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Mahavira Temple
Five minutes’ walk from Sachiya Mata Temple, Mahavira Temple is dedicated to the last of the Jain tirthankars (great teachers). This is a more spacious temple than Sachiya Mata, featuring an open-air pavilion-style mandapa supported by carved pillars. As at the Sachiya Mata Temple,
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Tripura Sundari Mandir
The main sight in Udaipur is the Tripura Sundari Mandir, a 1501 Kali temple where a steady stream of pilgrims make almost endless animal sacrifices that leave the grounds as bloody as the temple’s vivid-red shikhara (spire). Even more people come here during the Diwali festival (Oc
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Sunderbans Tiger Reserve
Home to one of the largest concentrations of tigers on the planet, this 2585-sq-km reserve is a network of channels and semisubmerged mangroves that is part of the world’s largest river delta. Royal Bengal tigers (estimated to number about 300) lurk in the impenetrable depths of th
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Shri Naguesh Temple
A short distance further south, in the village of Bandode, is the small and peaceful Naguesh Temple. The most striking part of the temple is the ancient water tank, with its overhanging palms, fishy depths and weathered stones, together making an attractive scene. Also of note are
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Iswari Minar Swarga Sal
Piercing the skyline near the City Palace is the unusual Iswari Minar Swarga Sal. The minaret was erected in the 1740s by Jai Singh’s son and successor Iswari, who later ignominiously killed himself by snakebite (in the Chandra Mahal) rather than face the advancing Maratha army –
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Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary
A serene 25-sq-km park in the foothills of the Western Ghats, cut through by two rivers and two streams, Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary is home to over 320 fluttering species – unusual in that they are mostly forest, rather than water birds – including Malabar grey hornbills, Ripley owl
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Bijli Mahadev Temple
There are several important temples in Kullus surrounding hills. Reached by a 3km hike up from Chansari, a 22km drive southeast from Kullu, the hilltop Bijli Mahadev is surmounted by a 20m wooden pole that attracts occasional divine blessings in the form of lightning. The surge of
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Other Temples
From the old bridge, instead of turning right to Shri Omkar Mandhata, you can also head left and walk up the 287 steps to the 11th-century Gaudi Somnath Temple , from where you can descend the hill to the northern tip of the island, where sadhus bathe in the confluence of the holy
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Vishvanath Temple
Believed to have been built in 1002, the Vishvanath Temple is reached by steps on the northern and southern sides. Elephants flank the southern steps. Vishvanath anticipates Kandariya-Mahadev, with which it shares saptamattrikas (seven mothers) flanked by Ganesh and Virabhandra, an
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Maruti Temple
Dedicated to the monkey god Hanuman, this large orange temple built up the Altinho hillside is resplendently lit at night, and affords pleasant views over the city’s Old Quarter from its verandah by day. It forms the epicentre of a roughly 10-day festival celebrated in February, wh
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Shankaracharya Hill
Thickly forested Shankaracharya Hill is topped by a small Shiva temple, Shankaracharya Mandir , built from hefty blocks of visibly ancient grey stone. Previously known as Takht-i-Sulaiman (Throne of Solomon), it’s now named for a sage who reached enlightenment here in AD 750, but s
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Reis Magos Church
Reis Magos Church was built below the fortress walls in 1555, shortly after the construction of the fort itself. A Franciscan seminary was later added, and over the years it became a significant seat of learning. The seminary is gone but the church is well worth a look, with its st
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Gandhi Memorial Museum
Housed in a 17th-century Nayak queens palace, this excellent museum contains an impressively moving and comprehensive account of India’s struggle for independence from 1757 to 1947, and the English-language text spares no detail about British rule. Included in the exhibition is the
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Old Chinatown
For nearly two centuries the area around Phears Lane was home to a predominantly Christian Chinese community, many of whom fled or were interned during a fit of anti-Chinese fervour during the 1962 war. These days ‘old’ Chinatown is pretty run down and predominantly Muslim, with de
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Kuldara Village
This abandoned village is 19km west of Jaisalmer, 6km south of the Sam road. It was abandoned by its Paliwal Brahmin inhabitants – just like the area’s 83 other Paliwal Brahmin villages – about 200 years ago. They were heavily taxed, their property was looted and the daughter of on
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Citadel
Surrounded by fortified walls and a wide moat, the citadel once contained the palaces, pleasure gardens and durbar (royal court) of the Adil Shahi kings. Now mainly in ruins, the most impressive of the remaining fragments is the colossal archway of Gagan Mahal , built by Ali Adil S
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Stok Palace
This stately three-storey palace is a smaller and more intimate version of Lehs. As the summer home to Ladakh’s former royal family, it feels much more lived-in, though the overall scene is somewhat marred by a giant telecommunication tower. A handful of museum rooms display family
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Kolhua Complex
Between the Buddha Stupa Relic and the Archaeological Museum, a single-lane countryside road winds its way through farming villages to the Kolhua Complex, 5km away. Its worth making time for this very pleasant walk, although shared autos also make the trip and its relatively easy t
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Ranthambhore Fort
From a distance, the magical 10th-century Ranthambhore Fort is almost indiscernible on its hilltop perch – as you get closer, it seems almost as if it is growing out of the rock. It covers an area of 4.5 sq km, and affords peerless views from the disintegrating walls of the Badal M
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Sarkhej Roza
A mosque, tomb and palace complex dedicated to the memory of Ahmed Shah I’s spiritual advisor, Ahmed Khattu Ganj Baksh. The elegant, dilapidated buildings cluster around a great (often dry) tank, constructed by Sultan Mahmud Begada in the mid-15th century. It’s an atmospheric place
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