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Querim Beach
Quiet Querim is the place to come to while away the hours in peace and tranquillity, with only the occasional beach shack for company. Backed by a shady cover of fir and casuarina trees – though sadly this hinterland is becoming a little litter-blown – there’s not much to do here b
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Valley of Flowers National Park
British mountaineer Frank Smythe stumbled upon the Valley of Flowers in 1931. ‘In all my mountain wandering,’ he wrote, ‘I have not seen a more beautiful valley where the human spirit may find repose. The bugyals (high-altitude meadows) of tall wildflowers are a glorious sight on a
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Laxminarayan Temple
The Hindu Laxminarayan Temple, in the centre of the fort, is simpler than the Jain temples here and has a brightly decorated dome. Devotees offer grain, which is distributed before the temple. The inner sanctum has a repoussé silver architrave around its entrance, and a heavily gar
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Little Mount
It is believed that from around AD 58, St Thomas lived in hiding at Little Mount . The cave still bears what some believe to be Thomas’ handprint, left when he escaped through an opening that miraculously appeared. Three kilometres on, St Thomas Mount (Parangi Malai) is thought to
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Safa Shahouri Masjid
The Safa Shahouri Masjid, Goa’s oldest remaining mosque, is 2km from the town centre, on Ponda’s northern outskirts. Built by Bijapuri ruler Ali Adil Shah in 1560, it was originally surrounded by gardens, fountains and a palace, and is said to have matched the mosques at Bijapur in
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Kala Raksha
Based at Sumrasar Sheikh, 25km north of Bhuj, Kala Raksha is a nonprofit trust working to preserve and promote Kachchh arts. It works with about 1000 embroiderers and patchwork and appliqué artisans from six communities in some 25 villages. The trust has a small museum and shop, an
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Janapada Loka Folk Arts Museum
A worthwhile stopover between Bengaluru and Mysore, this museum is dedicated to the preservation of rural local culture. It has a wonderful collection of folk-art objects, including 500-year-old shadow puppets, festival costumes, musical instruments and superb temple chariot and a
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Jal Mahal
Near the cenotaphs of the maharanis of Jaipur, and beautifully situated in the watery expanse of Man Sagar, is the beautiful Jal Mahal. It was built in 1799 by Madho Singh as a summer resort for the royal family, which they used to base duck-hunting parties. It’s accessed via a cau
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Dolphin’s Nose
About 10km from town, this viewpoint exposes a vast panorama encompassing Catherine Falls across the valley. On the same road, Lamb’s Rock , a favourite picnic spot in a pretty patch of forest, has amazing views past tea and coffee plantations to the hazy plains. The easiest way to
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Colonel Bailey’s Dungeon
North of the island, on the banks of the Cauvery, is this well-preserved 18th-century white-walled dungeon used to hold British prisoners of war, including Colonel Bailey who died here in 1780. Jutting out from the walls are stone fixtures used to chain prisoners. East along the ri
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Mulbekh Castle Site
Mulbekh is overlooked by the impregnable site of King Tashi Namgyal’s 18th-century castle, high high above. Burnt during an 1835 raid, only two tower stubs remain but the site sports a small gompa and symphonic views across the green valley to the highly sculpted rocky mountains be
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Mertani Baori
The Mertani Baori, to the northwest of the fort, is Shekhawati’s most impressive step-well, named after the woman who commissioned it, Mertani, the widow of Sardul Singh. Built in 1783, but since restored, it is about 30m deep, with sulphuric waters said to cure skin diseases. An E
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Neelkantha Mahadev Temple
Follow the dedicated pilgrims who take water from the Ganges to offer at Neelkantha Mahadev Temple, a 7km, three-hour walk along a forest path from Swarg Ashram. Neelkanth (Blue Throat) is another name for Shiva, who once drank poison churned up from the sea by gods and demons, whi
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Alipore Zoo
Kolkata’s 16-hectare zoo first opened in 1875. The spacious lawns and lakeside promenades are very popular with weekend picnickers (hence all the rubbish). Bus 230 from Rabindra Sadan passes outside. Grass is so high in the moated Bengal Tiger enclosure that it’s hard to spot the a
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Shri Mahalaxmi Temple
Only 4km outside Ponda, and a stone’s throw from Naguesh Temple, is the relatively uninspiring Mahalaxmi Temple. The goddess Mahalaxmi, looked upon as the mother of the world, was particularly worshipped by the Shilahara rulers and by the Kadambas, and thus has featured prominently
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Raghunath Mandir
The large, 19th-century Raghunath Mandir marks the heart of older Jammu and features several pavilions containing thousands of what look like grey pebbles set in concrete. In fact, these are saligrams (ammonite fossils) symbolically representing the myriad deities of the Hindu pant
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Banking Museum
This professionally presented little museum brings alive the history of Indian banking using paintings, models, seals, weapons and archive materials. A star exhibit is the forgotten chest in which some of Mahatma Gandhis ashes were left for 46 years in the State Bank vault in Cutta
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Main Temple
About 15km northwest of Jaisalmer are the deserted ruins of Lodhruva, the ancient capital before the move to Jaisalmer. The Jain temples , rebuilt in the late 1970s, are sole reminders of the city’s former magnificence. The main temple enshrines a finely wrought silver image of Par
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Patnem Beach
Smaller and less crowded than Palolem to the north, Patnem makes a quiet and friendly alternative. It’s backed by relaxed beach shacks and has a lively surf, making it great for swimming some days and impossible on others, when an equally lively undertow is present. Its main beach
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Poddar Havelis
Continue about 50m past the main Churu Gate, then turn left to reach a group of Poddar havelis . Popular motifs include soldiers, trains and three fish arranged in a circle (a design peculiar to Ramgarh). One haveli has a painting of women carrying water in pitchers, and there’s a
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