Three dozen UNESCO World Heritage Sites are a great reason to go to India. What to see first and where to look for the most famous architectural and natural treasures? Our list will help you plan an action and build a route.
TOP 15 sights of India
Taj Mahal
All ratings of Indian architectural treasures start with the Taj Mahal and this is not surprising. A magnificent example of the construction talent of the Great Mughals gives rise to admiration for tens of thousands of tourists every day. The mausoleum-burial vault was built in the first half of the 17th century. The figures and facts are impressive:
- On the construction of the Taj Mahal, 20 thousand people worked for 21 years.
- The height of the structure together with the platform is 74 meters.
- Translucent marble was delivered to the construction site from a quarry located 300 km away.
- 28 types of semi-precious and ornamental stones were used to inlay the walls.
The complex is open daily from 6.00 to 19.00 except Friday. You can see how marble changes color at night on a full moon - five days a month, the Taj Mahal is open to the public around the clock.
The mausoleum is located in Agra.
Amber
At the end of the 16th century, a fortified residence of the local rajah was built on the crest of a rocky mountain in the suburbs of Jaipur. The fortress of red and white stone and the temple in honor of the goddess Kali have been perfectly preserved to this day. Despite the defensive purpose of the building, there are clear features of the architecture of the Mughals, traditionally magnificently decorating their buildings. The lush decoration of the citadel amazes with its sophistication. You can admire the image of Ganesha, artfully carved from coral, and the Hall of a Thousand Mirrors will amaze you with amazing optical effects.
Amber Residence is located in the northern part of Jaipur on the shores of Lake Maota. Local taxis or elephant drivers will help you get there.
Red Fort in Delhi
The historic citadel of the Mughal Empire in the capital of India is a structure worth seeing. The fortress was built in the image and likeness of paradise, described in the holy book of Muslims. The name of the Red Fort of the citadel was given by a wall of this color, stretching for 2.5 kilometers. Its height in some places reaches 16 meters. The construction of Lal Qila (name in Hindi) was completed in the middle of the 17th century.
On the territory of the complex you can buy souvenirs at the covered market and visit the exhibitions of the museums of paintings, archeology and musical instruments. The territory of the citadel is open from 8.30 am, and in the evenings a light show is held in the fortress.
Palace of Winds in Jaipur
One of the main attractions in Jaipur is Hawa Mahal. This is the name of the harem wing of the palace of the local maharaja, built of pink sandstone. It looks incredibly light and delicate thanks to 953 windows that literally permeate the entire structure. The windows served as salvation from the heat, and the maharaja's concubines peeped through them for street life, being in absolute safety and remaining invisible to passers-by.
The Palace of the Winds was built in the second half of the 18th century and is located in the center of the old part of Jaipur.
Qutb Minar in Delhi
The tallest brick minaret in the world can be found in the southwest of the Indian capital in the Mehrawi region. Other attractions are concentrated in the Qutb-Minar complex - the Ala-i-Minar minaret, the Kuvvat-ul-Islam mosque, the Ala-i-Darwaza gate and a column of meteorite iron.
The minaret soars into the sky to a height of more than 72 meters and has a base diameter of almost 15 meters. Its construction lasted about 200 years - from the 12th to the 14th century.
The real mystery is the seven-meter Iron Column, which has not corroded for 1600 years of its existence.
Harmandir Sahib
The central temple of the Sikh religion in the state of Punjab is called Golden. It stands in the middle of a lake dug in the 16th century by the then Sikh guru in the city of Amritsar. The upper tiers of the temple are indeed covered with gold, and the narrow marble bridge connecting the building with the shore symbolizes the path separating the righteous from the sinner.
The temple closes only for the night and at 3 o'clock in the morning again opens the doors to pilgrims and tourists.
Golconda
A powerful fortress, built just west of the city of Hyderabad, in the 16th century served as the capital of the Sultanate of Golconda. The area is famous for its diamond mines and the largest stones known in world history were mined here.
The structure is crowned by a 120-meter high granite hill and consists of four different parts. You will see:
- 87 stone bastions that protected the approaches to the city. Some still have medieval cannons.
- Four drawbridges and eight gates blocking the entrance to the citadel.
- Parts of the fortress that served as a state prison and treasure store during the British rule in India.
