jlwise's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Isle of Skye, Scotland

Fairy Glen

This dramatic landscape hidden on the Isle of Skye looks as though you've stepped into the magical realm.
Vernazza, Italy

Cinque Terre

Five candy-colored villages on the Italian Riviera.
Théoule-sur-Mer, France

Pierre Cardin's Bubble House

Avant garde house of Pierre Cardin on the Cote d’Azur.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Spain

Gaztelugatxe

Hundreds of stone stairs and a winding medieval bridge connect this haunting Spanish island to the mainland.
Castrillo de Murcia, Spain

The Baby Jumping Festival

During an annual Catholic feast in this tiny Spanish village, men dressed as devils leap over rows of babies to cleanse them of sin.
Segovia, Spain

Segovia Aqueduct

One of the few remaining ancient aqueducts described by Frontinus as 'the most solemn testimony of the Empire.'
O Rosal, Spain

Mills of Folon and Picon

"Satisfying" is a good way to describe these beautifully aligned rows of Spanish mills.
Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal

The Village of Monsanto

Houses are tucked between, on, and underneath giant boulders.
Alicante, Spain

Hogueras de Alicante (Bonfires of Alicante)

A celebration of solstice followed by a fiery purging of evils.
Los Angeles, California

Petersen Automotive Vault

Once strictly off-limits, this lower level housing curious and priceless vehicles of the Petersen Automotive Museum is now open to the public.
Balmorhea, Texas

Balmorhea State Park Pool

A spring-fed pool so deep it's used for scuba diving as well as swimming.
Culberson County, Texas

McKittrick Canyon

Steep canyon walls hide a forested oasis in the West Texas desert.
Winslow, Arizona

Meteor Crater

This 4,000-foot-diameter hole is touted as "the most well known, best preserved meteorite crater on Earth."
Supai, Arizona

Havasupai Falls

This secluded aqua waterfall in the Grand Canyon is the perfect swimming hole, and the Havasupai tribe's fiercely protected natural wonder.
Groom Lake, Nevada

Area 51

In the middle of an extremely unforgiving and desolate high desert is the most secret military facility in the world.
Austin, Nevada

U.S. Route 50

Officially named the "Loneliest Road in America," this barren stretch of Nevada road offers almost nothing but sky and open fields.
Coulee City, Washington

Dry Falls

Site of the greatest known waterfall that ever existed.
Sausalito, California

The Bay Model

A working model of the entire San Francisco Bay and much of the Sacramento River Delta, complete with regular tides that change every 14 minutes.
Washington, D.C.

State Department Protocol Gift Office

They sort through millions of dollars worth of diplomatic gifts on behalf of the government.
Kawasaki, Japan

Anata No Warehouse

This faux-seedy Japanese arcade is made up to look like a maze of alleys straight out of a cyberpunk dystopia.
Huntington Beach, California

Don The Beachcomber

This midcentury LA bar was the birthplace of tiki culture.
New York, New York

The American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog

An extensive collection of fine art devoted to man's best friend.
Campaka, Indonesia

Gunung Padang

These broken shards of ancient ruin may hide an ancient pyramid.
Orkney, Scotland

Maeshowe

Thanks to both terrific preservation and historic vandalism this ancient site is known as the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney."