Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Parking Lot Shoeprints
Dewey Square Pylon & Bent 38
Black Rocks of Pungo Andongo
Abandoned Observatory of the Pioneer Palace
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Two suitcases in an empty airport hall.
AO Mailbag: Is It Normal to Share a Checked Bag With Your Boyfriend?
Kolaches
How Texas Became an Unlikely Epicenter for Czech Pastries
What I Found Driving Across Northern Michigan
What I Found Driving Down Highway 61

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All India Kokilamukh The Molai Forest

The Molai Forest

An Indian forest is being single-handedly planted after its creator was inspired by a slither of dead snakes.

Kokilamukh, India

Added By
Joshua Foer
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The Molai Forest   Google Maps
Jadav Payeng   Bijit Dutta on Wikipedia
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

For many people the sight of a dead snake would be an unpleasant but not tragic image, but for Indian activist Jadav "Molai" Payeng it was a call to action that inspired him to create an entire forest.

When Payeng was just a teenager in 1979 he came across a bed of dead snakes on the sun-baked shores of the Brahmaputra river. The limbless beasts had been stranded on the barren banks and perished in the unmitigated heat due to the lack of shade or tree cover. Payeng wept over the corpses but resolved to turn his sadness into action.

Like the Bruce Wayne of environmental preservation Payang abandoned his previous life and began living on the shore of the river to tend to a crop of bamboo that he planted by hand. As the hearty bamboo crop became a tall hedge he began planting larger plants and trees, doggedly and single-handedly transforming the fallow ground. Having found his life's work, Payang continued to expand the forest over the ensuing decades, carefully cultivating the emerging biome into its current 1,300+ acre state one plant at a time.

With the healthy new forest that now exists along the banks of the Brahmaputra, wildlife started to return to the area as well and the wood is now home to rhinos, tigers, deer, and apes. Payeng also continues to live in the forest that now bears his name, forever caring for a piece of the world that he very literally changed. 

Related Tags

Forests Flora Trees Ecosystems Plants
Atlas Obscura Adventures

Delhi and Rajasthan: Colors of India

Discover Colorful Rajasthan: From Delhi to Jaipur and Beyond.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Josh

Edited By

julnyes, Martin, EricGrundhauser

  • julnyes
  • Martin
  • EricGrundhauser

Published

March 9, 2015

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molai_forest
  • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/03/indian-man-jadav-molai-pa_n_1399930.html
  • http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/The-man-who-made-a-forest/articleshow/12488584.cms?referral=PM
  • http://lifeforaforest.com/2013/03/19/the-molai-woods-one-mans-forest/
The Molai Forest
Kokilamukh, 785106
India
26.85, 94.152222

Nearby Places

Majuli Island

India

miles away

Charaideo Moidam

Bokopukhuri Habi, India

miles away

The Apatani Tribal Village of Ziro

Old Ziro, India

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of India

India

Asia

Places 354
Stories 107

Nearby Places

Majuli Island

India

miles away

Charaideo Moidam

Bokopukhuri Habi, India

miles away

The Apatani Tribal Village of Ziro

Old Ziro, India

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of India

India

Asia

Places 354
Stories 107

Related Stories and Lists

24 Places All About Snakes

List

By Roxanne Hoorn

Related Places

  • Green arch in Fragas do Eume.

    Cabanas, Spain

    Fragas do Eume

    This enchanting natural park is a magical example of a temperate rainforest in Europe.

  • Trollskogen

    Borgholm, Sweden

    Trollskogen (The Troll Forest)

    Crooked windswept pines give this old forest an enchanted and magical look.

  • The portal made of sticks at the Redwood Forest.

    East Warburton, Australia

    Redwood Forest Tree Art

    Woven tree art gives this towering Australian woodland a touch of mystical whimsy.

  • Thain Family Forest.

    Bronx, New York

    Thain Family Forest

    This plot of old-growth forest is the largest surviving remnant of New York City's original woodland.

  • The Pygmy Forest.

    Little River, California

    Pygmy Forest Trail

    A raised boardwalk winds through a thicket of stunted, century-old trees no more than nine feet tall.

  • The Tambopata Research Center

    Tambopata, Peru

    Tambopata Research Center

    One of the most remote lodges in the Amazon offers rare wildlife encounters and undisturbed views of the Peruvian rainforest.

  • One of the many sinkholes in the park.

    Nassau, Bahamas

    Primeval Forest National Park

    Impressive sink holes fill this untouched old-growth forest in the Bahamas.

  • A small waterfall in the Gourgue d’Asque

    Asque, France

    Gourgue d'Asque

    A French valley with forests so lush it was nicknamed "the Small Amazonia of the Pyrenees."

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.