Sights in India
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Taj-ul-Masjid
Bhopal’s third female ruler, Shah Jahan Begum wanted to create the largest mosque in the world, so in 1877 set about building Taj-ul-Masjid. It was still incomplete at her death in 1901, after funds had been diverted to other projects, and construction did not resume until 1971. Fortress-like terracotta walls surround three gleaming white onion domes and a pair of towering pink minarets with white domes. If you can make the dawn azan (Muslim call to prayer), you won’t regret it.
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Sangam
This is the point where the shallow, muddy Ganges meets the clearer, deeper Yamuna. Hindu pilgrims come all year to bathe and take a boat out to the auspicious spot where the two rivers meet. A rowing boat should not cost more than Rs 30 per person if you share, but boat-owners are desperate to get foreign tourists on board at inflated prices. A private boat for a half-hour trip is about Rs 200. The number of pilgrims increases during the annual Magh Mela (mid-January to mid-February).
Astrologers calculate the holiest time to enter the water and draw up a 'Holy Dip Schedule'. The most propitious time of all happens only every 12 years when the massive Kumbh Mela takes…
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Snow View
The cable car runs up to the popular Snow View at 2270m, which on clear days has panoramic Himalayan views, including Nanda Devi. At the top you'll find the usual food, souvenir and carnival stalls, as well as Mountain Magic, an amusement park with rides that kids will love. There's also a hotel with restaurant and bar. You can hike to Cheena/Naina Peak, 4km away.
A walk up to or back from Snow View can take in the tiny Gadhan Kunkyop Ling Gompa (monastery) of the Gelukpa order (of which the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader). Take the road uphill from the Hotel City Heart and a path branches off to the gompa (the colourful prayer flags should be visible).
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Village Group
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Palace Ruins
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Museums
The Archaeological Museum, announced by a wonderful 11th-century statue of Ganesh (dancing sensuously for an elephant-headed deity), has a small but well-presented collection of sculptures from around Khajuraho. This is a good opportunity to get up close to some very well-preserved carvings. At the time of research, there were plans to move this museum to a larger site north of the Western Group, but don’t hold your breath; they’ve been telling us that since 2006.
The museum-cum-art gallery, Adivart Tribal & Folk Art Museum, makes a colourful change from the temples. It gives a taste of the vibrant tribal culture of both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh through…
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Salar Jung Museum
The huge collection of the Salar Jung Museum, dating back to the 1st century, was put together by Mir Yusaf Ali Khan (Salar Jung III), the grand vizier of the seventh nizam, Osman Ali Khan (r 1910-49). The 35,000 exhibits from every corner of the world include sculptures, wood carvings, devotional objects, Persian miniature paintings, illuminated manuscripts, weaponry and more than 50,000 books. The impressive nizams’ jewellery collection is sometimes on special exhibit. Cameras are not allowed. You should avoid visiting the museum on Sunday when it is bedlam. From any of the bus stands in the Abids area, take bus 7, which stops at Afzal Gunj bus stop on the north side of…
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Charminar
Hyderabad’s principal landmark, the Charminar was built by Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 to commemorate the founding of Hyderabad and the end of epidemics caused by Golconda’s water shortage. Standing 56m high and 30m wide, the dramatic four-column structure has four arches facing the cardinal points. Minarets sit atop each column. The 2nd floor, home to Hyderabad’s oldest mosque, and upper columns are not usually open to the public, but you can try your luck with the man with the key. The structure is illuminated from 7pm to 9pm.
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Tibet House
This small museum at the Tibet House displays ceremonial items, including sacred manuscripts, sculptures and old thangkas (Tibetan paintings on cloth). All were brought out of Tibet when the Dalai Lama fled following Chinese occupation. Photography prohibited.
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Safdarjang’s Tomb
Built by the Nawab of Avadh for his father, Safdarjang, this grandiose mid-18th-century tomb is one of the last examples of Mughal architecture. Its overwrought mannerism might reflect the final throes of the great empire, but it’s still a charming spot.
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Planetarium
In the Teen Murti Bhavan grounds is a planetarium.
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Lodi Garden
Lovely Lodi garden is a popular place for a morning/evening stroll or jog, and it is especially pretty at dusk. The gardens encompass the crumbling tombs of the Sayyid and Lodi rulers, including the impressive 15th-century Bara Gumbad.
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Humayun’s Tomb
Don’t miss this, Delhi’s most sublime sight. A beautiful example of early Mughal architecture, this tomb was built in the mid-16th century by Haji Begum, the Persian-born senior wife of the second Mughal emperor Humayun. The tomb brought Persian style to Delhi, but the two-tone combination of red sandstone and white marble is entirely local, showing the complementary merging of the cultures. Elements in its design – a squat building with high arched entrances that let in light, topped by a bulbous dome and surrounded by 30 acres of formal gardens – were to be refined over the years to eventually create the magnificence of Agra’s Taj Mahal.
