Sights in Uttar Pradesh
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Taj Mahal
The Taj can be accessed through the west, south and east gates, which all lead to an outer courtyard. The south gate is the main access and is easiest to reach from Taj Ganj, while the east gate generally has the shortest queues. The west gate gets very crowded with tour groups, but they don’t normally arrive until after 9am. There are separate queues for men and women. Prohibited items such as food, tobacco, matches, mobile phones and camera tripods can be left without charge in cloakrooms. Don’t forget to visit the cloakroom first to avoid queuing twice.
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The Ganges River
The River Ganges provides millions of Indians with an important link to their spirituality. Every day about 60,000 people go down to the Varanasi ghats to take a holy dip along a 7km stretch of the river. Along this same area, 30 large sewers are continuously discharging into the river.
The Ganges River is so heavily polluted at Varanasi that the water is septic - no dissolved oxygen exists. The statistics get worse. Samples from the river show the water has 1.5 million faecal coliform bacteria per 100mL of water. In water that is safe for bathing this figure should be less than 500!
The problem extends far beyond Varanasi - 400 million people live along the basin of the G…
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Palace Buildings
The first of the palace buildings is the largest, the Palace of Jodh Bai, and the one-time home of Akbar’s Hindu wife, said to be his favourite. Set around an enormous courtyard, it blends traditional Indian columns, Islamic cupolas and turquoise-blue Persian roof tiles.
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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 pl…
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Vishwanath Temple
This is the most popular Hindu temple in Varanasi and is dedicated to Vishveswara - Shiva as lord of the universe. The current temple was built in 1776 by Ahalya Bai of Indore, while the 800kg of gold plating on the tower and dome was supplied by Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Lahore 50 years later.
There has been a succession of Shiva temples in the vicinity, but they were routinely destroyed by Muslim invaders. Aurangzeb continued this tradition, knocking down the previous temple and building the Gyanvapi Mosque, which still exists inside the temple complex.
The area is full of soldiers because of security issues and communal tensions. Cameras and mobile phones must be deposit…
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Residency
The large collection of gardens and ruins that makes up the Residency offers a fascinating historical glimpse of the beginning of the end for the British Raj. Built in 1800, the Residency became the stage for the most dramatic events of the 1857 First War of Independence, the Siege of Lucknow, a 147-day siege that claimed the lives of thousands. The compound has been left as it was at the time of the final relief and the walls are still pockmarked from bullets and cannon balls. The well-designed museum in the main Residency building includes a scale model of the original buildings. Downstairs are the huge basement rooms where many of the British women and children lived t…
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Agra Fort
With the Taj Mahal overshadowing it, one can easily forget that Agra has one of the finest Mughal forts in India. By visiting the fort and Taj on the same day you get a Rs50 reduction in ticket price. Construction of the massive red-sandstone fort, on the bank of the Yamuna River, was begun by Emperor Akbar in 1565. Further additions were made, particularly by his grandson Shah Jahan, using his favourite building material – white marble. The fort was built primarily as a military structure, but Shah Jahan transformed it into a palace, and later it became his gilded prison for eight years after his son Aurangzeb seized power in 1658.
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Akbar’s Fort & Patalpuri Temple
Built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, this 16th-century fort on the northern bank of the Yamuna has massive walls with three gateways flanked by towers. Most of it is occupied by the Indian army and cannot be visited, but a small door in the eastern wall near Sangam leads to one part you can enter, the underground Patalpuri temple. This unique temple is crowded with all sorts of idols – pick up some coins from the change dealers outside so you can leave small offerings as you go. You may be pressured into giving Rs100 at some shrines. A few coins are perfectly acceptable.
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Mehtab Bagh
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 disrepair until it was little more than a huge mound of sand. To protect the Taj from the erosive effects of the sand blown across the river, the park was reconstructed in recent years and is now one the best places from which to view the great mausoleum. The gardens in the Taj are perfectly aligned with the ones here, and the view of the Taj from the fountain directly in front of the entrance gate is a special one.
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Akbar's Fort
Built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar and completed in 1583 after decades of construction, the fort stands on the northern bank of the Yamuna. It has massive walls with three gateways flanked by towers. Most of the fort is occupied by the Indian army and cannot be visited, but a small door in the fort's eastern wall near Sangam leads to one part that you can visit, the underground Patalpuri temple (admission Rs 21; h07:00-17:00).
This unique temple is crowded with all sorts of idols - pick up some coins from the change dealers outside so you can leave small offerings as you go.
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Samadhi Swamiji Maharaj Bagh
Known simply as Swami Bagh, this huge white marble mausoleum, which houses the tomb of Sri Shiv Dayal Singh Seth, the founder of the Radhasoami Faith, is of particular interest because it is still being built – more than 80 years after it was started. Inside there’s a 1904 painting of what it should look like when finished, complete with a gold- latticed dome. For now it’s a work-in-progress project being undertaken by devotees. The design incorporates building styles from other major religions and includes some fabulously delicate floral carvings.
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Satkhanda
This decaying watchtower looks like a medieval painting of the Tower of Babel. Known as Satkhanda, it actually has only four storeys because construction was abandoned in 1840 when Mohammed Ali Shah died.
