India's Top 17
Taj Mahal
Exquisite tomb that's as much a monument to love as it is to death, the Taj Mahal is arguably the world's most beautiful building, and has been enshrined in the writings of Tagore and Kipling. Built by Emperor Shah Jahan in adoration of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, this milky-white marble mausoleum is inlaid with calligraphy, precious and semiprecious stones and intricate floral designs representing eternal paradise, and is the pinnacle of Mughal architecture as well as romance.
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Otherworldly Hampi
Magnificent, even in ruins, Hampi was once the cosmopolitan Vijayanagar, capital of a powerful Hindu empire, spread across an emerald-green and terracotta-red landscape. Its temples and royal structures combine sublimely with the terrain: giant rocks balance on slender pedestals near an ancient elephant garage; temples tuck into crevices between boulders; and wicker coracles float by rice paddies and bathing buffalo near a gargantuan bathtub for a former queen. As the sunset casts a rosy glow over the dreamy landscape, you might just forget what planet you’re on.
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Ladakh's Moonscapes
As you head north, the air grows cooler and crisper, and you reach quaint, historic hill stations, summer escapes that are ringed by snow-capped peaks. In Ladakh cultural influences came not by coasts but via mountain passes. Tibetan Buddhism thrives, and multilayered monasteries emerge from the forest or steep cliffs as vividly and poetically as the sun rises over Khangchendzonga. Weathered prayer flags flutter in the wind, the soothing sound of monks chanting reverberates in meditation halls, and locals abound with holy offerings, all in the shadow of the mighty Himalaya.
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Caves of Ajanta
They may have been ascetics, but the 2nd-century-BC monks who created the Ajanta caves certainly had an eye for the dramatic. The 30 rock-cut forest grottoes punctuate the side of a horseshoe-shaped cliff, and originally had individual staircases leading down to the river. The architecture and towering stupas made these caves inspiring places to meditate and live, but the real bling came centuries later, in the form of exquisite carvings and paintings depicting the Buddha’s former lives. Renunciation of the worldly life was never so serenely sophisticated.
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Backwaters of Kerala
It’s like heading into a dream, lazily navigating the tropically radiant backwaters of Kerala: what is probably India's most laid-back state has 900km of interconnected rivers, lakes, canals and lagoons lined with the swaying palms of thick coconut groves and picturesque villages. One of the most popular and scenic ways to peruse these parts is by cruising on a teak-and-palm-thatch houseboat. Drift along the waterways – as the sun sinks behind the trees, while snacking on succulent Keralan seafood, later falling asleep under a twinkling night sky – and forget all about life on land for a while.
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Architectural Mumbai
In a way that is quintessentially Indian, Mumbai absorbs influences into its midst and inventively makes them its own. The result is a heady architectural melange of buildings with a raft of design influences. The art deco and modern towers lend the city its cool, but it’s the eclectic Victorian-era structures – the neo-Gothic, Indo-Saracenic and other old flourishes – that have significantly added to Mumbai's magic. All those spires, gables, arches and onion domes, set off by lofty palms and leafy banyans, are apt embellishments for this movie star city.
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Safaris
Tiger and leopard spotting in India is very much a matter of luck and timing, but thousands do experience the thrill of seeing a big cat roaming in the wild. Even if you don’t, it's a pleasure to simply wander through one of India’s many beautiful temple- and ruin-dotted forest reserves observing spotted deer, peacocks and langur monkeys, while colourful birds and butterflies flit overhead. Or for a completely different safari experience, hop aboard a 'ship of the desert'. At towns such as Jaisalmer or Bikaner, you can ride on lolloping camelback through desert scrub, stopping at night to camp among a rippled ocean of sand dunes and under a shedload of stars.
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Cuppa in a Hill Station
India's valleys, deserts and palm-lined beaches are full of wonders, but come summer it can get darn hot down there. India’s erstwhile princes and British colonials used to escape the heat by heading to the cool mountain refuges, such as Darjeeling, and the hill stations still serve up lush forests and crisp mountain air. So, curl up under a blanket with a steaming cup of local tea and watch birds swooping across misty hillsides, broody clouds drifting over bulbous tea trees and village kids running through mountain fog and meadow wildflowers.
