Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Polé (Xcaret Archaeological Site)

Discover Polé (Xcaret Archaeological Site) in Playa del Carmen, Mexico: One of Mexico's least-visited archaeological sites is tucked away inside a theme park.

Berikaoba Sculpture Group

Discover Berikaoba Sculpture Group in Tbilisi, Georgia: A lively circle of dancers in the Georgian capital commemorates an ancient rite of spring.

Saba Milkfish Museum

Discover Saba Milkfish Museum in Tainan City, Taiwan: A small museum dedicated to one of the most popular fish in Taiwanese cuisine.

Sipiso-piso Waterfall

Discover Sipiso-piso Waterfall in Merek, Indonesia: One of Indonesia's tallest, this waterfall takes a 390-foot plunge into the Lake Toba caldera.

The Baker House

Discover The Baker House in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: This lakefront cottage was crafted in the 1800s and was once a sanitorium.

Einstein’s Summer House

Discover Einstein's Summer House in Schwielowsee, Germany: Before he was forced to flee the country under Nazi rule, Albert Einstein spent his summers in this custom-built lakeside house near Berlin.

Loktak Lake

Discover Loktak Lake in Manipur, India: The largest freshwater lake in northeast India is also the only floating national park in the world.

Holmenkollen Ski Jump

Discover Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Holmenkollen, Norway: A stunning architectural yet functional feat, towering over Oslo.

Farrandsville Iron Furnace

Discover Farrandsville Iron Furnace in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania: This abandoned iron furnace was one of the first to use coke—a type of high-carbon fuel—to make iron.

Omirokusama Shrine

Discover Omirokusama Shrine in Tosa, Japan: Plagued with warts? Leave a frog at this small shrine in the city of Tosa, and you may be cured.

Comanche Lookout Park

Discover Comanche Lookout Park in San Antonio, Texas: One of the highest points in Bexar county offers birdseye views of San Antonio and a four-story stone tower.

Church of St. Nicholas

Discover Church of St. Nicholas in Demre, Turkey: This church houses the tomb—but not the remains—of St. Nicholas, the likely progenitor to Santa Claus.

Dunmore Park House

Discover Dunmore Park House in Dunmore, Scotland: A once extravagant mansion, now reduced to ruin.

Museum of the Slovak National Uprising

Discover Múzeum Slovenského Národného Povstania (Museum of the Slovak National Uprising) in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia: A monument to the bloody fight against fascism in Slovakia during World War II.

Pozzo della Cava

Discover Pozzo della Cava in Orvieto, Italy: Nine caves filled with recently-discovered archaeological finds under the houses and the streets of the most ancient district of an old town.

The Victorian Mansion

Discover The Victorian Mansion in Los Alamos, California: This unique bed and breakfast was first constructed during the 1800s by a Russian immigrant family.

Art Alley

Discover Art Alley in Mount Dora, Florida: A small strip of artistic displays is tucked away in a flea market.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 261 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 480 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 514 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 642 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 137 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 172 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 256 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 151 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 98 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 168

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