I’ve visited 190 countries – these are the most dangerous ones (including one where you can rent a gun for a day)

Luca Pferdmenges tries to visit every country in the world – and that means you can’t avoid dangerous locations.

To date, the 22-year-old German, a professional juggler, social media star and world traveler since the age of 15, has been to 190 countries (out of 195) – and here he reveals the ones he considers the most dangerous.

He also shares some of his most chilling moments, from hearing a gunfight to seeing gangsters committing robberies.

Read on for a travel guide like no other…

DANGEROUS PLACES

Luca Pferdmenges tries to visit every country in the world – and that means you can’t avoid dangerous locations like Haiti, where he’s pictured above

To date, the 22-year-old German, a professional juggler, social media star and a world traveler since the age of 15, has visited 190 countries, including Afghanistan (above)

Luca, seen here in Heroes Square, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, says: ‘There are suburbs in Port-au-Prince where cars don’t come in – they would be robbed’

Luca names Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Somalia, Yemen (“where you can rent a gun for a day”), Chad, Syria and the Central African Republic as among the most dangerous places he has visited, along with Haiti .

The traveler says: ‘Places like Haiti, where the local population suffers so much, it feels strange to travel there as a tourist. But since I try to visit every country on the planet, I can’t avoid those countries. Often these are the most fascinating and insightful.

‘In Haiti, for example, I did a number of street interviews with the local population. It was heartbreaking. They told us that they do not have access to drinking water, are constantly worried about not having enough food and that the electricity is usually not working. There are suburbs in Port-au-Prince where cars do not enter; they would be robbed. Those places – where there is anarchy and your safety is at risk – are the most difficult countries to visit.’

Luca reveals that he used a local guide to show him around the riskiest places. ‘Of course things can always happen, but with a reliable guide you minimize the risk.’

DANGEROUS MOMENTS

Afghanistan

Luca visited Afghanistan (above) six months before the Taliban takeover in 2021 to teach children how to juggle at a circus school

Luca, seen here in Afghanistan, remembers being locked up in a school because shots were fired in the street outside. He says: ‘It ended very quickly, but the event left its mark’

Luca visited Afghanistan six months before the Taliban takeover in 2021 to teach children how to juggle as part of a circus school.

It was a risky venture.

He says: ‘I had to be inside the school at night because it would be too dangerous. One evening we heard shots.

‘The circus school trainers confirmed that shots had been fired in the street. We were told to keep quiet until it was all over. It ended very quickly, but the event left a mark. It’s terrifying to hear gunshots so close.

‘Two days later, still in Afghanistan, we wanted to visit a park, but our plans were canceled in the morning because the park was bombed.’

Papua New Guinea

In Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (above), Luca witnessed a robbery, where ‘gangsters stopped cars and demanded money, phones or even the car itself’. He adds that robberies are ‘unfortunately common in Port Moresby’

In Papua New Guinea, the police came to help when Luca ended up in a dangerous neighborhood.

Luca says: ‘I was in Port Moresby. I’m German, so I like to walk everywhere. But as I was about to walk into a dangerous neighborhood, a police jeep pulled up and an officer said to me, “You can’t go there, please get in the car.”

‘I decided to trust him. We drove through the suburb I wanted to walk through and five minutes after he picked me up we saw a car robbery. Gangsters stopped cars and demanded money, phones or even the car itself – it is unfortunately common in Port Moresby.

“As a police officer, my driver took out his shotgun, opened the door and yelled at them. He exited the car and fired warning shots into the air. I sat in the back of the jeep, scared for my life.

‘I was the enemy at that moment, I was literally in the police jeep. My fitness tracker confirmed that this was the highest heart rate I had had all week. My driver returned to the jeep as if nothing had happened. That’s everyday life in Port Moresby – for me it was a terrifying experience.’

French Guiana

While in the French overseas territory of French Guiana (above), Luca was attacked. He says, “A muscular man ran after me. He started shouting at me and grabbed me tightly by the neck.

While in the French overseas territory of French Guiana, Luca was attacked.

He describes that day as follows: ‘It was a Sunday and a muscular man ran after me. I had on my heavy backpack with all my stuff in it.

‘He started shouting at me and grabbed me firmly by the neck. He demanded in French “Donne-moi two euros [give me two euros]”.

‘I would have given him the two euros straight away, I just wanted to get out of the situation. The problem was that I had absolutely no euros with me. I found a £10 note in my wallet and gave it to him but he was furious. I might as well have given him a Monopoly ticket.

‘A café owner came into the street and saw me. The attacker was so busy complaining about the £10 note that I managed to break free and run to the cafe. The owner’s family put me in and barricaded the door until he walked away. It was a very shocking encounter.’

THE ANTI-SELFIE POLICE

If you want to take a photo in a tense country, the people responsible for protecting you might rush in and confiscate your equipment instead.

Luca says: ‘I once took a selfie in the city center of Djibouti City in Djibouti, Africa. A police officer inspected my phone for 20 minutes and wouldn’t give it back to me. At first I thought he just wanted money. But he didn’t. He honestly told me not to take pictures, and he was very serious about that.”