174 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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Unique Food & Drink in India

Szechuan Button

This herb gives cocktails another kind of buzz.

Pista Burfi

The pistachio fudge makes a vibrant accompaniment to celebrations in Northern India.

Falooda

A 2,500-year-old Persian dessert evolved into this Indian summertime favorite.

Chai at Sahu Tea Shop

In an unassuming shop in Jaipur, a family has been serving highly addictive chai for decades.

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South Indian Cinema: Film, Fandom & Abandoned Theaters

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Stories About India

Muralidharan worked with illustrators Shrishti Dabolkar and Priyadarshini Narayana to create renderings of the vegetables featured in <em>Cook and See</em>.

Cracking the Case of South India's Missing Vegetables

A food designer used quarantine to track down the mystery produce in his grandmother's cookbook.

by Reina Gattuso

India's Ancient Sites Are Under Threat From Development

India is key to the story of early human migration. But its archaeological sites are rapidly disappearing.

by Shreya Dasgupta

Temple attendants conduct the ritual bathing of the idols of (left to right) Balabhadra, Subhadra, and Jagannath in Puri on June 6, 2020.

Lockdown and the Festival Where Hindu Gods Go Into Isolation

The complex ceremonies continue, but likely without hundreds of thousands of devotees.

by Mahima A. Jain

Manvendra splits his time between Mumbai and his Gujarat campus, which is located around 400 kilometers north of the city.

How an Indian Prince Built a Queer Sanctuary in Gujarat

The LGBTA+ Community Campus Rajpipla occupies 15 acres of farmland where a palace once stood.

by Jamie Fullerton

Yams and foraged greens for sale at Mujai’s cafe.

India’s Mother Earth Cafés Shine a Spotlight on Indigenous Crops

Rural restaurants are providing a market for endangered edibles.

by Sharanya Deepak

A glacier researcher at work in the Himalayas.

Glacier Research Is Particularly Treacherous at the 'Third Pole'

Scientists in the Indian Himalayas deal with low oxygen, zip lines, and paths blocked by giant boulders.

by Mahima A. Jain

A new house in Kongthong.

The Indian Village Where Every Person's Name Is a Unique Song

Hear the tunes that Kongthong residents are given at birth.

by Zinara Rathnayake

Jiffy Felix, in light blue, captains around 100 rowers from the back of his team's snake boat.

The Resurgence of Indian Snake Boats in an Age of Rising Seas

Storms, floods, and COVID-19 could threaten one of Kerala's iconic sports.

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