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Hazrat Nizam-Ud-Din Dargah
Amid a tangle of alleys, attracting hoards of devotees, is the vibrant marble shrine of the Muslim Sufi saint, Nizam-ud-din Chishti. He died in 1325, aged 92, but the mausoleum has been revamped several times, and dates from 1562. Other tombs include the later grave of Jahanara (daughter of Shah Jahan), and the renowned Urdu poet, Amir Khusru. It’s one of Delhi’s most atmospheric pleasures to hear Sufis sing qawwali, at around sunset after evening prayers, on Thursdays and feast days.
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Gandhi Smriti
This poignant memorial is where Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu zealot on 30 January 1948. Concrete footsteps represent Gandhi’s final steps and lead to the spot where he died, which is marked by a small pavilion known as the Martyr’s Column.
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Ghats
Spiritual life in Varanasi revolves around the ghats, the long string of bathing steps leading down to the water on the western bank of the Ganges. Most are used for bathing but there are also several 'burning ghats' where bodies are cremated in public - the main burning ghat is Manikarnika and you'll often see funeral processions threading their way through the backstreets to this ghat.
The best time to visit the ghats is at dawn when the river is bathed in a mellow light as pilgrims come to perform puja (literally 'respect'; offering or prayers) to the rising sun, and at sunset when the main ganga aarti ceremony takes place at Dasaswamedh Ghat. Around 80 ghats border…
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Dalhousie Square
Ranged around BBD Bagh is much of Kolkata's finest colonial architecture. Originally called Tank Square, its palm-lined central reservoir-lake ('tank') once supplied the young city's water. Some locals still use its later-colonial name Dalhousie Square commemorating British Lieutenant-Governor Lord Dalhousie. But with delicious irony, the square is now re-renamed after the nationalists who tried to assassinate him.
In fact the BBD trio (Binoy, Badal and Dinesh) bungled their 1930 raid, killing instead an unlucky prisons inspector. Nonetheless the attack was a highly symbolic moment in the self-determination struggle. The assassination took place within the photogenic 1780…
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Ramnagar Fort & Museum
This crumbling but impressive 17th-century fort and palace, on the eastern bank of the Ganges, is a beautiful place to watch the sun set over the river. It also houses an eccentric museum. There are vintage American cars, jewel-encrusted sedan chairs, a superb weaponry section and an extremely unusual astrological clock. The current maharaja, Anant Narayan Singh – still known in these parts as the Maharaja of Benares despite such royal titles being officially abolished in 1971 – continues his family tradition of attending the annual month-long Ram Lila drama festival held in the streets behind the fort.
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Tipu Sultan’s Palace
In the heart of the vibrant Krishnarajendra City Market stands the elegant palace of Tipu Sultan, notable for its teak pillars and ornamental frescoes. Though not as beautiful (or well-maintained) as Tipu’s summer palace in Srirangapatnam, it’s an interesting monument, and definitely worth an outing when combined with other nearby sights such as the Krishnarajendra (City) Market, the massive Jama Masjid, the remains of Kempegowda’s fort and the ornate Venkataraman Temple.
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Bengaluru Palace
The private residence of the Wodeyar family, Bengaluru Palace preserves a slice of the bygone royal life for you to see. Aged retainers show you around the building, designed to resemble Windsor Castle, and you can marvel at the lavish interiors and galleries featuring family photos and a collection of nude portraits. Ask before you get clicking. The palace grounds, interestingly, are now Bengaluru’s hottest concert arena, having hosted everyone from Iron maiden, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Deep Purple in the past!
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Jaswant Thada
This milky white marble memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II is an array of whimsical domes – it’s a welcome, peaceful spot after the hubbub of the city, and the view across to the fort is superb. The cenotaph, built in 1899, was followed by the royal crematorium and three other cenotaphs that stand nearby. Look out for the memorial to a peacock that flew into the funeral pyre. There are some beautiful jalis (carved marble lattice screens), and it’s the definitive tomb with a view.
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Hal Aerospace Museum
For a peek into India’s aeronautical history, visit this wonderful museum past the old airport, where you can see some of the indigenous aircraft models designed by HAL, sometimes with a little help from other nations. Interesting exhibits include the infamous MIG-21, indigenous models such as the Marut and Kiran, and a vintage Canberra bomber. You can also engage in mock dogfights at the simulator machines (Rs10) on the top-floor.
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Hemis Gompa
Hidden behind the timelessly pretty Hemis village, in soothingly green foliage, A 7km detour from Karu, the famous 1672 Hemis gompa is the spiritual centre of Ladakh’s Drukpa Buddhists (www.drukpa.org). Documents supposedly found here support Jesus in India conspiracists’ notion that Christ visited Kashmir. Hemis’ fame rests primarily on its annual Tse-Chu festival.
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Vintage & Classic Car Collection
The maharajas’ Vintage & Classic Car Collection is fascinating for car buffs, with 22 splendid vehicles, including a 1938 Cadillac with modifications for purdah and the beautiful 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom used in Octopussy. If you enjoy a vegetarian thali, it’s not a bad lunch option (lunch 11am to 3pm, dinner 7pm to 10pm).
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Dutch Cemetery
The Dutch Cemetery, consecrated in 1724, contains the worn and dilapidated graves of Dutch traders and soldiers; it’s gates are normally locked but you can ask the caretaker at St Francis Church if you want to have a look around.
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