dcooke464's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Paris, France

Gustave Eiffel's Secret Apartment

High atop the Eiffel Tower is a small apartment built exclusively to entertain the science elite and make the rest of Paris jealous.
Istanbul, Turkey

Nakilbent Cistern

A sixth-century Byzantine cistern hidden below a modern carpet store.
Min Kun, Myanmar (Burma)

Mya Thein Tan Pagoda

This magnificent white pagoda was constructed to resemble a sacred Buddhist mountain.
Thann, France

L'œil de la Sorcière (The Witch’s Eye)

The remains of this castle, known as the Witch’s Eye, watch over the Thur Valley.
Portobelo, Panama

Black Christ of Portobelo

A mysterious dark-skinned Christ statue has been this town's religious center for centuries.
Lima, Peru

Francisco Pizarro Statue

A monument to the conquistador became increasingly controversial in the very city that he founded.
Zaña, Peru

The Not-So-Abandoned Town of Zaña

After an epic flood washed away its enslavers, this city has been part ghost town, part cultural wildcard for the past three centuries.
Lima, Peru

Pizarro's Tomb

Now containing the bones of the actual conquistador, instead of someone else.
Maras, Peru

Salt Pans of Maras

This Peruvian canyon is filled with geometric salt pools that have been being harvested since the Incan empire.
Ica, Peru

Huacachina

An unexpected desert oasis in South America.
Kyoto, Japan

Denden-gu

A small shrine dedicated to a god of lightning and electronics.
Nazca, Peru

Puquios

The sophisticated hydraulic system of the Nazca civilization.
Copacabana, Bolivia

Iñaq Uyu (House of the Virgins of the Sun)

An ancient Incan convent on Lake Titicaca's Island of the Moon.
Nagpur, India

Karpur Baoli

Locals say the water level in this 1,200-year-old tank never goes down.
Cusco, Peru

Rodadero Slides

Did Inca children also slide down these smooth rocky slopes above Cusco?
Puerto Inca, Peru

The Boiling River of the Amazon

This scalding hot river was thought to be a myth until one geoscientist made it his quest to study the mystical waters.
Aguas Calientes, Peru

Huayna Picchu

If you’ve ever seen a picture of Machu Picchu, then you’ve seen a picture of Huayna Picchu—you just didn’t realize it.
Aguas Calientes, Peru

Inca Bridge

A backdoor to Machu Picchu that only the most foolhardy infiltrator would attempt to breach.
Athens, Greece

Klafthmonos Square Parking Structure Fortification Walls

Preserved portions of Athens's ancient defenses are on display in a subterranean parking garage.
Cusco, Peru

The Twelve-Angled Stone

This geometric feat is a testament to the Incas' mesmerizing architectural abilities.
Cusco, Peru

Plaza de Armas

Built on the remains of one the Incas’ most important gathering spots, this square keeps the spirit of a fallen empire alive.
Cusco, Peru

Tambomachay

An Inca spa, military outpost or maybe… both?
Lima, Peru

Larco Museum's Erotic Art

The large collection of pre-Columbian pottery might make you blush.
Lima, Peru

Pachacamac

The remains of what was the most important religious complex in coastal Peru for over a millennium.