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Holy Varanasi
Welcome to Varanasi, a city full of life and death, and one of India's most revered sacred cities. Pilgrims flock here to worship, take a holy dip in the Ganges River, or cremate loved ones. Hindus believe the waters of the Ganges cleanse away sins, while dying here is deemed particularly propitious as it offers emancipation from the arduous life-and-death cycle. Varanasi will swiftly sweep you into its dizzying spiritual whirlwind – just take a deep breath and immerse yourself in pondering the meaning of life, death…and beyond.
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Goan Beaches
With nodding palms on one side of the sugar-white sands and lapping powder-blue waves on the other, Goa's coastline is lined by beautiful beaches and has an easy-going hedonistic atmosphere that's like nowhere else in India. It's not an undiscovered paradise: this cool coastal strip bustles with fellow travellers, vendors and beach-shack eateries. It's a slice of paradise that appeals to social creatures and fans of creature comforts who like their seafood fresh and their holidays easy.
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Jaisalmer’s Desert Mirage
A gigantic, golden sandcastle that rises like a mirage from the desert of Rajasthan, the ‘Land of Kings’, Jaisalmer's 12th-century citadel is romantically picturesque. This sandstone fort, with its crenellated ramparts and undulating towers, is a fantastical structure, elegantly blending in with the toffee-gold hues of its desert environs. Inside, a royal palace, atmospheric old havelis (traditional residences), delicately chiselled Jain temples and skinny lanes all conspire to create one of the country's best places to get lost.
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Cheeky Khajuraho
Care to see a nine-person orgy? Couples imaginatively intertwined? Hot nymphs? Khajuraho is the place! Some say the sensuous carvings on Khajuraho’s temples depict the Kama Sutra, or Tantric practices for initiates; others, that they’re educational models for children or allegories for the faithful. But pretty much everyone agrees that they’re delightfully mischievous. Once the initial titillation wanes, you’ll notice that the carving and architecture of these historic temples are remarkably skilled and multifariously mind stirring.
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Epic Rail Journeys
A long train journey across India, from sun-baked plains to lime-green rice paddies, is an epic experience. Domestic flights are increasingly popular, but as the estimated 25 million daily train passengers can attest, you can’t soak up India's dramatically diverse landscape and mingle with so many people on a plane. It's a chance to leisurely chit-chat over a hot cup of chai, or gaze out of the window at the passing land and people, listening to the click-clacking soundtrack of the rattling rails.
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Delhi
India’s capital bears the mighty remnants of former empires, from great Mughal tombs to grandiose British-era mansions. There's so much to see here: the crumbling splendour of Old Delhi – with the Jama Masjid, Red Fort and its havelis (ornately decorated residences), the ancient forts of Tughlaqabad and Purana Qila, and the wonders of Qutb Minar and Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Add to this the city's many fine eateries, with offerings from street food to modern Indian, superb museums and amazing shopping, and it's easy to see why Delhi mesmerises many.
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Amritsar’s Golden Temple
The Golden Temple in Amritsar, is the Sikhs’ holiest of shrines, and has a magical atmosphere. Seeming to float atop a glistening pool named for the ‘nectar of immortality’, the temple is truly golden (the lotus-shaped dome is gilded in the real thing). Even when crowded with pilgrims it has a graceful tranquillity, with the sounds of kirtan (Sikh devotional singing) and birds chirping outside, and the mirror-like sacred pool that surrounds it.
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French-Flavoured Puducherry
A place where you can gorge on yoga, pain au chocolat, Hindu gods and colonial-era architecture all at once is a tres bien proposition. In this former French colony, yellow houses line cobblestone streets, grand cathedrals are adorned with architectural frou-frou, and the croissants are the real deal. But Puducherry’s also a Tamil town – with all the history, temples and hustle and bustle that go along with that – and a classic retreat town, too, with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram at its heart.
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Mighty Mehrangarh, Jodhpur
India has many inconceivably magnificent fortresses, but Jodhpur's Mehrangarh is among the finest, rearing up from its rocky outcrop. Like others, its huge doorways were built to accommodate elephants and its entryways designed to confuse invaders, but this is one of the most imposing settings of them all (though there's a lot of competition). India's forts typically tower above their surroundings like fantastical story-book visions, but Mehrangarh has the added glory of mesmerising views down to Jodhpur, Rajasthan's magical-looking blue city.
