Atlas Obscura is a new kind of National Geographic that celebrates hidden places and incredible history. The digital media company already has won over more than a million monthly users who are looking for travel treasures beyond the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China. The focus is on inspiring wanderlust with the incredible, strange and marvelous places in the world. Imagine exploring mud-colored houses in Burano and tunnels dug by hand through mountains. These are the gems that Atlas Obscura brings to light.
Relying largely on users who provide content, Atlas Obscura has compiled a gargantuan database of largely unknown wonders. Some 14,255 places and foods have been contributed so far by its global community of explorers. It’s not your father’s mainstream online travel website. Rather, Atlas Obscura revels in the weird and wonderful.
Atlas Obscura invites community members in this country to unique events ranging from workshops to back-room tours. Cities such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles play host to events that provide the rarest of experiences. The company takes small groups of travelers on trips to unusual places such as scientific research stations in the Peruvian Amazon and Bhutan’s mountaintop temples.
Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders, was their first book published in 2016 and a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon and the New York Times. This collection draws from the Atlas Obscura library of secret wonders to reveal more than 700 of the strangest and most curious places on the planet. Armchair travelers and globetrotters alike are entertained by the Explorer’s Guide hundreds of photographs and maps for every far-flung corner of the world.
The book makes for a must-read with descriptions of compelling places, architectural marvels and mind-boggling events. One such place is the huge baobob tree in South Africa. Located inside the tree is a pub that seats 15 people comfortably. Another is Turkmenistan’s 40-year hole of fire called the Gates of Hell, and still another are the M.C. Escher-like stepwells in India.
When It’s time to draw up a bucket list and get off the beaten path, Atlas Obscura is ready to lead the way to some of the most astonishing places on earth.
Start the adventure at the Atlas Obscura website and check out the Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders on Amazon.