In Hawaii you can visit the UFO Peace Park previously owned by a cult

"Weird tourism" is having a real moment, and if the traditional water parks or luxury hotels don't tickle your travel fancy, perhaps you're more interested in a UFO Peace Park utilised by an alien-worshipping cult?

The UFO Peace Park is filled with statues which represent the beliefs of the Raëlians. There's a huge naked woman, peacocks, chameleons, native birds, and a sea turtle – many of which are emblazoned with Raëlian symbols. There's also a proposed "galactic embassy" – which actually looks a lot like a crop circle.

This proposed embassy is the reason the peace park exists. The Raëlians originally wanted to build their embassy in Israel, but a variety of issues came to light, mostly due to the cult's use of the swastika and a slightly altered Star of David as their official emblem. They were refused the right to land in Israel and, as a result, they built the UFO Peace Park with a potential embassy, located on Big Island in Hawaii.

The Raëlian cult got its start in the 1970s, shortly after the birth of Scientology. The beliefs of the cult stem from those of a former French automobile journalist and race car driver Claude Vorilhon. Varilhon alleged in two books that encounters with extraterrestrial beings had taught him the secrets of the world.

The UFO-based religion is based around the belief that humans were created by other-worldly beings named Elohim.

The religion has a huge following in Korea, but has factions around the world. While the peace park in Hawaii isn't officially abandoned, it also isn't being actively used, which means it's open for tourists to visit.

There isn't any parking for the park, but you can safely pull off the road and walk to it.