Top 10 Places to Visit in India
India blends ancient history, spiritual traditions and stunning landscapes. Here are ten places that show why it draws millions of visitors every year.
1. Taj Mahal
Photo: Yann; edited by King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the Yamuna River in Agra, commissioned in 1631 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his late wife Mumtaz Mahal, and later also housing his own tomb. Completed around 1648 (with the wider complex finished by 1653), it blends Indo-Islamic and Mughal design across a 17-hectare site with gardens, a mosque and a guest house, built by more than 20,000 workers and a multinational team of artisans. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983 and one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, it draws over five million visitors a year.
2. Jaipur City Palace
Photo: A.Savin · FAL · Wikimedia Commons
The City Palace in Jaipur is the royal residence and former administrative seat of the rulers of Jaipur State, begun in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II and completed in 1732. Designed according to vastushastra, it combines Mughal and Rajput architecture and spans courtyards, galleries and offices. Today it houses the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum while remaining the home of the Jaipur royal family, whose museum trust is run by family members including Princess Diya Kumari.
3. Kerala Backwaters
Photo: Hans A. Rosbach · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The Kerala Backwaters are a vast network of lagoons, canals and lakes lined with palms along the Malabar Coast in southern India. Visitors typically explore them by houseboat or small canoe, gliding past paddy fields, fishing villages and rural life, with Alleppey and Kumarakom among the best-known bases. The slow, peaceful pace and lush scenery make them one of India's most relaxing travel experiences.
4. Varanasi Ghats
Photo: travelwayoflife · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The ghats of Varanasi are riverfront stone steps leading down to the Ganges, with 84 in total. Most are used for bathing and religious ceremonies, while Manikarnika and Harishchandra are dedicated to cremations. Many were rebuilt in the 18th century under Maratha patronage and are tied to legends and mythology, and a morning boat ride along them is a popular way to experience the city.
5. Golden Temple
Photo: This picture has been taken by Oleg Yunakov. Contact e-mail: yunakovgmail.com. Image can be used in accordance with the terms of the ะกะก-BY-SA license. Other photos can be seen here. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The Golden Temple in Amritsar is the holiest shrine of Sikhism, a gurdwara complex built around a sanctum and the sacred pool known as the Amrit Sarovar. The pool was completed by Guru Ram Das in 1577, the Adi Granth was installed in 1604, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh rebuilt it in marble and copper and covered the sanctum in gold leaf in 1830. Its four entrances symbolise equality and welcome to all, its free community kitchen feeds visitors of every background, and it receives over 150,000 worshippers daily despite a turbulent history that includes the 1984 Operation Blue Star.
6. Hampi
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Hampi, in Karnataka, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the ruined capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, which ruled from 1336 until the city was sacked in 1565. Once among the world's largest and richest cities, it now spreads over roughly 4,100 hectares with more than 1,600 surviving forts, temples, pillared halls and royal and water structures on a rocky landscape beside the Tungabhadra River. It remains a living religious centre, notably around the Virupaksha Temple.
7. Mysore Palace
Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim · GFDL 1.2 · Wikimedia Commons
Mysore Palace, also called Amba Vilas Palace, is the historic seat of the Wadiyar dynasty in Mysore, built between 1897 and 1912 after an earlier palace burned down. Designed by Henry Irwin, it is a prime example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, mixing Indo-Islamic, Rajput, Hoysala and Gothic styles. It hosts a public museum, gardens and temples, is the setting of the annual Dasara festival, and welcomes more than four million visitors a year.
8. Red Fort
Photo: Andrew Moore · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The Red Fort in Delhi is a monumental Mughal fortress of red sandstone built by Shah Jahan in the 17th century as the palace of his new capital, Shahjahanabad. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a powerful symbol of India's history, and each Independence Day the Prime Minister raises the national flag and addresses the nation from its ramparts.
9. Meenakshi Temple
Photo: deadrat · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The Meenakshi Temple in Madurai is a historic Hindu temple on the Vaigai River dedicated to Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort Sundareswarar (Shiva). Early structures date to the Pandyas in the 12th-13th centuries, it was rebuilt by the Vijayanagara Empire after destruction by the Delhi Sultanate, and was greatly expanded by the Madurai Nayaks in the 16th-17th centuries. The 5.7-hectare complex has concentric walled enclosures, four large and ten smaller gopurams (the tallest rising 52 m), a thousand-pillared hall and the golden lotus tank, and it anchors Madurai's economy and identity.
10. Goa Beaches
Photo: Original: Vyacheslav Argenberg Derivative work: UnpetitproleX · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Goa on India's west coast is famous for its beaches and places of worship, with tourism as the backbone of its economy. Foreign visitors, mostly European, come in winter while Indian tourists dominate in summer and monsoon. Highlights include Bom Jesus Basilica, Fort Aguada and UNESCO-listed churches and convents, alongside water sports, scuba diving, bungee and, as one of the few places in India permitting them, casinos.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}