Other America: the terrible swamp Manchak, which attracts extreme tourists

The image of American nature, firmly entrenched in the minds of foreigners, is the desert landscapes of the Wild West or the taiga forests of Alaska. But there is a completely different America - the huge Louisiana swamp Manchak, which is teeming with alligators and attracts lovers of extreme relaxation who want to tickle their nerves, sailing on a boat among snags and bogs, listening to the terrible legends of local guides.

The Manchak Swamp is located in the extreme south of Louisiana, near New Orleans. This swamp is a unique ecosystem, which is located on a vast lowland off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. This is the kingdom of mosquitoes, snakes, alligators and swamp birds. There are so many alligators here that a gaping traveler easily risks becoming a dinner by catching a boat on one of the many snags.

They tried to drain this lowland several times, since the swamp did not fit into the plans for the development of the coast of Louisiana, but each time the work had to be turned off for one reason or another. At the beginning of the 20th century there were even several workers' settlements, whose inhabitants were engaged in the drainage of the Manchak swamp. But a powerful hurricane, one of those that often occur on the Gulf of Mexico, destroyed villages and destroyed part of the drainage structures that were never restored.

There is a local legend that this event is connected with the curse of a woman who was a servant of the voodoo cult. True or not, local guides like to tell this story, although even without it the Manchak swamp makes a strong impression on travelers. The swamp itself is very reminiscent of a "black spot" from folk tales: trees with aerial roots and epiphytes, a lot of windbreak and decaying trees, stagnant water, covered with greenery and oppressive silence. It is this atmosphere that attracts tourists here who want to see alligators in their natural habitat or photograph unusual landscapes of the Manchak swamp.