Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Surfing the Amazon

Discover Surfing the Amazon in São Domingos do Capim, Brazil: Once a year, ambitious surfers can ride the world's largest river.

Ubatuba Whale

Discover Ubatuba Whale in Ubatuba, Brazil: What killed this humpback whale is a mystery, but its remains have become legendary.

Itaipu Dam

Discover Itaipu Dam in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil: As one of the world's largest hydroelectric dams this plant took two countries to get built.

Peanut Street

Discover Rua do Amendoim (Peanut Street) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Cars mysteriously roll uphill on this street.

Castelinho da Rua Apa

Discover Castelinho da Rua Apa in São Paulo, Brazil: Striking ruins of a mansion that stood center stage in one of modern Brazil's most puzzling crimes.

Ilha Fiscal

Discover Ilha Fiscal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: This Brazilian palace island was once the site of the last grand ball before revolution.

Butantã Snake Institute

Discover Butantã Snake Institute in São Paulo, Brazil: A snake farm famous for its venemous varieties.

Caxias do Sul Dog Favela

Discover Caxias do Sul Dog Favela in Caxias do Sul, Brazil: A puppy slum that protects canines from the cruelties of the human slums.

Parabolic Slides

Discover Parabolic Slides in Garching bei München, Germany: Four-story slides send people whizzing through the math department at this Munich university.

Teatro Amazonas in Manaus

Discover Teatro Amazonas in Manaus in Manaus, Brazil: A beautiful opera house in the heart of Amazonia has recently restarted performances after a 90-year hiatus.

Casa de Pedra

Discover Casa de Pedra in São Paulo, Brazil: The eccentric home of Estevão Silva da Conceição, known as the "Brazilian Gaudí.".

Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences

Discover Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: This Brazilian astronomy museum allows guests to gaze at the stars through their telescopes each weekend.

Casa da Flor

Discover Casa da Flor in São Pedro da Aldeia, Brazil: A self built castle built by a salt worker in Brazil.

Boca do Acre

Discover Boca do Acre in Boca do Acre, Brazil: Hub for hallucinogenic Amazon religion.

The Nazi Graveyard of Brazil

Discover The Nazi Graveyard of Brazil in Laranjal do Jari, Brazil: This gravesite in the Amazon Rainforest was left behind by a failed Third Reich expedition.

Museu Oscar Niemeyer

Discover Museu Oscar Niemeyer in Curitiba, Brazil: Museum precariously perched on a massive yellow pillar.

Anchieta Island Correctional Institute

Discover Anchieta Island Correctional Institute in Ubatuba, Brazil: The ruins of this Brazilian island prison still bear the scars of the bloody rebellion that closed it down.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 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. 474 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. 499 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. 633 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. 135 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. 167 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). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 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. 96 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. 166

PP ToS