Infamous Cult Site Opening to Tourists in 2025

13.12.2024 00:54

The group suicide at Jonestown in 1978 remains one of the most shocking mass death events of the past century. Now, those with a morbid curiosity to learn more about the infamous cult will have the chance to see the remote abandoned commune firsthand.

Starting in January 2025, Guyana-based travel company Wanderlust Adventures will be taking its first group of guests on a guided tour of the People's Temple Agricultural Project site where more than 900 people died in the modern era's largest mass suicide event. For just $650, you'll get travel from the capital of Georgetown on an overnight experience designed to educate guests about the tragedy. In addition to seeing where the commune once stood in the thick Guyanese jungle, you'll also visit the infamous airstrip in the small neighboring town of Port Kaituma where a sitting U.S. representative and four others were shot and killed while trying to leave the day of the massacre.

"The thing is, Jonestown remains a tragic part of Guyana’s history, but it is also an event of global significance," Wanderlust owner and founder Roselyn Sewcharran told NBC News. "It offers critical lessons about cult psychology, manipulation, and abuse of power."

The tours are being done with the support of the Guyanese government as it looks to turn the People's Temple site into a tourist attraction. Some locals, however, aren't exactly happy that a tragedy centered around Americans will become one of the country's new big tourism draws.

Tourism minister Oneidge Walrond told The Associated Press she's aware "of some level of pushback" from some groups but the plan is moving forward regardless. So far, the Guyanese government has helped clear the area "to ensure a better product can be marketed."

"It certainly has my support,” she said. "It is possible. After all, we have seen what Rwanda has done with that awful tragedy as an example."

No word on if Kool-Aid will be offered as a refreshment for tour groups.