Trips Experiences Courses Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Experiences Courses Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
All India

The Atlas Obscura Guide To India

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

Updated September 22, 2023

Email

Cities

Top Cities
Pune
Boy studying at Mahakali Caves.
Mumbai
Lotus Temple
New Delhi
South Park Street Cemetery
Kolkata
Sir Edwin Arnold thought Hawa Mahal was "a vision of daring and dainty loveliness, of storeys of rosy masonry and delicate overhanging balconies and latticed windows. Soaring with tier after tier of fanciful architecture in a pyramidal form, a very mountain of airy and audacious beauty through the thousand pierced screens and gilded arches of which the Indian air blows cool over the flat roofs of the very highest house." As quoted in, Delhi Agra Jaipur, by Surendra Sahai.  See more at https://kimcarpenterphotos.smugmug.com/Hawa-Mahal-Jaipur-India/.
Jaipur
The painted and carved gopuram (temple tower)
Chennai
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
Trips
Map
Leaderboards
Stories
Lists

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.
Sir Edwin Arnold thought Hawa Mahal was "a vision of daring and dainty loveliness, of storeys of rosy masonry and delicate overhanging balconies and latticed windows. Soaring with tier after tier of fanciful architecture in a pyramidal form, a very mountain of airy and audacious beauty through the thousand pierced screens and gilded arches of which the Indian air blows cool over the flat roofs of the very highest house." As quoted in, Delhi Agra Jaipur, by Surendra Sahai.  See more at https://kimcarpenterphotos.smugmug.com/Hawa-Mahal-Jaipur-India/.

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.
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.

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.

Gheti, India

Shatrunjaya Hill

A mecca for India's Jains.
See All 270 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
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

In partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Trips

Delhi and Rajasthan: Colors of India

Discover Colorful Rajasthan: From Delhi to Jaipur and Beyond.

Learn More

Explore India

History & Culture 47
Temples 45
Sacred Spaces 36
Religion 30
History 25
Ruins 23
Hinduism 22
Forts 21
Architectural Oddities 20
Water 14
Buddhism 13
Palaces 13
Unique Restaurants & Bars 4

India Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Avatar image for Vivek Gadre
    Vivek Gadre
    58
  2. Avatar image for mariellen
    mariellen
    22
  3. Avatar image for Amrapali
    Amrapali
    11
  4. Avatar image for Fred Cherrygarden
    Fred Cherrygarden
    11
  5. Avatar image for diwashgahatraj
    diwashgahatraj
    9

Places Edited

  1. Avatar image for Collector of Experiences
    Collector of Experiences
    23
  2. Avatar image for Rachel
    Rachel
    18
  3. M
    Martin
    14
  4. Avatar image for Fred Cherrygarden
    Fred Cherrygarden
    13
  5. Avatar image for Annetta Black
    Annetta Black
    11

Places Visited

  1. K
    KimKarishma
    100
  2. P
    pitukabelles
    91
  3. Avatar image for philippa 0ed0b632
    philippa 0ed0b632
    79
  4. S
    sgcnewmex
    79
  5. D
    dopr
    67

Recent India Activity

  • H

    hluecht

    wants to go to Ajanta Caves

  • H

    hluecht

    wants to go to Great Banyan Tree

  • H

    hluecht

    wants to go to Golden Temple

  • H

    hluecht

    wants to go to Hill Forts of Rajasthan

  • H

    hluecht

    wants to go to Elephanta Caves

Stories About India

An asiatic subspecies of cheetah once roamed India. Efforts to reintroduce the animal there threaten the traditional sustainable harvest of salai trees.

India's Cheetah Reintroduction Threatens an Indigenous Tradition

Behind the headlines of the animals' rocky return, a displaced community struggles to access trees they have tended for generations.
by Tanvi Dutta Gupta
August 3, 2023
Children play in the monsoon rains that pour down on the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh every year from late July till September.

How Indian Perfumers Capture the Smell of Rain

In Kannauj, perfumers have been making monsoon-infused mitti attar for centuries.
by Zinara Rathnayake
August 2, 2023
Macy skydiving in (above) Ohio.

Adventure Is Accessible When You Think Outside the Box

Meet the Wisconsin woman wheeling around the world.
by Gemma Tarlach
July 25, 2023
Rama’s Bridge between India and Sri Lanka figures in ancient myths, and can be seen from space, in this case captured from the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994.

Sea Cucumber Crime Is a Thing, and This Is Where It’s Happening

A "seafood mafia" is plying the waters between India and Sri Lanka to satisfy China's appetite for an increasingly rare delicacy.
by Frank Jacobs, Big Think
July 7, 2023
To reduce the risk of conflict between humans and elephants, scientists are looking at the situation from the animals' perspective.

To Reduce Conflicts With Humans, Get Inside an Elephant's Head

Understanding how the giant mammals weigh risk and reward could help prevent clashes with people.
by Mridula Chari
June 5, 2023
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

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

See Fewer Ads

Become an Atlas Obscura member and experience far fewer ads and no pop-ups.

Learn More

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube Twitter Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Puzzles
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Trips Blog
  • Art & Culture Trips
  • Food Trips
  • Hidden City Trips
  • History Trips
  • Wildlife & Nature Trips
  • FAQ
  • Experiences
  • Online Courses
  • Online Experience FAQ
  • Online Course FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2023 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.