacewascoveredwitha rash,”
shesaid,addingshesufferedfroma dry
throatandnose.Othervisitorsclaimthe
solesoftheirsandalsflakedoffafter
t h e y ’dwalkedalongtheshoreline.
InJunethepowerplant’soperator
issueda warningonitswebsite.“Wees-
peciallyrequestthatinthepursuitof
selfiesyoudon’tfallintheashdump.”
Thestatementalsocautionedagainst
touchingthewaterandstressedthat
swimmingisprohibited.
Butthisisn’ttheonlyattractiveindus-
trialwastelanddrawingtouristsin
searchoftheperfectInstagrampost.
Spainboastsanequallytoxicversion.
MonteNemeon theCarballocoastis
theremainsofa tungstenmineandits
azurewateristheresultofchemical
contamination.DubbedtheGalician
Chernobyl,it ’s hazardoustoswimin.
One InstagrammertoldSpanishnews
outletPublicoshevomitedandhada
rashfortwoweeksaftertakinga dip
there.
Butthelake’sharmfuleffectsdon’t
seemtobedissuadingeveryone.“The
rashwasa littlebad,yes,”theInstagram-
mersays.“Butthepicwasworthit”.T PERFECT
PIC
Social media junkies are prepared to go to
dangerouslengths to capture a moment in time for
eirInsta ram
orFacebook feeds
COMPILED BY^ LINDSAY DE FREITASa ma e-or-nsagrammomen: a
sexyblondeina redbikiniposingpro-
vocativelyinfrontofa shimmering
lake.Inanothershota loved-upcouple
sharea passionatekissbalancingon
paddleboats,thesametranquilwaters
lappingaroundthem.
Thislake, situatedoutsidetheSibe-
riancityofNovosibirsk,is setapartfrom
othernearbylakesduetoitsstartling
colour:a beguilingshadeofturquoise.
Inrecentmonths,thelake’senchant-
inghuesparkeda socialmediacraze,
luring scores of camera-toting visitors
to its banks. “This is our Siberian Mal-
dives,” wrote a Russian Instagrammer,
likening the waters to the picturesque
ocean surrounding the island nation.
But there’s a major difference between
the two scenic locales. The Siberian lake
is a manmade dumping area for ash
waste from a nearby power plant and its
luminescent colour is due to dissolved
calcium salts and other metal oxides
which can be harmful to people.
“When you drive up to this lake there’s
a strong smell of laundry detergent, of
alkali,” Russian photographer Mikhail
Reshetnikov says. “Naturally, there’s no
desire to touch such water. You just feel
thatit’snota safeplace.”DESIGNED FOR DAREDEVILS
Scenic toxic dumpsites such as the manmade lake near Novosibirsk in Siberia (LEFT) and old
tungsten mine Mont Neme in Spain (ABOVE) aside, there are plenty of breathtaking but dan-
gerous locations around the world that attract adrenaline junkies and social media addicts.MOUNT HUA’S
HIKINGTRAIL,CHINA
Ifyou’veeverspenttimeexploring
Instagram’s #travel snaps you’re sure
to have seen pictures of Mount Hua’s
vertiginous wooden walkway – a series
of planks affixed to the side of a cliff on
the 2 000m high peak.
It’s become the place to take a selfie
forvisitorstothispartofChina.Officials
aretight-lippedaboutthenumberof
fatalities, but locals reckon it’s well overSOURCES: 100 a year.
SIBERIANTIMES.COM,
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK,
FOXNEWS.COM,
DAILYHIVE.COM, WANDERLUST.CO.UK, TELEGRAPH.CO.UK, WP.COM, JOURNAL.IE84 | 8 AUGUST 2019 you.co.zaYOU NEWS