192 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.

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.

Nahoum and Sons

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

See all 13 places to eat in India See all 13 places to eat in India

Atlas Obscura Trips

Desert Festivals of Rajasthan

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

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Stories About India

A field of northwestern Spain's beloved grelos is just one of the many permutations of <em>Brassica rapa</em>.

The Deep Roots of the Vegetable That ‘Took Over the World’

A study digs up the origin of the single species that gives us turnips, bok choy, broccoli rabe, and more.

by Gemma Tarlach

Podcast: Jatinga Bird Deaths

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

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Brihadisvara Temple, sometimes called the Big Temple, is in South India and dates back to the 11th century.

This Master Builder's Family Has Restored Temples for 38 Generations

The tradition of building and preserving the sacred spaces is both art and science for the <em>sthapati</em> lineage.

by Kalpana Sunder

One of the included cookbooks, <em>Cooking by Kadambila Saraswati</em>, is about South Canara cuisine.

Cook Your Way Through Regional Indian Recipes With This Online Archive

A student project is digitizing the subcontinent's community cookbooks.

by Sharanya Deepak

Victor Dragunsky's tales about the antics of a boy named Dennis were translated into Marathi.

How Soviet Children's Books Became Collectors' Items in India

Thanks to nostalgia, the literary legacy of the USSR has a long afterlife.

by Divya Sreedharan

ALL PHOTOS BY TAHA AHMAD

A Photographer's Journey Into New Delhi's House of Djinns

Drawn by a fascination with the supernatural, he captured the desires and desperation of people seeking otherworldly aid.

by Chaitali Patel

A work in progress: Carved from a single block of wood, the harp-like yazh features a distinctive peacock head.

Meet the Man Recreating Ancient Musical Instruments Lost to Time

Tharun Sekar's creations include the yazh, a harp-like instrument played in India 2,000 years ago.

by Radhika Iyengar

Podcast: The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji

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