The path to Paradise begins in Hell
Dante, celebrated Italian poet and philosopher
Why the sudden ominous and dark overtures in this post, you may ask. After all, it was supposed to be a Travel Blog, right? Right?
The quotes above do have deeper connection to the human life in general and this blog post in particular. So far you may have seen the fun part of scenic places to travel to and experiences worth cherishing.
But experiences can have a total 180 degree opposite dimension – full of chaos, scares and Hell. Scared? Afraid to explore this dimension of traveling? No? Good.
Welcome to the seemingly dark side – or Hell. Allow your senses to cherish this experience as well, for it will be well worth remembering.
We live today, We shall live again. In many forms shall we return
Ancient Egyptian proverb of Resurrection
.. and wonder what entity wishes to return? Is it benign? Or is it Evil?
Hell
The Past cannot remain buried forever
Dr. Henry Jekyll (played by Russel Crowe) in the movie “The Mummy” (2017)
We may try hard, but keeping the past permanently buried is an exercise in futility. The Past will resurface.
Secrets from the annals of the Earth in the form of lost civilisations and even fuels have been dug out despite Nature’s best efforts to keep them buried. While some of those secrets have ensured the overall enrichment of human knowledge, some other entities have brought temporary progress followed by a catastrophe in the making.
I am talking about fossil fuels – a past phase of this planet, buried for millennia until very recently, which heralded Industrial Revolution and Economic growth, now threatens to plunge the Earth into a climate chaos.
One dimension of the past created this chaos. Another dimension of the past from the blazing inferno of the Earth may promise a solution. But remember, we are talking about an inferno.
The path to a paradise free from the evils of anthropogenic climate change begins in Hell – featuring massive and virtually never ending fires and heat stored within the Earth – another element of the planet’s geological past, waiting to be resurrected.
The past indeed cannot stay buried. And in this form featuring magma, the past shall return.
Magma
Magma belongs to the crucial phase of the geological past of the planet, the precursor and perhaps the fluid which created the Earth’s crust – the bedrock over which life forms and the human civilisation exists. Magma refers to the molten rocks, metals and other heated fluids currently present in the deeper reaches of the crust, all the way to the outer core of the Earth.
Magma, which erupts as lava from volcanoes and subsequently cools and solidifies gives birth to the rocks and many mountains which we see today. The weathering of such rocks gives rise to the soil over which crops grow.
And this magma and the heat associated with it can be a good remedy to the Earth’s climate woes – in the form of clean and renewable geothermal energy. But getting that energy involves traversing through the blazing inferno of the Earth – Hell.
Which incidentally is contained in the name of one of the places I visited in Japan – the じごくだに / Jigokudani, which literally means “Hell Valley”.
And Magma is the reason why such a feature exists in the first place.
In many forms shall we return – Indeed. This is one of those forms through which the Magma returns.
The Tryst with Hell: Hell Valley /じごくだに / Jigokudani
The Jigokudani or Hell Valley is located in the (seemingly) idyllic town of のぼりべつ / Noboribetsu, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.
The Jigokudani (or the Magma which causes this) exists in the first place due to plate tectonics. The Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Eurasian plate and the molten rocks or magma generated due to the subduction, rises upwards to form an Active Volcanic field called the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, whose part is the Jigokudani.
The volcanic field contains a number of Active Volcanoes like Mt. Tarumae, Mt. Kuttara and Mt. Usuzan (which erupted as recently as 2000 CE) and a ground uplift feature called Showa-Shinzan (which might also erupt sometime soon). Most of these volcanoes contain fumaroles or vents which emit steam, sulphur dioxide fumes and other volcanic gases continuously.
The presence of such shallow magma also causes groundwater to flash to steam and boil on the surface, creating boiling lakes, steam vents, sulphur springs, geysers, mud volcanoes and other such features.
Oh, and why is this place called the Hell Valley? Let a visual from this place answer this question for you.
What you see in the picture above is a hydro-geothermal feature comprising of fumaroles, fissure vents and boiling hydrological features like rivers, lakes and canals. The (dis-)coloured hills are caused due to the action of the heated, mineral laced water and hot gases which are emitted from the ground below.
