Atlas ObscuraFollow

The definitive guide to the world's hidden wonders.

Magazines

Flips

Great Depression
Peanut Butter & Mayonnaise Sandwich
Atlas Obscura
Now largely forgotten, the pairing was once as popular as PB&J. During the Great Depression, people valued high-calorie combinations of protein and …
Valencia
Mocadorá
Atlas Obscura
Every autumn, Valencians celebrate their love by giving handkerchiefs filled with decorated marzipan treats. On October 9, residents of Valencia have …
Northern Italy
The Real Story Behind Northern Italy’s Abandoned ‘Ghost Mansion’
Atlas Obscura - by Lizzie Philip
“The ghost was me!” says Giuseppe Negri, who grew up at Villa de Vecchi. In the foothills of Cortenova, Italy, the mansion known as Villa de Vecchi …
Geese
Kars Goose With Bulgur Wheat
Atlas Obscura
In Northeast Turkey, one special bird makes a cultural and culinary centerpiece. In Northeastern Turkey, a very special goose finds its home in the …
Anarchism
What It Takes to Build an Anarchist Desert Town
Atlas Obscura - by Sarah Laskow
Slab City might be the “last free place,” but that freedom requires work. In Slab City, the public library has no due dates and no library cards. The …
Craft Beer
Black Habit Ale
Atlas Obscura
Benedictine monks in Oregon brew and serve this dark, heady beer. The monks at Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary, nestled between Salem and Portland, …
Mount Fuji
Fujisan Bread
Atlas Obscura
Worlds collide in this braided bread that tastes like brioche and is meant to look like Mount Fuji. Fujisan bread is a globe-trotting pastry of …
Andalusia
Tocinillo de Cielo
Atlas Obscura
This heavenly custard was born from the leftovers of sherry winemaking. The city of Jerez de la Frontera, in southern Spain’s Andalusia region, has …
Sea Level
Here Are the Mediterranean Sites That Will Be Swallowed By the Sea
Atlas Obscura - by Jessica Leigh Hester
Coastal erosion and flooding are bad news for these ancient places. As waters rise across the world, they will swamp and destroy the things we humans …
Spices
Long Pepper
Atlas Obscura
This once-common spice is now almost completely unknown outside India. Today, a shaker of black pepper is found on table settings all across the …
Culture
Found: A Rare Viking Boat Buried in a Flat Field
Atlas Obscura - by Sarah Laskow
The whole place was once a monumental graveyard. A field in Norway has been hiding an archaeological treasure. In Østfold County, there’s a flat, …
Qarta
Atlas Obscura
This simple dish of boiled horse intestine is prized for its unique and layered texture. Wandering the yamarka, or markets, of Kazakstan, one is …
San Francisco
A Century Ago, Wood-Eating Worms Devastated San Francisco Bay
Atlas Obscura - by Matthew Taub
The battle against them is still being waged today. On March 2, 1920, 1,000 feet of wharf came crashing down into Northern California’s Carquinez …
Condensed Milk
Pachamanca
Atlas Obscura
In Peru, layers of potatoes, meat, and sweets are steamed in a pit filled with volcanic rocks. Over the thousands of years that Andean cultures have …
Comfort Food
Our Lady of Lourdes French Meat Pie
Atlas Obscura
This French Canadian classic is a specialty of the oldest continually used church in Minneapolis. Our Lady of Lourdes Church is the oldest …
National Parks
Korean Temple Cuisine
Atlas Obscura
An all-female order shares this ancient art with visitors at their mountaintop monastery. Jinkwansa, a 12th-century Buddhist temple, sits atop a …
Native Americans
Maps Have the Power to Shape History
Atlas Obscura - by Sarah Laskow
A groundbreaking female cartographer charted the evolution of the United States—and the dispossession of Native Americans. In 1828, Emma Willard was …
Mango
Trappist Mango Products
Atlas Obscura
On a small island in the Philippines, monks make the most of legendary local fruit. Sandwiched between the islands of Panay and Negros, the tiny …
Wineries
Mavrud Wine
Atlas Obscura
This ruby, tannic style is little-known outside its native Bulgaria. In Bulgaria’s south-central province of Plovdid, farmers cultivate an ancient …
Blue Mountains
The Original ‘Humungous Fungus’ Is Even Bigger and Older Than We Thought
Atlas Obscura - by Matthew Taub
But it’s not the biggest. Generally speaking, the idea of a spreading fungus—they make a cream for that—is a pretty revolting concept. But a fungus …
Condensed Milk
Anthill Cake
Atlas Obscura
This beloved Russian dessert is the brainchild of Soviet-era housewives with meat grinders. During the Soviet regime, housewives could cobble together …
New Testament
Marzipan Easter Lamb
Atlas Obscura
This sweet symbolic figurine is a Sicilian holiday tradition. Sicilians prepare a traditional Easter celebration with the help of a little lamb. Known …
Salzburg
Salzburger Nockerl
Atlas Obscura
This dessert pays tribute to the snow-covered mountains surrounding Salzburg. The Salzburger nockerl is a soufflé dessert that rises up from its dish …
Monasteries
Anis de Flavigny
Atlas Obscura
Once made by monks, this candy spends 15 days rolling in sugar syrup to get its pearly-white shell. Anis de Flavigny candies start with a single, tiny …
Portable
Koi-Koi Matsuri Festival
Atlas Obscura
Once a year, an enormous miso bowl is paraded through a Japanese mountain town. Every autumn, right around the time the rice is ready to reap, towns …
Trails
Licor Valvanera
Atlas Obscura
This herbal liqueur is produced by a Benedictine monastery in the Spanish wine region of La Rioja. Travelers in Spain’s La Rioja region may find …
Welsh Rarebit
The Horseshoe
Atlas Obscura
The original “nails” have disappeared from this cheese-smothered, horseshoe-shaped ham dish. Sometimes there is a dish so iconic, so legendary, that …
Soybeans
Goma Dofu
Atlas Obscura
This tofu alternative replaces soybeans with sesame and kudzu. It may be hard to think of a tofu that’s not made from soybeans. But beyond the bean, …
arXiv
What Do You Call a Moon’s Moon?
Atlas Obscura - by Sarah Laskow
The inexplicable delight of moon-moons, sub-islands, and other recursive places. Two astronomers have asked a question for the ages: Can moons have …
Hot Air Balloons
Spiedies
Atlas Obscura
Binghamton celebrates its sandwich of marinated meat cubes at a yearly hot air balloon festival. Locals in Binghamton and the surrounding counties in …