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The Atlas Obscura Guide To India

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

Updated November 18, 2024

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  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. Panaji
  22. Pune
  23. Varanasi
  24. Velha Goa

Unusual Attractions in India

See All 332 Things To Do in India

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in India

See all 15 Places to Eat in India
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Architecture 98
History & Culture 71
Temples 53
Sacred Spaces 37
Religion 35
History 28
Ruins 27
Hinduism 26

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Stories About India

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
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
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
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

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
The parasitic plant Sapria himalayana, also known as the jeweled corpse flower, was one of several rare species found in the Siang Valley by ATREE botanists.

The Biodiversity of India's Siang Valley Rediscovered After an Infamous Colonial Expedition

A red velvet worm, jeweled corpse flower, and other rare species were found while retracing the route of the bloody 1911-12 Abor Expedition.
by Deepa Padmanaban
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
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

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

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