End of the (Mayan) world? 10 places to go out in style
— -- It could all end one year from now on December 21, 2012. Or not. The prophecies and speculations about what might happen on the last day of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Maya calendar are, well, endless. For you planners and you naysayers, we've compiled a list of the top 10 destinations to witness the event (or nonevent). These cool bunkers, mystical sites, places with ironic names, and culturally significant locations are great spots to go out having the time of your life, even if the end of days is a no-show.
Hell's Door (Darvaza Gas Crater)
Derweze, Turkmenistan
The entrance to the underworld: Just north of the Iran border, natural-gas vents feed a sunken inferno in the middle of the Karakum Desert that constantly burns. If you can stand the heat, walk right up to the edge of the football-field-sized hole and look in at the blaze locals have dubbed "The Door to Hell." Fingers crossed that the doors don't swing open when you're there at world's end. Get there on an Intrepid Travel tour.
Fritz Underground Winery
Cloverdale, Calif.
We'll drink to that: The perfect pairing with the apocalypse: a luxe wine cave in California's Sonoma Wine Country. Fritz Underground Winery's cave burrows 200 feet into the mountain and holds 300 barrels, plus 100 Chardonnay drinkers. For Pacific Northwesterners, the clutch Doomsday go-to bunker is an Oregon craft brewery's 1,500-square-foot keg cooler. Able to withstand a 10.0 earthquake on the Richter scale, this certified bomb shelter has enough stout, Scotch ale, pale ale, and IPA to go around a few times for the 300 revelers that could be taking their last sips of the GoodLife.
Caana (Sky Palace)
Caracol near San Ignacio, Belize
A climb up a Maya temple: If the end is imminent, there's no time like the present to tick off your bucket-list trip to Belize and see the last page of the Maya calendar from atop a Maya ruin. After nightfall, Ka'ana Boutique Resort takes guests to the ancient Maya city of Caracol for a private, torch-lit tour. Climb the 143-foot temple of Caana with an archaeologist who is helping with the excavation of this ancient city. Then enjoy an authentic Maya dinner as your last supper before retiring at the resort in a replica room of the temple.
Pu'u Keka'a (Black Rock)
Ka'anapali Beach, Maui
A leap into the unknown: Meet the afterlife head-on in Maui, where there's easy access from one of the world's prettiest spots: Pu'u Keka'a on Ka'anapali Beach. According to Hawaiian legend, this sacred place is where spirits of the deceased left the earth to meet their ancestors by leaping from the black rock. Want to prep for your final 350-foot send-off? The on-site Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa puts on a nightly cliff-diving ceremony. Check out the video.
Playa Viva
Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Off the grid and self-sustainable: It's the end of the world as you know it, and you feel fine because you and 21 others are kicking back in beachy paradise at this completely sustainable boutique hotel between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. It could be a real-world Survivor situation, but at least you'll have an organic garden, a biodiesel vehicle, a fuel-producing facility, and—so long as the sun still shines—100 percent off-grid solar power and thermal solar hot water. Did we mention that the force (field) will be with you? This was once a Maya and Aztec community and is now an archeological site.
Samoa
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