India Travel Guide to Top Tourist Attractions
India is a lively land of surprising contrasts and where both modern and traditional worlds unite. As the world's 7th biggest country by area as well as the 2nd largest populated nation, India possesses a wealthy heritage resulting from centuries of various religions and cultures converging and making their enduring mark.
If you're looking for top-rated tourist attractions in India, you won't be disappointed--not once.
Activities to do in this country range from opportunities to experience a broad variety of spiritual encounters and holy sites, enjoy its verdant national parks, fun wildlife sanctuaries to sun-tanning on beautiful white sandy beaches.
From the sacred sites of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, the impressive Tag Mahal in Agra, to the Mecca Masjid mosque in Hyderabad, tourists arriving at this fascinating nation for the first time will discover an endless trove of historical, cultural, geographical, architectural, and spiritual treasures everywhere.
To assist you in mapping your next trip to make it the most memorable to this incredible country, refer to my India travel guide to find the top tourist attractions in India.
1) The Taj Mahal. Probably the most famous building ever made in India, the Taj Mahal in addition is the world's greatest testament to the might of pure love. Given the name Mumtaz Mahal, the Emperor Shah Jahar's favorite wife, this extremely lovely mausoleum was started after her demise in 1631, taking twenty thousand workers to complete in 1648.
Though incorporating several elements of Islamic style that includes from minarets, arches, black calligraphy inlaid surrounding the entry, and an onion-shaped dome, the building is mostly made of white marble. Adding to its beauty are elegant inlaid floral patterns and varying grades of precious stones like lapis, diamonds, mother of pearl, jade, and lazuli.
The most favorable time to tour is at sunrise or sunset when the atmosphere has brightly shifted due to the modification in lighting. If possible, attempt to catch a sight of the Taj Mahal's mirror-like reflection from the distant bank belonging to the Yamuna River, for it makes an unforgettable selfie.
2) The Holy City of Varanasi. Dated to the eighth-century BC, Varanasi is a few of the world's oldest cities yet inhabited. As a chief Hindu pilgrimage center, Varanasi has long been connected with the great Ganges River, representing as one of the faith's most significant religious symbols.
The holy city offers several reasons to drop by, including exploring the Old Quarter, standing near the Ganges and where you'll locate the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, constructed in 1780. You may want to see the New Viswanath Temple boasting its 7 separate temples, a temple within a temple.
Since bathing in the Ganges amounts to great importance to Hindus, many sites called "ghats" now provide staircases that lead to the water for the devoted to bathe before actually praying. The biggest are Assi Ghat and Dasashvamedh. The former, at the convergence of the Asi and Ganges rivers, is regarded especially sacred.
In addition, worth visiting is Banaras Hindu University, being established by 1917 and reputed for its huge library sporting over a million books, and the excellent Bharat Kala Bhavan museum displaying great collections of sculptures, local history exhibits, miniature paintings, and palm-leaf manuscripts.
3) Harmandir Sahib. Founding in 1577 by Ram Das, Amritsar is a significant spot of Sikh culture and history. The chief attraction here is Harmandir Sahib, opening in 1604 and yet frequently called the Golden Temple because of its exquisite gold decoration.
As the most sacred of India's several Sikh shrines, the temple was constructed incorporating Islamic and Hindu style. While its bottom marble section displays flourishes like decorative inlaid animal and floral motifs, the big golden dome symbolizes purity to Sikhs via a lotus flower.
Besides its superb design, tourists are equally awed with the temple's calming and spiritual aura, an effect procured by the prayers constantly chanted from sacred books and echoed throughout the complex.
Enhancing the overall visit is the opportunity to partake in one of the fifty thousand free meals that the attraction offers to everyone daily.
4) The Golden City of Jaisalmer. Called this for the yellow sandstone utilized in the majority of its structures, this city is an oasis of stunning old architecture rising from the Thar Desert's sand dunes. Though a strategic outpost once, now the city is bursting with exquisite old mansions; the enormous Jaisalmer Fort, a dominating 12th-century structure that towers above the town; and the impressive gateways.
Besides its fine old homes, temples, and palaces, the fortress houses 99 bastions together with huge gates that lead to its chief courtyard and where you'll see the tall Maharaja's Palace. Successive rulers began in the 1500s, and then added to it until the nineteenth century. This palace offers areas to be available to the general public.
You may also want to visit a few Jain temples ranging from 12th to 16th centuries, and each decorated with superb sandstone and marble images, brightly painted ceilings, and palm-leaf manuscripts. Also see the well-preserved ancient library, Gyan Bhandar that sports several antiquities and 16th-century manuscripts.
5) The Red Fort. Constructed in 1648 by Shah Jahan as the base of Mughal power, maintaining it until 1857, the magnificent crescent-shaped fort, located in New Delhi, and named after the striking red sandstone employed in its construction, encompasses a massive area of over two square kilometers, and a large moat surrounds it.
Don't miss its two biggest gates: the stunning Lahore Gate and the lavishly decorated Delhi Gate, which the emperor once used for ceremonial processions.
An exciting perk for a visit is to explore Chatta Chowk. It's a 17th-century shrouded bazaar that sells everything from silk clothes, jewelry, souvenirs, to food. Though you may explore the fort alone, guided tours are available for improving your overall experience with fascinating insight into the Shah's life and times, plus a glimpse into the charming Hall of Public Audiences, exactly where he customarily received and addressed his subjects.
