The Atlas Obscura Guide To India

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

Updated October 7, 2026

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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.

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.

See All 406 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.

See all 15 Places to Eat in India

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Stories About India

My homemade namkeen jave from North India, loaded with toppings.

What Kinds of Pasta Are There in India?

It's not just fusion.

by Andrew Coletti, Atlas Obscura

Left to right: green, black, Chinese, white, and Ethiopian cardamoms.

A Guide to the Cardamoms of the World

The Cardamom Expanded Universe is bigger than you think.

by Andrew Coletti, Atlas Obscura

February 17, 2025

At India’s oldest and largest chess manufacturing company, master craftsman Surinder Pal holds the exclusive title of knight carver. Known as the most tedious chess piece to work on, they must be done entirely by hand. Today, knight carvers are well respected and increasingly hard to come by.

Masters of the Knight: The Art of Chess Carving in India

In Amritsar, artisans have hand-carved the most complicated pieces in the game for generations.

by Roxanne Hoorn, Atlas Obscura

January 23, 2025

By scavenging from trash heaps, greater adjutants serve an important role as cleaners.

How an Army of 'Stork Sisters' Protects Assam's Endangered, Muppet-like Birds

Greater adjutants may look straight out of "The Dark Crystal," but they play an important role in cleaning their environment.

by Carla Rhodes, Atlas Obscura

A display at the Global Conference of Millets in 2023 featured a millet map of India.

In India, Music Helps Spread the Message of Millets

New and ancient songs show that there’s more to reviving a crop than planting seeds.

by Andrew Coletti, Atlas Obscura

A fresco from a mansion, or haveli, depicting the sharing of a drink. In Rajput culture, the munawwar piyala meaning “cup of request” is liquor offered to guests during gatherings, especially marriages.

The Resurrection of Rajasthan’s Royal Liquors

After fading away post-Independence, Heritage Liquors are back and, this time, everyone can sip them.

by N.C. Stevens, Atlas Obscura

A highway rest stop has become a gulab jamun hot spot.

The Indian Village That Revolves Around Gulab Jamuns

More than two dozen shops in Maigalganj sell this famous dessert.

by Teja Lele, Atlas Obscura

The Itinerant Princess Who Chronicled Akbar’s Mughal Empire

The daughter, sister, and aunt of emperors, Gulbadan Begum wrote of a Mughal Empire few witnessed.

by Ruby Lal, Atlas Obscura

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Elephants playing in the mud at Elephant Nature Park.

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Little Spotted Kiwi

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Rats of Karni Mata Temple

Paxton Gate Exterior

Albino Squirrels of Olney, Illinois

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