191 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in India - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in India

Chand Baori

Thousands of exquisitely carved stone water storage wells, hundreds of stone steps fill this exquisite medieval stepwell.

Palace of Winds

The 953 windows undoubtedly make this the world's most beautiful screened porch.

Cherrapunjee, India

The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji

Centuries-old bridges grown from tangled roots.

Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, India

A lake with hundreds of ancient skeletons surrounding it. The surprise is what killed them.

Jal Mahal

More than half of this Indian palace is drowned but it looks all the more spectacular for it.

Ellora Caves

This complex of vertically-excavated Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu monolithic temples in India's Maharashtra providence illustrates a spirit of tolerance characteristic of ancient India.

The Blue City of Jodhpur

Once an indicator of social class, the color blue has come to define this city on the edge of the Thar Desert.

Shatrunjaya Hill

A mecca for India's Jains.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in India

Amritsar Cantt., India

Golden Temple

This peaceful Sikh gurudwara serves around 50,000 free meals every day within its gilded walls.

New Delhi, India

Cafe Lota

Nestled among the artifacts of the National Crafts Museum, this hidden gem offers hard-to-find regional foods from all over India.

Guru Sweet Mart

At this sweet shop, the descendants of a royal chef serve up the fudge-like dessert his ancestor invented for a king.

Nahoum and Sons

This Jewish bakery, among the last in the region, sells legendary sweets from a century-old storefront.

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Stories About India

A work in progress: Carved from a single block of wood, the harp-like yazh features a distinctive peacock head.

Meet the Man Recreating Ancient Musical Instruments Lost to Time

Tharun Sekar's creations include the yazh, a harp-like instrument played in India 2,000 years ago.

by Radhika Iyengar

Podcast: The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

Two Women Are Trying to Make India’s Bad Words a Little Less Bad

Is it possible to take the misogyny and bigotry out of cursing?

by Reem Khokhar

Wrangling an eight-foot king cobra is all in a day's work for Ajay Giri, field director of the Agumbe Reserve Research Station in western India.

Meet the King Cobra Rescue Team That Saves Both People and Snakes

A research station in India is on call 24/7 to aid wayward reptiles in need.

by Mahima A. Jain

February 24, 2021

A narrow-gauge Indian Railways train navigates the Himalayan foothills around Darjeeling in West Bengal.

Meet the Most Passionate Admirers of India’s Rail Network

The Indian Railways Fan Club unites thousands to talk trains, tracks, and subcontinental travel.

by Deepa Bhasthi

January 27, 2021

The Pisang raja or Latundan banana at Vinod’s farm.

At This Banana Farm, the Bunches Grow in 430 Shapes and Sizes

India's "plantain man" has traveled widely to build a collection of unusual varieties.

January 12, 2021

This Quran is small enough to fit inside a locket, and in your palm.

This Miniature Quran Bears Witness to an Immense History

It is an artifact of devotion, wealth, and empire.

by Matthew Taub

January 6, 2021

Former armed bandit Balwant Singh Tomar (nephew of the famed Paan Singh Tomar) now leads a quieter life.

Inside the Deep Gun Culture of Gwalior, India

Relics of outlaws, markers of status, and enforcers of social hierarchy, firearms are woven into rural life.

by Neha Mehrotra

December 17, 2020

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