And all this is caused due to, you guessed right, magma. The same magma which gives rise to volcanoes.
Let’s explore the features of this Hell Valley in the subsequent pages.
.. [continued in page 2] ..
A Quest for the Uncliche 
Nice post on volcanoes which is educational too about its benefits
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Thank you.. 🙂 Hoped you liked the pictures and videos too.. 🙂
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Wow! What a beautiful and well written post! The formation of our planet is fascinating! Magma can give life but can also take it back! A double sided coin! Despite its name it’s a wonderful and interesting valley to visit! A bit scary but really fascinating! I’ve never visited Japan yet, but is on my travel bucket 😉
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Thank you so much for your visit and your comment.. 🙂 Indeed, magma is a double sided coin, which I tried to bring forth through various literary references… Glad that you are considering a visit to this wonderful place and the equally mesmerising Japan.. 🙂
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The photos are captivating. Would not say Hell because unless you step you won’t know the true nature of mother earth. Rightly said ‘explore the uncliche’. Dante, a poet famous who wrote Inferno. Inferno, the word depicts fire and hell and I have read and watched the movie; ‘Inferno’ by Dan Brown, which has my head filled with its scenes. The movie is made from the book.
Reference to Dante makes it a mystical place. The wonders of Earth are hidden and stepping onto them and sharing them with others is a beautiful idea. Keep exploring and let us see the other side of nature as well.
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Thank you for such an elaborate and wonderful comment.. 🙂
Well, as I would like to say, and I think I did, there are two aspects to this place – Blessing and Hell.. The aspect of benign or malicious resurrection (from the depths of the Earth), the depiction of both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – all those point towards the harmonious existence of both sides of the coin.. and Dante, with his work “Inferno” was an apt parallel, in my opinion..
This is the “mystical” aspect of Japan.. 🙂 More are there, more to come.. Thank you once again.. 🙂
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Agree with you. Oh more sounds you have a load to share and amaze your readers. Superb! Keep going and inspiring and motivating us 🙂
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So sweet of you for providing your encouragement.. 🙂
Indeed, there is more content to share.. Much has already been shared.. 🙂 some heartfelt, some informative, but hope to bring people’s attention towards the undiscovered gems of countries.. 🙂 Thank you once again..
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All the best!
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Forgot to mention, loved the Resurrection proverb – so apt.
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Thank you once again.. 🙂
Great that you caught this proverb and could relate to the “resurrection” phenomenon in figurative and literal sense.. 🙂
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Did you also catch the reference to Dr. Jekyll?? If you notice deeply, the split personality of Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde has similarity to the phenomena described here – literally
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I did indeed. 😉
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A great write-up and lead-in to the rest of this fascinating post!
Really enjoyed this read.
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Thank you so much.. 😊 I was just scared to experiment with dark overtures, but thanks for your patience and feedback 😊
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No, I believe you need to write about whatever you feel like writing about… 😉
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Agreed.. 🙂 Thank you for your vote.. 🙂
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Thanks for sharing your idea and so amazing. Anita
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Most welcome.. 😊 Thanks for visiting and sharing your feedback.. 😊
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I love your intro! Why not throw some philosophy in with your history and geology? Love it!
Volcanos are fascinating. Glad you got up close and personal.
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Thank you so much 😊
Glad to have the expert review from the adventurer herself.. 😊
Now, I know a bit about geology of this place, but history? I am a bit unaware of it as of now.. so sorry..
But yes, the article intertwined the philosophy with geology for sure and the past refers to the geological past 😊
Glad you like volcanoes and hope you explore one soon, but safely.. 😊
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Anything geological is truly fascinating. I love old cities and ancient ruins, but a good geological story will get me every time.
It’s so nice that you write what you feel, so when you look back you can capture not only how it looked, but how it felt for you. Those are precious memories.
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Thanks a lot again for your appreciation.. 😊😊
Both of us share the same fascination to geology.. I am sure you will enjoy hiking across Japan 🇯🇵
Equally elated to know that the horror overtures in the beginning of the post, the reference to Mummies and Dr. Jekyll didn’t scare you off.
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