# Atlas Obscura > Search Atlas Obscura for weird, wonderful, and hidden gem places near any destination. Find the interesting stuff, not boring plaques. Search by coordinates, get full details with descriptions and images. - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-borski-travel-hacking-toolkit-atlas-obscura` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [borski](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/borski) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Search](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/search) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [borski](https://github.com/borski) - **Source:** https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit/tree/main/plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/atlas-obscura ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-borski-travel-hacking-toolkit-atlas-obscura ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Atlas Obscura Find genuinely interesting hidden gems near any destination via Atlas Obscura. Searches by coordinates, scores places for interestingness, and filters out mundane historical markers. No API key needed. Uses the [`atlas-obscura-api`](https://github.com/bartholomej/atlas-obscura-api) npm scraper. ## Prerequisites Install dependencies (one time): ```bash cd skills/atlas-obscura && npm install ``` ## City Coordinates Reference Common cities for trip planning. Use these with the search commands. | City | Lat | Lng | |------|-----|-----| | New York | 40.7128 | -74.0060 | | London | 51.5074 | -0.1278 | | Paris | 48.8566 | 2.3522 | | Tokyo | 35.6762 | 139.6503 | | Bangkok | 13.7563 | 100.5018 | | Rome | 41.9028 | 12.4964 | | Barcelona | 41.3874 | 2.1686 | | Istanbul | 41.0082 | 28.9784 | | Mexico City | 19.4326 | -99.1332 | | Lisbon | 38.7223 | -9.1393 | | Seoul | 37.5665 | 126.9780 | | Oslo | 59.9139 | 10.7522 | | Copenhagen | 55.6761 | 12.5683 | | Stockholm | 59.3293 | 18.0686 | ## Commands All commands run from the repo root. Output is JSON. Image URLs are excluded by default to keep output lean. Add `--images` to any command when you need them (e.g. generating HTML pages). ### Search Nearby (Filtered) Finds places near coordinates, fetches full details, scores for interestingness, and filters out boring stuff. Slower (fetches each place) but gives you the good stuff. ```bash node skills/atlas-obscura/ao.mjs search ``` Example: ```bash node skills/atlas-obscura/ao.mjs search 35.6762 139.6503 ``` Returns up to 20 places sorted by interest score. Each has full description, tags, and directions. **Timeout note:** This makes ~20 HTTP requests (one per place). Allow 30-60 seconds. ### Quick Search (Unfiltered) Fast nearby search. Returns title, subtitle, coordinates, distance. No detail fetching or scoring. ```bash node skills/atlas-obscura/ao.mjs quick ``` ### Search Unfiltered with Details Same as filtered search but keeps everything, including boring plaques. ```bash node skills/atlas-obscura/ao.mjs search --all ``` ### Full Place Details Get complete information for a specific place by ID. ```bash node skills/atlas-obscura/ao.mjs place ``` Returns: title, subtitle, full description (multi-paragraph), directions, tags, nearby places, interest score. ### Short Place Summary Quick place lookup without the full scrape. One request. ```bash node skills/atlas-obscura/ao.mjs short ``` ### Including Images Add `--images` to any command to include thumbnail and image URLs in the output. Useful when generating HTML pages or visual reports. ```bash node skills/atlas-obscura/ao.mjs search --images node skills/atlas-obscura/ao.mjs place --images ``` ## Interest Scoring Places are scored based on: **Bonus points for:** Abandoned, Ruins, Ghost Towns, Underground, Caves, Natural Wonders, Unusual Collections, Street Art, Museums, Markets, Hot Springs, Waterfalls, Breweries, Gardens, Islands, Art, Sculpture, Murals. Also: rich descriptions, multiple images. **Penalties for:** Plaques, Historical Markers, Monuments, War Memorials, Government Buildings. Also: places marked "gone" or hidden from maps. Places scoring below 0 are filtered out in the default search. ## Useful jq Filters ```bash # Just titles and subtitles ... | jq '.[] | {title, subtitle, tags}' # Top 5 by interest score ... | jq '[sort_by(-.interest_score) | .[0:5] | .[] | {title, subtitle, interest_score, url}]' # Places with specific tags ... | jq '[.[] | select(.tags | any(. == "Underground" or . == "Caves"))]' # Just URLs for browsing ... | jq -r '.[].url' ``` ## When to Use Load this skill when: - Planning trips and want to find hidden gems near destinations - Looking for unique, weird, or wonderful places to visit - Need Atlas Obscura recommendations for specific coordinates - Adding interesting stops to an itinerary Do not: - Use for booking (AO is discovery only) - Hammer the scraper excessively (it's scraping atlasobscura.com, be respectful) - Expect real-time availability (places can close, change hours, etc.) ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [borski](https://github.com/borski) - **Source:** [borski/travel-hacking-toolkit](https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit) - **License:** MIT Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-borski-travel-hacking-toolkit-atlas-obscura - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/borski - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.