9 Curious Places in India You Have Never Heard About

When you think about India, the first sites that come to mind probably are the Taj Mahal or the Himalayan mountains. But the country is more than these things. Not many people know that you can experience unique things here, like dining with the dead, walking into the past by visiting shelters where people from prehistoric times left their prints, and even playing “hide and seek” with a supernatural beach.

We at Bright Side want to present a collection of the most unusual and peculiar places in India that you may want to visit.

1. A museum of toilets

Tired of history and art museums? Visit the international museum of toilets! Sulabh International Museum has a rare and impressive collection of facts, pictures, and objects detailing the historic evolution of toilets from 2500 BCE to date. Here, you may find a toilet disguised as a bookcase and even a replica of a “toilet throne” of King Louis XIV. In 2014, Time magazine even included the museum on their list of the 10 weirdest museums in the world.

2. A floating church

Among other churches present in India, there is one that is referred to as the “floating” one. The abandoned Shettihalli Rosary Church is called a “floating church” due to the fact that during monsoon season, its remains are submerged in water. During the peak rainy season, you can see only one-third of the chapel, and the rest of the building stays underwater.

3. A haunted fort

One of the most haunted sites in India is the Bhangarh fort that was built in the seventeenth century. According to local legends, the place was abandoned by people because of its curse.

In one version, the fort was cursed by a magician who fell in love with a princess living there but was rejected. And in another version, it was cursed by a local ascetic who was angry with the fact that the fort put a shadow on his house. True or not, because of these stories, visitors are not allowed to come to the fort after sunset.

4. A church with a mummy

Being one of the Catholic churches located in Goa, Basilica of Bom Jesus has a small secret: you may find a mummy here. The mortal remains belong to a missionary, St. Francis Xavier, who lived 450 years ago. The mystery behind the mummy is that the body of St. Francis remained intact without chemicals even after 5 centuries, which is truly surprising.

5. A 66-million-year-old rock in the town

If you visit Mumbai, apart from the world-famous Bollywood, you may also see one of the greatest wonders in India, the Gilbert Hill, which is a 66-million-year-old and 200-foot-tall monolith made entirely of black basalt. The hill was formed after molten lava was squeezed out of the cracks in the Earth during the Mesozoic Era. The locals consider Gilbert Hill a well-kept secret in the middle of a town that is older than everything that surrounds it.

6. Rocks with paintings of the first people

In India, you also have the unique opportunity to walk into the past. You can visit Bhimbetka rock shelters that display paintings that appear to date as far back as the Mesolithic Period, right through to the historical period. Here, you can see what the lives of people were like in prehistoric times, including cultural evolution from hunter-gatherers to agriculture, which is truly mesmerizing. The rocks are one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

7. Hide and seek beach

Among the different beaches in India, there is one that has a unique feature: its water disappears and comes back every day. Because of this, the beach in Odisha is known to play ’hide and seek.’ The sea here recedes up to 3.1 miles (5 km). Every single day, you can witness the low and high tides that are a real miracle of nature.

8. A restaurant with graves

The New Lucky Restaurant in India is not only a place where you can enjoy the local cuisine, but you can also dine in the presence of the dead. In fact, the restaurant was built in the middle of an old graveyard. So, instead of removing these graves, the owner decided to leave them and scatter tables next to the coffins. He thinks that the graves bring good luck and, because of it, his business is really flourishing.

9. A temple full of rats

Among numerous temples in India, one catches specific attention because of its inhabitants. Karni Mata Temple is not only a place for praying, but it’s also home to approximately 20,000 rats.

According to a legend where the stepson of Karni Mata (a female warrior) died, she asked the god of death to revive him. The god eventually allowed the stepson and other male children of Karni Mata to be reincarnated as rats. Now the small inhabitants are fed by locals and are considered to be holy.

Which places would you visit if you were in India?

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