193 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in India - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in India

Chand Baori

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

Palace of Winds

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

Cherrapunjee, India

The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji

Centuries-old bridges grown from tangled roots.

Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, India

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

Jal Mahal

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

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.

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.

Shatrunjaya Hill

A mecca for India's Jains.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in India

Amritsar Cantt., 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.

Nahoum and Sons

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

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 12 places to eat in India See all 12 places to eat in India

Atlas Obscura Trips

India: Desert Festivals of Rajasthan

Experience the traditions and customs of desert culture in Northern India.

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An Apatani family and guests make tapyo around the hearth.

Without a Source for Salt, This Tribe Created a Delicious Substitute

The Apatani make tapyo from shrubs and ash.

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Across the central and western parts of the country, reverence for the deity translates to tolerance for predators.

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Likuma Sarma, a renowned mobile theater actor, does her makeup before taking the stage.

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A stand selling the snack in Bangalore.

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Even DNA tests have yet to confirm its identity.

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Once a major part of rural life, these traveling pictures shows were struggling even before the pandemic.

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The project has spanned decades and continents.

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