15 Forbidden Places Around the World That Google Earth Won't Show You (16 Photos)
Ever wanted to catch a closer look at the Eiffel Tower, but aren't sure when you'll make it to Paris? Google Earth lets you explore the landmark and even stroll through the quiet streets of the iconic city.
Yet not every corner of our planet is open to virtual tourists. A number of locations on Google Earth are blurred, distorted, or wiped off the map entirely. While security concerns explain why places like military airports are censored, the secrecy behind several other sites on this list remains a mystery. 
Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Portions of the site have been pixelated or removed. 
Valencia City, Philippines. Rumored to house the headquarters of a government missile defense program. 
Closed city in Siberia, Russia. Little is known about this region, though speculation points to a secret military outpost or radar station. 
Royal Residence, Netherlands. Huis ten Bosch Palace, home to the Dutch royal family, is heavily blurred when zoomed in. 
Faroe Islands, Denmark. An obscured section of the map is believed to mask military installations. 
Missile silo, Spain. 
Kangtega — a major mountain peak in the Nepalese Himalayas. 
High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), Gakona, Alaska, USA. Long the center of conspiracy theories involving weather manipulation and UFO research. 
Oil refinery in Százhalombatta, Hungary. 
Volkel Air Base, Netherlands. 
Baker Lake — an Inuit territory in northern Canada. 
Babylon, Iraq. 
Tantauco National Park in Chile, home to many endangered species. 
North Korea.
Finally, North Korea has a unique history on Google Earth. For years after the service launched, the country was virtually a blank slate, displaying little more than its name. It wasn't until a few years ago that Google updated its mapping data to include street names and even the outlines of prison camps. Still, the map remains a stark reminder of just how much about North Korea remains shrouded in secrecy.
