Uttar Pradesh

The Taj Mahal rises from Agra's haze as though from a dream. You’ve seen it in pictures, but experiencing it in person, you'll understand that it's not just a famous monument, but a love poem composed of stone. When you first glimpse it through the arched entryway, you might find yourself breathless with awe. Many hail it as the most beautiful building on the planet. But Agra, situated along the Yamuna River in the state of Uttar Pradesh, is more than a one-sight town. For 130 years, this was the centre of India’s great Mughal empire, and its legacy lives on in beautiful artwork, mouthwatering cuisine and magnificent architecture. The Taj is one of three places here that have been awarded Unesco World Heritage status, along with the immense Agra Fort and the sprawling palace complex of Fatehpur Sikri, which together make a superb trio of top-drawer sights.

Agra & the Taj Mahal

Varanasi is the India of your imagination. This is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities, and one of the holiest in Hinduism. Pilgrims come to the Ganges here to wash away sins in the sacred waters, to cremate their loved ones, or simply to die here, hoping for liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

Most visitors agree Varanasi is magical – but not for the faint-hearted. Intimate rituals of life and death take place in public, and the sights, sounds and smells of the mazelike old town can be intense. Still, the so-called City of Light is one of the most colorful and fascinating places on earth. Strolling the ghats or watching sunrise from a boat on the Ganges are a highlight, and confronting the reality and ritual of death can be a powerful experience.

Varanasi

The magical allure of the Taj Mahal draws tourists to Agra like moths to a wondrous flame. And despite the hype, it’s every bit as good as you’ve heard. But the Taj is not a stand-alone attraction. The legacy of the Mughal empire has left a magnificent fort and a liberal sprinkling of fascinating tombs and mausoleums, and there’s also fun to be had in the bustling chowks (marketplaces).

Agra straddles a large bend along the holy Yamuna River. The fort and the Taj, 1.2 miles (2km) apart, both overlook the river on different parts of the bend. The main train and bus stations are a few miles southwest.

Agra

Sprinkled with Islamic and British Raj–era architecture, stuffed with fascinating bazaars and famed throughout India for its food, the capital of Uttar Pradesh is something of a sleeper: plenty worth seeing, but often overlooked by travelers. Central Lucknow features wide boulevards, epic monuments and several parks and gardens that contribute to an atmosphere of faded grandiosity.

The city rose to prominence as the home of the Nawabs of Avadh (Oudh), who were great patrons of the culinary and other arts, particularly dance and music. Lucknow’s reputation as a city of culture, gracious living and rich cuisine has continued to this day – the phrase for which conveniently rhymes in Hindi: Nawab, aadaab (respect), kebab and shabab (beauty).

Lucknow

Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, is believed to have landed on earth in Prayagraj (or Allahabad as it was known until recently), and to have named it the king of all pilgrimage centres. Indeed, Sangam, a river confluence on the outskirts of the city, is the most celebrated of India’s four Kumbh Mela locations. Allahabad was also home to the Nehru clan, whose house served as a headquarters for the independence movement against the colonial British Raj.

Yet for all its importance in Hindu mythology, Indian history and modern politics, Allahabad today is a much humbler place. Though there are a few good places to stay and eat, the main sights are of modest appeal. The commercial heart of the city is Civil Lines, centred on MG Marg, which has the bulk of the shops, restaurants and hotels.

Prayagraj (Allahabad)

The town of Vrindavan is where the young Krishna is said to have grown up. Pilgrims flock here from all over India and, as it's the centre of the Hare Krishna community, from all over the world. Dozens of temples, old and modern, dot the interesting backstreets and come in all shapes and sizes, making a visit here more than just your average temple-hop.

Vrindavan

Buddha came to Sarnath to preach his message of the middle way to nirvana after he achieved enlightenment at Bodhgaya, and gave his famous first sermon at the deer park here in Isipatana. In the 3rd century BC, Emperor Ashoka erected magnificent stupas and monasteries here, as well as an engraved pillar. When Chinese traveler Xuan Zang dropped by in AD 640, Sarnath boasted a 328ft-high stupa (100m) and 1500 monks living in large monasteries. However, soon after, Buddhism went into decline, and when Muslim invaders sacked the city in the late 12th century, Sarnath disappeared altogether. It was only ‘rediscovered’ by British archaeologists in 1835.

Today it’s one of the four key sites on the Buddhist circuit – along with Bodhgaya, Kushinagar and Lumbini in Nepal – and attracts followers from around the world, especially on Purnima (or, informally, Buddha's birthday), when Buddha's life, death and enlightenment are celebrated, usually in April or May.

Sarnath

Famed for being the birthplace of the much-loved Hindu god Krishna, Mathura is one of Hinduism’s seven sacred cities and attracts floods of pilgrims, particularly during Janmastami (Krishna’s birthday) in August/September and Holi in February/March. The town is dotted with temples from various ages and the stretch of the sacred Yamuna River that flows past here is lined with 25 ghats.

Mathura was once a Kushan capital and a major Buddhist centre with 20 monasteries that housed 3000 monks, but after the rise of Hinduism, and later sackings by Afghan and Mughal rulers, all that’s left of the oldest sights are the beautiful sculptures recovered from ruins, now on display in the excellent Archaeological Museum.

Mathura

This magnificent fortified ancient city, 25 miles (40km) west of Agra, was the short-lived capital of the Mughal empire between 1572 and 1585, during the reign of Emperor Akbar. Earlier, Akbar had visited the village of Sikri to consult the Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, who predicted the birth of an heir to the Mughal throne. When the prophecy came true, Akbar built his new capital here, including a stunning mosque, still in use today, and three palaces, one for each of his favorite wives – one a Hindu, one a Muslim and one a Christian (though Hindu villagers in Sikri dispute these claims).

The city was an Indo-Islamic masterpiece, but was erected in an area that supposedly suffered from water shortages and so was abandoned shortly after Akbar’s death. The red-sandstone palace walls are at their most atmospheric and photogenic near sunset.