Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Alley of the Kiss

Discover Alley of the Kiss in Guanajuato, Mexico: A Mexican Romeo-and-Juliet-esque legend has given this super-narrow alleyway a reputation for romance.

Hussong’s Cantina

Discover Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada, Mexico: A 19th-century Baja cantina that many say is the birthplace of the margarita.

Centro Ceremonial Otomí

Discover Centro Ceremonial Otomí in Temoaya, Mexico: This ceremonial Mexican square looks as though it belongs in a science fiction movie.

La Pascualita Is Not Your Average Mannequin

Chihuahua, Mexico’s La Pascualita has been giving window shoppers the creeps for decades with her eerily lifelike appearance and possible adventures after dark.  Dressed in bridal wear and exhibited in an otherwise unremarkable storefront window, La …

House of Laments

Discover House of Laments in Guanajuato, Mexico: Kitschy horror displays now fill the house where some very real serial killing took place.

La Lobera

Discover La Lobera in San Antonio, Mexico: Huge hole looks down onto an underground beach populated with sea lions.

La Mona

Discover La Mona in Tijuana, Mexico: Giant nude woman of Tijuana is also the artist's home.

Xochicalco Pyramids

Discover Xochicalco Pyramids in Xochicalco, Mexico: The ruins of an ancient city built by Mayan traders is centered around a temple of a sacred feathered serpent deity.

Condominio Insurgentes

Discover Condominio Insurgentes in Mexico City, Mexico: A jewel of the Mexico city skyline now slowly crumbles after surviving an earthquake.

Viejo San Juan Parangaricutiro

Discover Viejo San Juan Parangaricutiro in Angahuan, Mexico: This church, buried halfway in lava rock, is all that remains of a Mexican village destroyed by a volcano.

Toniná

Discover Toniná in Mexico: The enigmatic and seldom visited ruins of a Mayan city-state.

Grutas de García

Discover Grutas de García in García, Mexico: Inside this mountain lies several kilometers of breathtaking caves.

Cosmovitral Botanical Garden

Discover Cosmovitral Botanical Garden in Toluca, Mexico: Stained glass windows bathe this botanical garden in cosmic light.

Church of Santa María Tonantzintla

Discover Church of Santa María Tonantzintla in San Andrés Cholula, Mexico: An indigenous take on European design creates a stunning visual overload.

Cave of the Hanging Snakes

Discover Cave of the Hanging Snakes in José María Morelos, Mexico: Cave where bat-eating snakes hang down from the ceiling.

Conch Shell House

Discover Conch Shell House in Isla Mujeres, Mexico: Beach instrument turned bed and breakfast.

La Rotonda del Mar

Discover La Rotonda del Mar in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: A Lovecraftian altar of nightmarish bronze chairs sits ominously on a boardwalk in Puerto Vallarta.

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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

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