WHAT IS THE ATLAS OBSCURA?

The Atlas Obscura is the definitive guidebook and friendly tour-guide to the world’s most wondrous places.

User-generated and editor curated, the Atlas is a collaborative compendium of amazing places that aren't found in your average guidebook.

If you're looking for miniature cities, glass flowers, books bound in human skin, gigantic flaming holes in the ground, bone churches, balancing pagodas, or homes built entirely out of paper, the Atlas Obscura is where you'll find them.

A collaborative project anyone and everyone is welcome and encouraged to add a place for inclusion, and to edit the content already in the Atlas. Whether searching for an upcoming trip, taking a trip with the Obscura Society, or just reading places great stories: we want to help your adventures happen.

In an age where everything seems to have been explored and there is nothing new to be found, the Atlas Obscura celebrates a different way of traveling, and viewing the world. There is plenty out there to discover, so lets start looking!

Email us at info@atlasobscura.com.

The Team

• Joshua Foer
  Co-Founder, CEO
• Dylan Thuras
  Co-Founder, COO

• Seth Teicher
  VP Business Development, Social Media
• Annetta Black
  VP Obscura Society, Events Planning
• Nick Jackson
  Editor in Chief
• 
• Sarah Brumble
  Senior Writer / Atlas Obscura Guide Writer
• 

Interns, freelancers, designers and people past and present who helped build the Atlas to what it is today

• Allison C. Meier
  Writer/Editor
• Michelle Enemark
  Film/Motion Graphics Coordinator
• M. Rebekah Otto
  Writer/Editor
• Tre Witkowski
  Writer/Editor
• Trevor David
  Writer/Editor / Science Correspondent
• Kalia Kuligowski
  Writer/Editor / Sloth Wrangler
• Ryan Matsunaga
  Writer/Editor / Zombie Killer
• Anhie Nguyen
  Writer/Editor
• Wythe Marschall
  Senior Editor
• Adam Varga
  Web Developer
• Aaron Taylor Waldman
  Designer

Frequently Asked Questions

• WHAT KIND OF PLACES ARE IN THE ATLAS OBSCURA?

  To merit inclusion in the Atlas Obscura, a place should appeal to our sense of wonder and curiosity. That said, we are not interested in oddity for oddity's sake, or that which is merely "quirky" or a "roadside attraction." We're looking for places that expand our sense of what is possible and tell us something about ourselves, and about the wider world in which we live.

• WHO CAN EDIT INFORMATION IN THE ATLAS OBSCURA?

  Anyone can add or edit information in the Atlas Obscura, though we encourage you to become a member of the Atlas Obscura community so that you can track edits, comments, and the popularity of your entries.

• I KNOW OF A WONDROUS, CURIOUS, OR ESOTERIC PLACE THAT IS NOT IN THE ATLAS OBSCURA. CAN I ADD IT?

  We're counting on you! We've tried to make the process of submitting places to the Atlas as simple and straightforward as possible. In order to ensure the highest level of quality, all new entries and edits will be reviewed by an editor before going living in the Atlas. Please be aware that it may take as much as 24 hours before your changes appear on the site.

• WHAT CONSTITUTES A GOOD ATLAS ENTRY?

  All Atlas Obscura entries should be written in the third-person. We aim for a tone that is matter-of-fact and encyclopedic. For an entry to be included in the Atlas Obscura, it must be a specific place or group of places that can actually be visited. Sites that are only occasionally open to the public are welcome, but must be noted as such. We ask that all submissions to the Atlas Obscura be original content, written by you.

• WHO'S BEHIND THE ATLAS OBSCURA?

  The Atlas Obscura was founded in 2009 by Joshua Foer and Dylan Thuras.

• HOW DO I CONTACT THE ATLAS OBSCURA?

  For general e-mails, please contact us at info@atlasobscura.com.