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All India

The Atlas Obscura Guide To India

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

Updated May 15, 2023

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Cities

Top Cities
Lotus Temple
New Delhi
Boy studying at Mahakali Caves.
Mumbai
South Park Street Cemetery
Kolkata
Pune
Hawa Mahal
Jaipur
Overlooking a sea of blue. (Photo:
Jodhpur
All Cities
  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
Attractions
Food & Drink
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Map
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Stories
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Unusual Attractions in India

Chand Baori

Abhaneri, India

Chand Baori

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

Jaipur, India

Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds)

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

Cherrapunjee, India

The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji

Centuries-old bridges grown from tangled roots.
Human Skeletons in Skeleton Lake in Roopkund

Chamoli, India

Skeletons of Roopkund Lake

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

Jaipur, India

Jal Mahal

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

Verul, India

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.
Overlooking a sea of blue. (Photo:

Jodhpur, 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.

Gheti, India

Shatrunjaya Hill

A mecca for India's Jains.
See All 250 Things To Do in India

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in India

Golden Temple

Amritsar, 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.

Kolkata, India

Nahoum and Sons

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

Mysore, 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.
See all 10 Places to Eat in India
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Explore India

Temples 42
History & Culture 37
Sacred Spaces 35
Religion 29
History 25
Ruins 22
Forts 21
Hinduism 21
Architectural Oddities 20
Water 14
Palaces 13
Buddhism 13
Unique Restaurants & Bars 4

India Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Avatar image for Vivek Gadre
    Vivek Gadre
    43
  2. Avatar image for mariellen
    mariellen
    22
  3. Avatar image for Amrapali
    Amrapali
    11
  4. Avatar image for diwashgahatraj
    diwashgahatraj
    9
  5. Avatar image for serflac
    serflac
    8

Places Edited

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    Collector of Experiences
    22
  2. Avatar image for Rachel
    Rachel
    18
  3. M
    Martin
    14
  4. Avatar image for Annetta Black
    Annetta Black
    11
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    linkogecko
    11

Places Visited

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    KimKarishma
    100
  2. P
    pitukabelles
    91
  3. S
    sgcnewmex
    79
  4. Avatar image for philippa 0ed0b632
    philippa 0ed0b632
    79
  5. Avatar image for kirstybennetts
    kirstybennetts
    64

Recent India Activity

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    blscioscia

    has been to Kapaleeshwarar Temple

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    has been to Krishna's Butter Ball

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    has been to Mysore Palace

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    has been to Anjuna Flea Market

Stories About India

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
March 30, 2023
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
March 1, 2023
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
January 31, 2023
Tana Luciya Joji practices a wheelie on a quiet stretch of asphalt in Kerala, India.

In India, These Trailblazing Female Stunt Bikers Rule the Road

For decades, these women have fought (and won) the right to stunt.
by Shubha Menon
January 25, 2023
Buland Darwaza (Door of Victory) at Fatehpur Sikri, the one-time capital of the Mughal Empire.

Clues in Caves Suggest Drought May Have Brought Down India's Mughal Empire

Patterns in 1,000-year-old stalagmite formation connect the fall of empires, kingdoms, and industries to long and deadly dry periods.
by Gayatri Kathayat
September 26, 2022

The Mughal Women Who Wouldn’t Stay in the Harem

From musket-wielding empress Nur Jahan to writer Gulbadan Begum, meet the influential women of the early-modern Muslim empire.
by Sarah Durn
August 31, 2022
A community mango event in Kannapuram.

One Indian Village, More Than 100 Varieties of Mangoes

Kannapuram locals are documenting and conserving the many kinds of their favorite fruit.
by Rashmi Gopal Rao
July 27, 2022
India is home to 70 percent of the world's tigers—and deadly human-animal encounters are on the rise.

What Should Be Done With India’s ‘Man-Eating’ Tigers?

As deadly encounters increase, farmers, urbanites, and authorities disagree on how to handle big cats gone bad.
by Niranjana Rajalakshmi
July 11, 2022

Lists Featuring India

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

10 Ethical Animal Places to Visit in 2019

Unique experiences from Nairobi to Chiang Mai.

12

Including Cat Island, Elephant Nature Park , and India's Giant Technicolor Squirrels

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

A Rat Lover's Tour of the World

15 places where rodents are celebrated, feared, preserved, and studied.

15

Including Karni Mata Temple, Nutty Narrows Bridge, and Paxton Gate

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