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Church of Our Lady of the Rosary
Passing beneath the buttresses of the Convent of St Monica, about 250m further along the road is the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, which stands on the top of a high bluff. It’s one of the earliest churches in Goa; legend has it that Afonso de Albuquerque surveyed the action dur
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Fort Aguada
Standing on the headland overlooking the mouth of the Mandovi River, Fort Aguada occupies a magnificent and successful position, confirmed by the fact it was never taken by force. A highly popular spot to watch the sunset, with uninterrupted views both north and south, the fort was
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Thiksey Gompa
Glorious Thiksey Gompa is one of Ladakh’s biggest and most recognisable monasteries. Covering a large rocky outcrop with layered Tibetan-style buildings, it’s a veritable monastic village incorporating shops, a school, restaurant and hotel. The main gompa starts with a prayer chamb
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Durbar Hall
The restored Durbar Hall in the City Palace complex is one of India’s most impressive, vast and lavish, with some of the country’s biggest chandeliers. The walls display royal weapons and striking portraits of former maharanas of Mewar – a most distinguished-looking lot, who come f
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Bodhi Tree
Undoubtedly, the most sacred fig tree ever to grace the Earth was the Bodhi Tree at Bodhgaya, under which Prince Siddhartha, the founder of Buddhism, achieved enlightenment. Buddha was said to have stared unblinkingly at the tree in an awed gesture of gratitude and wonder after his
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Ranakpur
At the foot of a steep wooded escarpment of the Aravalli Hills, Ranakpur is one of India’s biggest and most important Jain temple complexes. It’s 75km northwest of Udaipur, and 12km west of Kumbhalgarh as the crow flies (but 50km by road, via Saira). The main temple, the Chaumukha
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Hindu Caves
Drama and excitement characterise the Hindu group (Caves 13 to 29). In terms of scale, creative vision and skill of execution, these caves are in a league of their own.All these temples were cut from the top down, so it was never necessary to use scaffolding – the builders began wi
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Mosques
Bhopal’s third female ruler, Shah Jahan Begum, wanted to create the largest mosque in the world, so in 1877 she set about building Taj-ul-Masjid . It was still incomplete at her death in 1901, after funds had been diverted to other projects, and construction did not resume until 19
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Ghum
The junction of Ghum, 7km southwest from Darjeeling, is home to a number of colourful Buddhist monasteries. Yiga Choling Gompa , the region’s most famous monastery, has wonderful old murals and is home to some 30 monks of the Gelugpa school. Built in 1850, it enshrines a 5m-high st
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British Residency
This palatial Palladian residence, built in 1803-06 by James Achilles Kirkpatrick, the British Resident (official East India Company representative) in Hyderabad, features in William Dalrymples brilliant historical love story White Mughals . Its sadly dilapidated today, though long
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Wild Ass Sanctuary
The 4953-sq-km Wild Ass Sanctuary covers a large part of the barren, blindingly white land of the Little Rann, where nature at its harshest and most compelling. Little Rann is best known as the home of the last remaining population of the chestnut-coloured Indian wild ass (also cal
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Reis Magos Fort
Travelling west from Betim, turn left at the crossroads in the small village of Verem and continue about 1.5km to tiny Reis Magos (Three Wise Men) village, notable for its 16th-century church and Goas oldest and best preserved fort.Opened to the public in 2012 as a cultural centre,
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Karni Mata Temple
The extraordinary Karni Mata Temple at Deshnok, 30km south of Bikaner, is one of India’s weirder attractions. Its resident mass of holy rodents is not for the squeamish, but most visitors to Bikaner brave the potential for ankle-nipping and put a half-day trip here on their itinera
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Sanjay Gandhi National Park
It’s hard to believe that within 1½ hours of the teeming metropolis you can be surrounded by this 104-sq-km protected tropical forest. Here, bright flora, birds, butterflies and elusive wild leopards replace pollution and concrete, all surrounded by forested hills on the city’s nor
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Sariska Tiger Reserve & National Park
Enclosed within the dramatic, shadowy folds of the Aravalli Hills, the Sariska Tiger Reserve & National Park is a tangle of remnant semideciduous jungle and craggy canyons sheltering streams and lush greenery. It covers 866 sq km (including a core area of 498 sq km), and is hom
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Champaner
Following his capture of Pavagadh, Sultan Mahmud Begada turned Champaner, at the base of the hill, into a splendid new capital. But its glory was brief: when it was captured by Mughal emperor Humayun in 1535, the Gujarati capital reverted to Ahmedabad, and Champaner fell into ruin.
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Temple of Somnath
It’s said that Somraj (the moon god) first built a temple here, made of gold; this was rebuilt by Ravana in silver, by Krishna in wood and by Bhimdev in stone. The current serene, symmetrical structure was built to traditional designs on the original coastal site: it’s painted a cr
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Marine National Park
This national park and the adjoining marine sanctuary encompass the intertidal zone and 42 small islands along some 120km of coast east and west of Jamnagar – an area rich in marine and bird life which faces growing challenges from industrialisation. Coral, octopus, anemones, puffe
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Jagannath Mandir
Of the four Hindu temples around the Ujjayanta Palace compound, the most fanciful is Jagannath Mandir. Its massive sculptured portico leads into a complex with wedding-cake architecture painted in ice-cream sundae colours.
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Museum
Tells the story of Gandhi’s life through photographs and words. Visit at 6pm to attend nightly prayers in his memory.
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