The 67m red-brick clock tower, reputedly the tallest in India, was built in the 1880s in memory of Sir George Couper, a reform-minded Governor of UP (United Provinces in those days).
Nearby is a baradari (summer palace), which overlooks an artificial lake and houses large portraits and photos of the nawabs of Avadh.
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Mohammed Ali Shah Tomb
Just 500m up the road from the Bara Imambara is another tomb that was built by Mohammed Ali Shah in 1832. His tomb is here alongside his mother. Smaller than the Bara Imambara but adorned with calligraphy, it has a much more serene and intimate atmosphere.
In the garden is a tank and two replicas of the Taj Mahal that are the tombs of Mohammed Ali Shah's daughter and her husband. A traditional hammam can be seen as well as Mohammed's silver throne and red crown, countless chandeliers and some tazias.
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La Martinière School
This prestigious boarding school – where timeless British pop legend Sir Cliff Richard once studied – was designed and built by the Frenchman Major General Claude Martin as a palatial home. In 1800 it became his tomb – he is buried in the basement at the bottom of a blue-washed spiral staircase. The eccentric facade is part Roman archways, part Gothic horror movie, and part Disneyland-style castle with a jumble of turrets and gargoyles piled merrily atop a long line of Corinthian columns.
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Anand Bhavan
The picturesque two-storey Anand Bhavan is a shrine to the Nehru family, which has produced five generations of leading politicians from Motilal Nehru to the latest political figure, Rahul Gandhi. This stately home is where Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and others successfully planned the overthrow of the British Raj. It is full of books, personal effects and photos from those stirring times. Indira Gandhi was married here in 1942.
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Ram Janam Bhumi
Ram Janam Bhumi is the contentious temple that marks the birthplace of Rama. Security here is staggering. You must first show your passport then leave all belongings apart from your passport and money in nearby lockers. You are then searched several times before being accompanied through a caged corridor that leads to a spot 20m away from a makeshift tent of a shrine, which marks Rama’s birthplace.
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Mulgandha Kuti Vihar
This modern temple was completed in 1931 by the Mahabodhi Society. Buddha’s first sermon is chanted daily, starting between 6pm and 7pm depending on the season. A bodhi tree growing outside was transplanted in 1931 from the tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, which in turn is said to be the offspring of the original tree in Bodhgaya under which Buddha attained enlightenment.
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Khusru Bagh
This intriguing park, surrounded by a high wall, contains three contrasting Mughal tombs. One is that of Prince Khusru, the eldest son of Emperor Jehangir, who tried to assassinate his father but was blinded and imprisoned, finally dying in 1622. If Khusru’s coup had succeeded, his brother, Shah Jahan, would not have become emperor and the Taj Mahal would not exist.
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Chini-Ka-Rauza
This Persian-style riverside tomb of Afzal Khan, a poet who served as Shah Jahan’s chief minister, was built between 1628 and 1639. Rarely visited, it is hidden away down a shady avenue of trees on the east bank of the Yamuna. Bright blue tiles, which once covered the whole mausoleum, can still be seen on part of the exterior, while the interior is painted in floral designs.
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Sikandar Bagh
This walled garden was created by Wajid Ali Shah, the last nawab, for his favourite queen, Sikandar Mahal. The splendid gateway, the tiny mosque and part of the wall are original. Hundreds died here in a pitched battle between Indian 'mutineers' and a British and Indian relief force during the Siege of Lucknow. The main gate is locked, but the small side gate is usually open.
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Itimad-Ud-Daulah
Nicknamed the Baby Taj, the exquisite tomb of Mizra Ghiyas Beg should not be missed. This Persian nobleman was Mumtaz Mahal’s grandfather and Emperor Jehangir’s wazir (chief minister). His daughter Nur Jahan, who married Jehangir, built the tomb between 1622 and 1628 in a style similar to the tomb she built for Jehangir near Lahore in Pakistan.
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International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, also known as the Hare Krishnas, is based at the Krishna Balaram temple complex, accessed through a beautiful white-marble gate, which houses the tomb of Swami Prabhupada (1896–1977), the founder of the Hare Krishna organisation. Several hundred foreigners attend courses and seminars here annually.
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Archaeological Museum
This fully modernised, 100-year-old sandstone museum houses wonderfully displayed ancient treasures such as the very well preserved 3rd- century BC lion capital from the Ashoka pillar, which has been adopted as India’s national emblem, and a huge, 2000-year-old stone umbrella, ornately carved with Buddhist symbols.
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Gyan Kupor Well
Gyan Kupor Well. The faithful believe drinking water from the Gyan Kupor Well leads to a higher spiritual plane, though they are prevented from doing so by both tradition and a strong security screen. The well is said to contain the Shiva lingam that was removed from the previous temple and hidden to protect it from Aurangzeb.
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Ramkatha Museum
Ramkatha Museum is a large yellow-and-red building with ancient sculptures and grand images of Rama and Sita. Every evening except Monday the museum hosts free performances of the Ram Lila (a dramatic re-enactment of the battle between Lord Ram and Ravan, as described in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana).
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