Amritsar
At the southeast end of the Golden Temple Complex is the Guru-Ka-Langar, an enormous dining room where an estimated 100,000 pilgrims come to eat every day…
Must-see attractions in India
Gujarat & Diu
Run by the award-winning Salvi family, this museum is an excellent place to see Patola silk weaving in action. The family has specialised in double-ikat…
Kachchh (Kutch)
This beautiful palace, built in 1752 and part of the Darbargadh palace complex, lost its top storey in the 2001 earthquake, but the lower floor is open,…
Shree Chhatrapati Shahu Museum
Maharashtra
‘Bizarre’ takes on a whole new meaning at this ‘new’ palace, an Indo-Saracenic behemoth designed by British architect ‘Mad’ Charles Mant for the Kolhapur…
Tiruvannamalai
This 10-hectare temple is one of India's largest. Its oldest parts date to the 9th century, but the site was a place of worship long before that. Four…
Bikaner
Of Bikaner’s two Jain temples, Bhandasar is particularly beautiful, with yellow-stone carving and vibrant paintings. The interior of the temple is…
Himachal Pradesh
What makes Sarahan so instantly distinctive are the 'twin towers' of its fabulous Bhimakali Temple, best photographed from behind with a backdrop of…
Nagaland
The immaculately maintained war cemetery contains the graves of over 1400 British, Indian and other Allied soldiers, killed in or around Kohima in 1944 as…
Dharamsala
Soothingly set amid bamboo, trees and flowing water, the delightful Norbulingka Institute, 6km southeast of Dharamsala, was established in 1988 to teach…
Himachal Pradesh
Between Palampur and Bir, don't miss a stop in Baijnath, whose uninteresting main-street buildings hide one of Himachal's most exquisite ancient temples…
Sikkim
With a breathtaking backdrop of Himalayan peaks, the gigantic, 41m-tall Buddha statue is one of Sikkim's most iconic sights. Finished in 2013, it's…
Hyderabad
This opulent 18th- and 19th-century palace compound, the main residence of several nizams, comprises several grandiose buildings and four garden…
Hampi
The focal point of Hampi Bazaar is this temple, one of the city’s oldest structures, and Hampi’s only remaining working temple. The main gopuram (gateway)…
Museum of Tribal Arts & Artefacts
Bhubaneswar
This superb museum is a must for visitors interested in Odisha's 62 tribes or considering a visit to the state's tribal areas. Complete with interactive…
Lakshmi Narayan Temple Complex
Himachal Pradesh
Far and away Chamba's top historical attraction, this temple compound crowning Dogra Bazaar contains a line of six beautifully sculpted stone sikharas …
Ladakh
Glorious Thiksey Gompa is one of Ladakh’s biggest and most recognisable monasteries, photogenically cascading down a raised rocky promontory. At its heart…
Gokarna
One of Karnataka's best beaches, Gokarna has a famous stretch of sand that twists and turns over several kilometres to resemble the outline of an Om…
Bundi
Within the Bundi Palace complex is the Chitrasala, a small 18th-century palace built by Rao Ummed Singh. To find it, exit through the palace’s Hathi Pol …
Jaisalmer
The biggest fish in the haveli (traditional, ornately decorated residence) pond is Patwa-ki-Haveli, which towers over a narrow lane, its intricate…
Himachal Pradesh
Meaning 'honoured flame', Jawal-Ji is Jawalmukhi's main temple and raison d'être, enshrining natural eternal flames that are said to mark the legendary…
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
Emperor Ashoka's 3rd-century BC Great Stupa, and many other stupas, temples, pillars, gateways and monasteries built in succeeding centuries, stand at the…
Hyderabad
The aristocratic Paigah family, purportedly descendants of the second Caliph of Islam, were fierce loyalists of the nizams, serving as statespeople,…
Northeast States
Agartala’s centrepiece is this striking, dome-capped palace, fronted by two reflecting lakes and housing the large, outstanding Tripura State Museum. The…
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
Pench is made up mostly of teak-tree forest rather than sal, and so has a different flavour from nearby Kanha or Bandhavgarh. It also sees fewer tourists …
New Delhi
This magnificent white-marble gurdwara (Sikh temple), topped by glinting golden onion domes, was constructed at the site where the eighth Sikh guru,…
Mysuru (Mysore)
Small in scale but masterly in detail, the astonishingly beautiful Keshava Temple is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture, on par with the…
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
Tigers are making a comeback after being reintroduced in 2009 to Panna Tiger Reserve from other Madhya Pradesh reserves; there are now thought to be more…
Joshi's Museum of Miniature Railway
Pune
Inside the small Soudamini Instruments factory in eastern Pune is what is claimed to be India's only miniature city, the lifelong obsession of model train…
Kolkata (Calcutta)
The stately 1784 family mansion of Rabindranath Tagore has become a shrine-like museum to India’s greatest modern poet. Even if his personal effects don’t…
Orchha
The spectacular soaring spires of the 16th-century Chaturbhuj Temple are visible from all over town. The Chaturbhuj has never been used for its intended…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
The Adalaj Vav, 19km north of Ahmedabad, is among the finest of the Gujarati step-wells. Built by Queen Rudabai in 1498, it has three entrances, leading…
National Gallery of Modern Art
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Housed in a century-old mansion – the former vacation home of the raja of Mysuru – this world-class art museum showcases an impressive permanent…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This stunning Buddhist complex is 40km west of Vizag and occupies a rocky outcrop about 300m long. Sankaram is also known by the names of its two parts,…
Karnataka
The beautiful Ibrahim Rouza is among the most elegant and finely proportioned Islamic monuments in India. Its 24m-high minarets are said to have inspired…
Punjab (India)
The ancestral home of the maharajas of Patiala, this richly ornamented 18th-century fort is an Arabian Nights fantasy of soaring buttresses and latticed…
Orchha
The Jehangir Mahal, an assault course of steep staircases and precipitous walkways, represents a zenith of Indo-Islamic architecture. More decorative than…
Varanasi
Varanasi’s liveliest and most colourful ghat. The name indicates that Brahma sacrificed (medh) 10 (das) horses (aswa) here. In spite of the persistent…
Maharashtra
This wildly panoramic viewpoint 12km south of Lonavla is one of the resort town's best non-kitschy sights. On a clear day, small waterfalls are visible…
Northeast States
Housed in three big colonnaded buildings with pagoda-style roofs, this huge bazaar with over 4000 all-women vendors is reckoned to be the largest of its…
Kachchh (Kutch)
The village of Nirona, 40km northwest of Bhuj, features several distinctive crafts (lacquerwork, bell making), but none more so than the award-winning…