What to see in Golconda? For example, bas-reliefs on the granite mausoleums of the rulers of the Qutb-Shahi dynasty, or stone carvings that adorn the gates of the fortress.
Train station in Mumbai
When Mumbai was called Bombay, its train station was named after Queen Victoria. The Chhatrapati Shivaji terminal is one of the most crowded in the country. The station building was built at the end of the 19th century and is a vivid example of a mix of neo-Gothic architecture of the Victorian era with motives of the Indo-Saracenic building traditions. The building is richly decorated with wood carvings and copper forging, and its dome is visible from many points of the city and is considered a symbol of old Bombay.
Konarak Temple of the Sun
An architectural monument of the 13th century, erected in the state of Orissa by Raja Narasimhadeva I, still shakes the imagination of everyone who first appears in front of it. The temple was built on the Shore of the Bay of Bengal and was 75 meters high. The building was covered with a huge stone slab and the temple served as a place of worship for the sun god Surya.
The finest stone carving of huge columns is not the only advantage of the temple. In front of him are the figures of seven horses and a chariot carved from stone, and the interiors of the sanctuary are decorated with bas-reliefs on a love theme.
Ranthambore
A national park in the southeastern state of Rajasthan was established to protect Bengal tigers, whose population began to decline rapidly in the middle of the last century. Today the reserve is considered the best place in India to observe predators in their natural habitat. Another highlight of Ranthambore National Park is one of the largest banyan trees in India. Its roots cover a huge area and consume several old buildings.
Charminar
The Mosque of the Four Minarets is one of the most significant architectural monuments in the city of Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The monument was built by the Sultan of Golconda at the end of the 16th century in honor of the deliverance from the plague. The mosque stands on the very spot where the ruler prayed to Allah.
Four carved stone minarets, set at the corners of the mosque, soar almost 50 meters into the sky. Inside each of the towers, 149 steps of a spiral staircase lead to observation platforms, from where a panoramic view of the city opens. Giant arches in the walls of the mosque once served as gates. Their width is 11 meters.
You will find the city of Hyderabad in the heart of the Indian subcontinent.
Temples of Khajuraho
Khajuraho was once the capital of the state of Chandela, which existed in India in the 9th-13th centuries. It was then that 85 temples were built, the intricate carving of which amazed all travelers who came to this area without exception.
Today, not much remains of the former greatness of Kazduraho. Only a third of the buildings have survived, each bas-relief of which is a stone illustration of an ancient Indian treatise on love. The splendor of Khajuraho, called the Kama Sutra temples, can be found in the state of Madhya Pradesh in the center of northern India.
Galta and the city of the monkeys
10 km east of Jaipur in the jungle is the Galta Temple, a place of pilgrimage for thousands of Hindus. Bathing in the temple pools improves karma, because once Saint Galav lived and repentant here. The temple is literally sandwiched in a narrow corridor between the rocks and the sacred pools successfully reflect the magnificent structures of pink stone with the remains of paintings.
The second and no less important attraction of Galta is hundreds of monkeys living on the territory of the complex. Nuts are sold at the entrance, and tourists treat the tailed natives, in gratitude to posing on the lenses of photo and video cameras.
Ajanta
The Buddhist temple complex of Ajanta is a monastery carved into the rocks, the construction of which began in the 2nd century AD. The caves are located at the edge of a deep gorge. The complex stretches for half a kilometer in length, and its height reaches 20 meters. The interiors of the temples are decorated with unique paintings, and the entrances are decorated with stone columns with skillful carvings.
The closest city to the complex is Aurangabad, accessible by rail from Mumbai. Regular buses or taxis will take you to Ajanta. The complex is closed on Mondays.
Humpy
In the north of Karnataka, tourists are attracted by the village of Hampi, located in the center of the ruins of Vijayanagara. The local monuments are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the main temple is dedicated to the god Virupaksha, whom the Hindus consider the husband of the goddess Pampa.
The history of the temple began at least in the 7th century. The religious building has repeatedly been destroyed by Muslim conquerors, but today the temple has been restored and is available for visiting. The tower above the gate - gopuram - rises 50 meters into the sky and has nine levels.
The most popular time for pilgrims and tourists is December, when the Pampa and Virupaksha wedding festival is celebrated.
