Agra
With the Taj Mahal overshadowing it, one can easily forget that Agra has one of the finest Mughal forts in India. Walking through courtyard after…
Must-see attractions in India
Gujarat & Diu
This sacred mountain, rising dramatically from the plains, is covered with Jain and Hindu temples and is a major pilgrimage site. However, as with any…
Madurai
The colourful abode of the triple-breasted warrior goddess Meenakshi (‘fish-eyed’ – an epithet for perfect eyes in classical Tamil poetry) is generally…
Hyderabad
Hyderabad's most impressive sight, this monumental fort lies on the western edge of town. In the 16th century the Qutb Shahs made Golconda a fortified…
Kolkata (Calcutta)
Set very attractively amid palms and manicured lawns, this large religious centre is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, inspired by 19th-century…
Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary
Odisha
Three rivers flow out to sea at Bhitarkanika, forming a tidal maze of muddy creeks and mangroves. This is India’s second-largest mangrove region, and most…
West Bengal
If you like tea, you should visit this celebrated organic and biodynamic Darjeeling tea estate. Walk-in visits to the processing factory, with huge…
Gujarat & Diu
One of Jainism’s holiest pilgrimage sites, Shatrunjaya is an incredible hill studded with temples, some of which are over 900 years old. It's said that…
Mumbai (Bombay)
Northeast of the Gateway of India in Mumbai Harbour, the rock-cut temples on Gharapuri, better known as Elephanta Island, are a Unesco World Heritage Site…
Karnataka
Badami’s highlights are its beautiful cave temples, three Hindu and one Jain, which display exquisite sculptures and intricate carvings. They're a…
Gujarat & Diu
Early-morning sunlight filters through the leaves and shadows skittle through the undergrowth. Suddenly, the silence is broken by the high-pitched alarm…
Chandigarh
At the epicentre of Le Corbusier’s planned city are the imposing concrete High Court, Secretariat and Vidhan Sabha, shared by the states of Punjab and…
Rishikesh
Just south of Swarg Ashram is what’s left of the original Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram, where the Beatles stayed and wrote much of the White Album (and a…
Udaipur
Surmounted by balconies, towers and cupolas towering over the lake, the imposing City Palace is Rajasthan’s largest palace, with a facade 244m long and 30…
Delhi
Delhi's largest temple, the Gujarati Hindu Swaminarayan Group’s Akshardham Temple was built in 2005, and is breathtakingly lavish. Artisans used ancient…
Haridwar
Har-ki-Pairi (The Footstep of God) is where Vishnu is said to have dropped some divine nectar and left behind a footprint. Every evening, hundreds of…
Mcleod Ganj
McLeod's main focus for visiting pilgrims, monks and most tourists is the Tsuglagkhang complex, a custard-coloured concrete monastic village that's home…
Meghalaya
The most fascinating sights around Cherrapunjee are the incredible living bridges – formed from rubber-fig roots that ingenious Khasi villagers have, over…
Jodhpur
The fort's museum encompasses its former palace, and is a superb example of Rajput architecture. The network of courtyards and halls features stone…
Northern Kerala
Wayanad's ethereal 345-sq-km sanctuary is accessible only by two-hour jeep safari (₹680), on which you might spot langurs, chital deer, sambar, peacocks,…
Delhi
Delhi's loveliest escape was originally named after the wife of the British Resident, Lady Willingdon, who had two villages cleared in 1936 in order to…
Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Panaji
Panaji’s spiritual, as well as geographical, centre is this elevated, pearly white church, built in 1619 over an older, smaller 1540 chapel, and stacked…
Aurangabad
Built by Aurangzeb’s son Azam Khan in 1679 as a mausoleum for his mother Rabia-ud-Daurani, Bibi-qa-Maqbara is widely known as the poor man’s Taj. With its…
Leh
Bearing a passing similarity to the Potala Palace in Lhasa (Tibet), this nine-storey dun-coloured edifice is Leh's dominant structure and architectural…
Kolkata (Calcutta)
Countless clay effigies of deities and demons immersed in the Hooghly during Kolkata’s colourful pujas (offering or prayers) are created in specialist…
Bikaner
This most impressive fort was constructed between 1589 and 1593 by Raja Rai Singh, ruler of Bikaner and a general in the army of the Mughal emperor Akbar…
Hyderabad
Hyderabad’s principal landmark and city symbol was built by Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 to commemorate the founding of Hyderabad and the end of…
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya
Mumbai (Bombay)
Mumbai’s biggest and best museum displays a mix of India-wide exhibits. The domed behemoth, an intriguing hodgepodge of Islamic, Hindu and British…
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
In the heart of Bengaluru’s business district is Cubbon Park, a well-maintained 120-hectare garden where Bengaluru’s residents converge to steal a moment…
Khajuraho
Believed to have been built in 1002, the Vishvanath Temple anticipates the plan and style of the Kandariya-Mahadev Temple. Dedicated to Shiva, it's a…
Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer’s fort is a living urban centre, with about 3000 people residing within its walls. It is honeycombed with narrow winding lanes, lined with…
Uttarakhand
This pretty lake is Nainital’s centrepiece and is said to be one of the emerald-green eyes of Shiva’s wife, Sati (naina is Sanskrit for eye) that fell to…
Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum
Mumbai (Bombay)
This gorgeous museum, built in Renaissance revival style in 1872 as the Victoria & Albert Museum, contains 3500-plus objects centring on Mumbai’s history …
Assam
The park’s 2400 one-horned rhinos represent about two-thirds of the world’s total population (in 1904, there were only 200). Kaziranga offers popular 4WD…
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
Step through the looking glass into what feels like an enchanted forest at this surreal place that is unlike any museum you will have visited before…
Kochi (Cochin)
Originally built in 1568, Mattancherry's synagogue was partially destroyed by the Portuguese in 1662, and rebuilt two years later when the Dutch took…
Mumbai (Bombay)
Iskcon Juhu plays a key part in the Hare Krishna story, as founder AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada spent extended periods here (you can visit his modest…
Srinagar
Over 15km around, Dal Lake is Srinagar's jewel, a vast sheet of water reflecting the carved wooden balconies of the houseboats and the misty peaks of the…
Agra
This park, originally built by Emperor Babur as the last in a series of 11 parks on the Yamuna’s east bank (long before the Taj was conceived), fell into…
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
Stretched majestically along the top of a 3km-long plateau overlooking Gwalior, the fort is a dominant, unmissable sight, full of fascinating palaces,…
