kelleyhaines's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Vals, France

Église Notre-Dame de Vals (Church of Our Lady of Vals)

A medieval church built into an ancient cave.
Chastleton, England

Chastleton House Croquet Lawn

Where the rules of that most quintessentially English game were first devised by an eccentric inventor.
Bourton-on-the-Water, England

Dragonfly Maze

Puzzles within puzzles hide a golden treasure in this hedge maze.
Rapa Nui, Chile

Orongo

This was once the center of the Birdman cult, and is now a World Heritage Site.
Büren, Germany

Castle of Wewelsburg

This unique Renaissance castle was turned into a home for Nazi occultism.
Yonkers, New York

Untermyer Park

America's greatest forgotten garden and the former stomping grounds of Son of Sam.
Vanuatu

Mount Yasur

This South Pacific volcano has been blowing its stack for over 800 years and is said to be home to a cult leader waiting to be reborn.
Malampa Province, Vanuatu

Ambrym Island

Plains of ash and pair of semi-active volcanoes contribute to the otherworldly beauty of this little-known Vanuatu island.
Vanuatu

Underwater Post Office

The fully functional, submerged Vanuatu Post Office is definitely one of a kind.
Peaugres, France

Labyrinthe des Dragons

One of the greatest maze designer’s greatest mazes.
Hauterives, France

Le Palais Idéal

This whimsical castle of grottoes was the labor of love of a French postman, and one of the greatest achievements of outsider architecture.
Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

Sigiriya

An ancient stone fortress considered by many to be the eighth wonder of the world.
Port Renfrew, British Columbia

Fairy Lake Bonsai Tree

Defying all odds, this lonely little tree found a home on a log sticking out of a Canadian lake.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Ratstrinkstube Clock Tower

Every hour the doors open to reenact the legend of the heroic mayor who saved his town by drinking a gallon of wine.
Cody, Wyoming

Smith Mansion

One man's ambition created this psychedelic log home.
Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Christ of the Ozarks

This monumental Jesus is often referred to as "Our Milk Carton With Arms."
Melnik, Czechia

Melník Chapel of Bones

Underneath this small church are 15,000 bones, arranged by an obsessive academic.
Chiusdino, Italy

The Sword in the Stone at Montesiepi Chapel

This sword isn't waiting for a king to pull it out. It was placed there by a saint.
North Little Rock, Arkansas

The Old Mill

The Old Mill shown in the opening credits of “Gone With the Wind” is actually fairly new, and was never a mill at all.
Dyess, Arkansas

Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash

The Man In Black grew up in a large agrarian community established by the federal government in the Great Depression.
Kobe, Japan

Kobe Luminarie

An astounding annual light display honors the victims of one of Japan's most devastating earthquakes.
El Rosario, Mexico

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

The winter home of millions of migrating monarch butterflies.
São Paulo, Brazil

Crypt of the São Paulo Cathedral

The crypts are so large they're basically their own underground church.
Washington, D.C.

Barbie Pond on Q Street

A rotating cast of guys and dolls in front of a Washington, D.C. building.