Burned Great, the island full of snakes that is forbidden to enter

Quemada Grande is an island also known as Isla de las Cobras whose access is prohibited to civilians due to the large number of snakes, very poisonous, that inhabits it. It is located in Brazil, on the coast of the state of São Paulo, and has an area of ​​430,000 square meters.

This dangerous island is home to one of the most poisonous snakes on the planet, the Burnt Island snake (Bothrops insularis). Local legends say there are five snakes per square meter, although a documentary of the Discovery Channel reduce the number to a snake per square meter.

People are prohibited from entering the island because of the danger of putting a foot on it and also because the 'tenants' who populate their land are in danger of extinction. The snake of the Burned Island can only live in this habitat, so if it were extinguished on this island the species would be extinguished worldwide.

The legend of the lighthouse keeper

There is only one lighthouse built on the island, although there is no lighthouse keeper in charge of its operation. Legend has it (without confirming whether it is reality or fiction) that snakes entered the lighthouse one night and killed the family of the lighthouse keeper in the early twentieth century. After that, the lighthouse became automatic and no one lived there again.

Quemada Grande is an important serpentarium worldwide, so on November 5, 1985 it was declared a relevant area of ​​ecological interest. Although civilians are prohibited from entering, scientists occasionally get permission from the Brazilian Navy to study the environment and the venom of these peculiar snakes.

These are its coordinates, to be erased from the map: 24 ° 29'00''S 46 ° 41'00 “W.