In the deserts of northern Mexico, beneath the sun-baked skies of Sonora and Sinaloa, an ancient spirit runs free—not through forests or fields, but through dance. La Danza del Venado, or The Deer Dance, is one of the most mesmerizing Indigenous rituals still performed today. It’s part theater, part prayer, and entirely sacred.

Welcome to a place where the line between the living and the dead feels paper-thin. A place where mist clings to the rocky earth, the air stings with sulfur, and volcanic vents hiss like whispers from beneath the ground. This is Mount Osorezan, often translated as the “Mountain of Fear,” one of Japan’s most spiritual—and strangest—destinations.