All India

The Atlas Obscura Guide To India

281 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in India

Updated December 5, 2023

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Cities

Top Cities
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  1. Agra
  2. Ahmedabad
  3. Chamoli
  4. Chennai
  5. Cherrapunjee
  6. Chittorgarh
  7. Darjeeling
  8. Hampi
  9. Hyderabad
  10. Jaipur
  11. Jodhpur
  12. Kanyakumari
  13. Kolkata
  14. Lucknow
  15. Mahabalipuram
  16. Mandu
  17. Mumbai
  18. Murshidabad
  19. Mysore
  20. New Delhi
  21. Pune
  22. Varanasi
  23. Velha Goa

Unusual Attractions in India

See All 281 Things To Do in India

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in India

See all 10 Places to Eat in India
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History & Culture 50
Temples 47
Sacred Spaces 36
Religion 31
History 25
Hinduism 23
Ruins 23
Forts 21

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Stories About India

An asiatic subspecies of cheetah once roamed India. Efforts to reintroduce the animal there threaten the traditional sustainable harvest of salai trees.

India's Cheetah Reintroduction Threatens an Indigenous Tradition

Behind the headlines of the animals' rocky return, a displaced community struggles to access trees they have tended for generations.
by Tanvi Dutta Gupta
Children play in the monsoon rains that pour down on the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh every year from late July till September.

How Indian Perfumers Capture the Smell of Rain

In Kannauj, perfumers have been making monsoon-infused mitti attar for centuries.
by Zinara Rathnayake
Macy skydiving in (above) Ohio.

Adventure Is Accessible When You Think Outside the Box

Meet the Wisconsin woman wheeling around the world.
by Gemma Tarlach
Rama’s Bridge between India and Sri Lanka figures in ancient myths, and can be seen from space, in this case captured from the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994.

Sea Cucumber Crime Is a Thing, and This Is Where It’s Happening

A "seafood mafia" is plying the waters between India and Sri Lanka to satisfy China's appetite for an increasingly rare delicacy.
by Frank Jacobs, Big Think
To reduce the risk of conflict between humans and elephants, scientists are looking at the situation from the animals' perspective.

To Reduce Conflicts With Humans, Get Inside an Elephant's Head

Understanding how the giant mammals weigh risk and reward could help prevent clashes with people.
by Mridula Chari
Hally War, a 68-year-old farmer from Siej village, learned the art of creating a jingkieng jri—as the living root bridges are locally known—from his grandfather.

The Artisans Behind India's Living Root Bridges

For half a century, Hally War has been growing a bridge across a local river—and between past and present.
by Dania Rodrigues
Bene Israel Jews prepare malida platters for thanksgiving ceremonies for the Prophet Elijah.

The Woman Preserving the Endangered Cuisine of Indian Jews

Esther David traveled from the spice port of Cochin to the mountains of Mizoram to record this culinary culture.
by Sam Lin-Sommer
Photographer Aakash Selvan used a drone to to capture this "Floating Islands" image of living phumdis on northeastern India's Loktak Lake.

Can Loktak Lake's Wondrous Floating Islands Bounce Back?

A photographer's drone's-eye image of the famous phumdis of northeastern India shows a unique environment undergoing change.
by Gemma Tarlach

Lists Featuring India

Fierce little cat.
Elephants playing in the mud at Elephant Nature Park.
Oh, hello!
Little Spotted Kiwi

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Rats of Karni Mata Temple
Paxton Gate Exterior
Albino Squirrels of Olney, Illinois

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