Ten of the best: Places to spot a UFO

Want to know where you're most likely to spot a UFO? The USA is the top spot for sightings - more than 6,000 incidents are reported to the Mutual UFO Network each year – but you can also spot them much closer to home.

1) Sedona, Arizona
New Age hippies say that aliens are attracted to this UFO hotspot by the energy emitted by natural earth vortexes in the region. Drawn by its incredible red rock formations, visitors to this spiritual mecca claim to have witnessed amazing celestial displays, frequent UFO sightings and paranormal experiences.


2) Warminster, Salisbury
Mysterious booming noises and seething balls of light have been spotted above Cradle Hill by visitors scouring the sky for flying saucers. Some say they are attracted by nearby mystical sites such as Stonehenge, sceptics point to the military training grounds on Salisbury Plain. Recently released UFO government files contain flying saucer sightings since the 1950s. For mor info, go to nationalarchives.gov.uk/ufos


3) The UFO Trail, Chile
UFO sightings have become so commonplace in remote San-Clement that the tourist office has created a trail there. The 19-mile trail, which lies 150 miles south of the capital Santiago, is said to be popular with aliens because El Enladrillado's flat plateaus make great landing pads for their spacecraft. Go to

4) Extraterrestrial Highway, Nevada, USA
Known as the UFO capital of the world, the Extraterrestrial Highway is claimed to have more alien and UFO sightings each year than anywhere else. Strangely shaped flying objects and unexplained lights have been reported on the State Route 375 in Sand Spring Valley near Rachel, although non believers attribute them to the Air Force testing base Area 51 nearby.


5) Phoenix, Arizona
Unidentified orb lights, thought to be flying saucers, were seen by thousands of people over the skies of Phoenix in 1997. The mass sighting became known as the Phoenix Lights. Fresh sightings in 2007 and 2008 were discounted by the military as flares dropped by fighter aircraft.
http://www.thephoenixlights.net
image: Phoenix, Arizona. Credit: Getty


6) Roswell, New Mexico
A UFO mecca, thousands of enthusiasts descend on this town to enjoy its four-day Roswell UFO Festival, complete with alien costume competition. The town shot to fame in 1947 when debris from an alleged flying saucer was collected at an army air field. The UFO museum contains research documents and newspaper articles on the incident.
Visit roswellufomuseum.com

7) Bonnybridge, Scotland
With more than 300 UFO sightings reported every year, this sleepy town is believed to be the world's number one UFO hotspot. It lies at the heart of an area known to UFO enthusiasts as the Falkirk triangle, which stretches between Stirling, Fife and the outskirts of Edinburgh. Visit scotland.org for more.


8) Sochi, Russia
Alien spaceships and odd sightings have been so regularly spotted on the Black Sea coast that UFO watchers claim that the city could be a galactic hub for aliens. Some people believe that Bytkha Mountain in the area could be a UFO base and one local claims to have taken many photographs.


9) Darwin, Australia
The Northern Territories claims to have had more UFO sightings than anywhere else in Australia. Unexplained grey and black discs of all shapes and sizes and white and orange lights have been spotted undertaking spectacular manoeuvres as they zip around the skies. Outside Darwin City is the best place to spot them.
Visit ufoterritory.com.au.



10) Erath County, Texas
One of the biggest mass UFO sightings took place during the Stephenville lights incident in 2008 - and sightings have continued. Dozens of people reported seeing a large silent object with red glowing lights flying at high speed in the skies over Stephenville. Some claimed the object was a mile long.