Atlas Obscura - Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations
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The definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders.

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Experience

Atlas Obscura Trivia Night

Fri, Jul 30
$7 per person
Gather your team and compete in a weekly contest of wits and educated-guessing.
+ 7 other dates
Online
Online Course

Big Shots, Small Creatures: Macro Photography With Joseph Saunders

Starts Tue, Aug 3
4 Sessions
$215 per person
Online
Online Course

Think Like A Museum: Curate Your Personal Collection with Alexis Hyde

Starts Tue, Aug 3
4 Sessions
$215 per person
+ 1 other date
Online
Experience

Foraging, Food, and Myth: Harvest Season

Wed, Aug 4
$25 per device
Online
Online Course

Playing With Sound: Experimental Music With Jamie Stewart

Starts Wed, Aug 4
4 Sessions
$95 per person
Online
Online Course

Mindful Mixology: Making Non-Alcoholic Cocktails with Derek Brown

Starts Thu, Aug 5
3 Sessions
$80 per person
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Featured Trips
Our newest and most incredible trips.
wildlife & nature

Rewilding: Tracking Wolves in the Forests of Sweden

Sweden
Sep 6–11, 2021
From $3,100 USD
Explore Sweden’s boreal forests by day and hear the howling of wild wolves by night.
+ 3 other dates
wildlife & nature

Searching for Russia’s Northern Lights

Russia
Nov 22–28, 2021
From $3,830 USD
Bear witness to the ethereal glow of the Northern Lights, explore Arctic Russia, and see life in the Polar Circle up close.
+ 1 other date
history

Turkmenistan and the Gates of Hell

Turkmenistan
Mar 18–27, 2022
From $3,475 USD
On this sweeping, eclectic adventure through Turkmenistan, marvel at the towering white-marble structures of Ashgabat, roam through barren deserts and a world-class canyon, and spend the night camped out beside the flaming Gates of Hell.
+ 2 other dates
history

Pyramids and Petroglyphs of Sudan

Sudan
Mar 22–Apr 1, 2022
From $5,680 USD
Journey along the Nile, across the Sudanese desert, and discover the pyramids and archaeological treasures of ancient civilizations.
+ 1 other date
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More Stories
food

Every Year, This Italian Town Hand-Delivers Salt to the Pope

Cervia's prized product is naturally sweet.
Karen Burshtein July 27, 2021
snakes

A San Francisco Airport Site Is Crawling With Snakes—And That's a Good Thing

An endangered species is thriving at a once-blighted lot, but climate change and other challenges threaten its future.
Ashley Stimpson July 27, 2021
music

Podcast: The Kalamazoo Gals of the Old Gibson Guitar Factory

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team July 27, 2021
List

25 Coffee Shops to Visit Before You Die

A global tour of the world's most interesting cafés.
Anne Ewbank July 26, 2021
forests

Women in Northern Kenya Rally to Save a Forest

Just a few years ago, Samburu women were using Kirisia Forest for firewood and charcoal. Now they're protecting it, and managing it sustainably.
Peyton Fleming July 26, 2021
trees

Podcast: The Family Tree

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team July 26, 2021
sewers

Students Are Getting Paid to Poop at a South Korean University

The project transforms human waste into biogas, and allows participants to buy everything from bananas to socks.
Jessica Leigh Hester July 23, 2021
forests

For Italy's Musical Woods, Threats From Without and Within

Val di Fiemme, source of famed "resonance wood" for instruments, faces wind storms, climate change, and beetle infestation.
Federico Formica July 23, 2021
List

14 Plaques That Will Make You Smile

Sometimes a history lesson can come with a few laughs.
Jonathan Carey July 23, 2021
games

Can Welsh Handball Bounce Back From the Brink of Extinction?

The ancient sport of Pêl-Law hangs on, barely, at the last court of its kind. A campaign to revive a related game may help bring it back.
Ewan Morgan July 22, 2021
food

Sold: Sylvia Plath's Rolling Pin and Recipes

Browned and splattered, a set of recipe cards owned by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet raised a lot of dough.
Rebecca Rego Barry July 22, 2021
architecture

Found: An 18th-Century Garden Folly Adorned With Teeth and Bones

A bit disturbing, but oddly lovely.
Matthew Taub July 22, 2021
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