DestinationsSouth AmericaMexicoMapimí Silent Zone – A Mystery Land Challenges Every Scientist
Mapimí Silent Zone – A Mystery Land Challenges Every Scientist

Mapimí Silent Zone – A Mystery Land Challenges Every Scientist

Mapimí “Silent Zone” is a desert region near Bolsón de Mapimí, in the Mexican state of Durango. In fact, the Zone of Silence is virtually undiscovered by the outside world. There are no houses in this area other than insects, reptiles, and small mammals. This place hides a great mystery that the scientific community has not yet found a satisfactory answer to. Indeed, the mystery of this place has resulted from related stories that happened years ago.

The Stories of Mapimí Silent Zone

Story 1 – A Zone of Silence was Discovered by the Pilot Francisco Sarabia

Initially, Mapimí has ​​been known to the world since 1930. At that time, a Mexican pilot Francisco Sarabia discovered something unusual about this special land.

The reason this area is called the “silent zone” is because all radio signals, shortwaves, telephone waves, satellite signals,… seem to be affected by a mysterious polar force that makes them impossible to penetrate inside.

Accordingly, people in the Mapimí Silent Zone cannot communicate with the rest of the world. Experts and scientists have not discovered any traces of human life in the Zone of Silence. Only a few species of plants and animals grow here.

Story 2 – The Athena Missile

Things became even more strange when the US Air Force conducted a test launch of a missile called Athena from the Green River military base, Utah state, on July 11, 1970.

According to the plan, the Athena rocket is programmed to fall in an area about 1,126 km from the launch site (ie White Sands, New Mexico State, USA). However, the strange thing is that the Athena rocket flew thousands of kilometers across the White Sands and toward Mexico’s Silent Zone Mapimí before falling to the ground.
Before this incident, some US military experts said that the Athena missile seemed to be attracted by a strong force towards the Mapimí’s Zone of Silence.

Although experts have conducted many studies on the Mapimí Silent Zone, so far the mystery of this place has not been solved. No one can explain exactly why anomalies occur in this strange land.

Story 3 – A Strange Creature

Another story recounts that a group of investigators received the aid of a strange human being in the Silent Zone after they were knocked unconscious by an unusual dust cloud.

Even the animals are mutated here. There are rare plant species. And above all, it’s the suffocating feeling of many people who have come here to report.

Story 4 – Words of Mouth from the Locals

Forest guardians near the Silent Zone said they have seen mysterious lights in the night and flying objects landing vertically, which caused the bushes below to burn.

Additionally, ranchers in the area reported that at night, the sky here often appears with mysterious halos, strange lights, bright streaks of fire, or “planes landing vertically in the wilderness desert, often leaving burn marks on the ground”.

Evenly, there have been reports of strange humanoid creatures. One rancher told that they are often visited by three long, blonde-haired humanoid creatures. They are two males and one female. All of them speak fluent Spanish. The guests always ask for water, not food or anything else. They say they come from “heaven”.

Actions of the Scientists

The name Mapimí Silent Zone quickly became known. Soon later, researchers flocked here to study these anomalous phenomena. However, so far the main cause has not been explained.

There are many theories that the area was heavily influenced by extraterrestrial and other paranormal influences. But whatever the reason, the Zone of Silence continues to be a hot research topic.

To study this strange land, the Mexican government built a research complex in the Zone of Silence. It’s the Laboratorio del Desierto. The main purpose of the complex is to study the real-life and mineral compositions in the area to determine what was the cause of the signal loss. As a result, a series of strange phenomena in the Silent Zone have been recorded.

First Results from the Investigations

High levels of iron ore have been found here. Yes, scientists have discovered this is a site of meteoric activity. It raised speculation that perhaps anomalous magnetic features are related to minerals present in the ground. Furthermore, if the high magnetism is the result of natural causes, is it possible that many iron-containing objects from the universe have strayed into the far reaches of this earth.

Traveling to the Zone of Silence

Mapimí's Silent Zone on Google Maps
You can find Mapimí’s Silent Zone with keyword “Zona del Silencio” on Google Maps.

You can easily find the destination by typing Zona del Silencio in Google Maps. Yet, the result may frustrates you.

Things You Need to Know Before Traveling to the Point

  • There is no village or any accommodation for you to spend 1-2 days there. Unless you are brave enough to camp in the area. Nevertheless, I think you may need a permit to stay at the spot. Also, you can see the ‘Laboratorio del Desierto’ nearby on the map. But don’t be wrong, it’s the institution for the scientists mainly. It isn’t a hotel, you aren’t allowed to stay there.
  • It’s weird that I cannot find a direct way from a point to Zona del Silencio in Google Maps. Instead, you can search a direction from your point to the Laboratorio del Desierto. Then you will be able to go to the area.
  • According to travelers who visited this area, if you carry a compass as a backup tool, you still aren’t able to use it because the arrow of the compass will not rotate correctly. Consequently, it may cause you confusion in direction.

Where to Stay in the trip to Mapimí

  • There is the Hotel Jiménez Plaza which is quite good to spend a stay in the city, Ciudad Jiménez. From the city, it takes about 3h15′ to go to the Lab. Of course, you can easily track the route with GPS to go to the destination.
  • Besides that, you may want to stay in a big city like Torreón. At there, they have many choices of hotels at different prices for you to even spend many days. The city does have different services for you to relax and enjoy too. It’s about 174km from the city to the Zone of Silence that probably takes you 3h45′ to go.

In the end, I hope the information in this post brings to you an interest in exploring Mapimí Silent Zone. Just a reminder, please prepare carefully when you decide to go on this trip. And don’t forget to come back and tell me what you figure out at the place. Enjoy and have a safe trip!


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Khoi Nguyen builds The Broad Life with a desire to inspire people go exploring the world and live a more interesting, experience, and adventurous life. This blog shares the stories, pictures, and experiences at destinations where he has traveled to.

30 Comments

  • Ben

    That is really cool! I’d love to visit. I know it’s kind of an urban legend thing, but those are the most fun places to visit!

    • Khoi Nguyen

      Yasss, this is really cool! Imaging you may meet an alien there haha.

  • Leanne Wong

    I have never heard of this before! I’d love to go for a trip there. I think it would be quite an adventure to see if my signal really does die out.

    • Khoi Nguyen

      The moment you realize the truth will be one of the best parts of your adventurous life.

  • Brianne

    How cool is that?! I’d love to take a trip there with the family. I think we’d have fun telling the kids all about the stories of the area.

    • Khoi Nguyen

      Haha, going with a group will surely be less scary than an individual.

  • Kuntala

    I would love to visit Mapimi one day. I love exploring places like this that are so steeped in mystery and urban legends.

    • Khoi Nguyen

      Yeah, a place like this always brings me excited to explore.

  • Elizabeth O

    That is so amazing! I’ve never heard of Mapimi before. I find places like this so fascinating. I’d love to go. I actually live close enough to the border that I could make a short weekend trip out of it.

  • Gervin Khan

    First time to hear things about this place, it looks interesting but don’t have a guts to stay and explore the place because I hate to lose in one place, hahaha!

  • Eileen M Loya

    That is really interesting. It just makes me wonder why such things happen there. I want to find out myself, but I am not that brave. I am going to read more about this Zone of Silence. You really got me hooked on this topic.

    • Khoi Nguyen

      Perhaps you can host a group of like-minded people to explore this place together. It would be safer to do so.

  • TheSuperMomLife

    I have never heard of this place. I am fascinated by how much you know about it.

  • Laura

    I have never heard of this place!! How interesting!

  • abzstylz

    I’m looking forward to my trip for summer to Mexico, so I’m hoping to visit the Mapimi. Thanks for sharing!

    • Khoi Nguyen

      Please share to me your experience at the place after visiting it!

  • Cindy

    That sounds like a very interesting place! We found a place in Belize that had magnetic forces that would move a vehicle!

    • Khoi Nguyen

      Wow, that’s interesting! Can you share more about that place?

  • Dr. Elise Ho

    That sounds pretty interesting. I am not so sure that I would be visiting but it is still fun to learn of new places.

    • Khoi Nguyen

      Yeah, this place could be dangerous to visit. I’m not really sure about that.

  • LifeMagHealth

    Sounds to be an amazing place! I would love to visit soon! Thanks for sharing your experience!

    • Khoi Nguyen

      Absolutely! Please share with me your story after you visiting the place.

  • Nyxinked

    This sounds like so much fun! I’d love to visit this. I can’t wait until we’re allowed to travel again!

    • Khoi Nguyen

      Sounds great! Please share with me your experience after you visiting the place.

  • Ly Chi

    I would like to know what people in the area are experiencing. For example sighting of people out of no where like Ernesto and Josefina Diaz case in 1975 or Ranches around the area. It would be great to have another article on that!

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