Top five attractions to visit on your vacation to India

India is famous for its cultural diversity and its iconic sites that are peppered all throughout the country. From the high mountains of the Himalayas to the tropical greenery of Kerala, and from the sacred Ganges to the sands of the Thar desert, it is a land of a natural and man-made wonder. While there are several attractions that you must see while your vacation in India, here are the top five of them-

Taj Mahal:

The Taj Mahal in Agra is probably one of the most popular sites in the world, let alone India. Built in between 1632 and 1653, it is an immense mausoleum of white marble built by the order of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his late favourite wife. Also known as “a teardrop on the cheek of eternity”, it is one a fine example of masterpieces of Mughal architecture. Besides the white domed marble mausoleum, the Taj Mahal includes several beautiful building, pools and extensive gardens.

Varanasi:

Located on the banks of holy river Ganges, Varanasi is sacred to all Hindus, Buddhists and Jains as well. It is also the oldest of continuously inhabited cities in the world. The view of pilgrims travelling from all over the country offering their devotion in the River Ganges against the backdrop of sunrise and centuries-old temples is a view worth millions.

Lake Palace:

The Lake Palace situated in the Lake Pichola in the city of Udaipur was actually built as a royal summer palace in the 18th century. Now it is a luxury five-star hotel which operates under the” Taj Hotel Resorts and Palaces”. The hotel operates boats that transport the guests to the hotel from a jetty at the City Palace on the east bank of the river.

The palace became world-famous in the year 1983 when it was seen in the James Bond film Octopussy.

Ellora Caves:

Ellora Caves are remarkable rock shrines that represent the three faiths of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism and were created between the 5th and the 13th centuries CE. It is one of the largest monastery-temple cave complexes in the world cut from the rock.

Ellora has a hundred caves, though only thirty-four are open to the public. The biggest single monolithic rock excavation is found at the Kailasa Temple, which covers an area double the size of Parthenon in Athens Constructed between the seventh and ninth centuries, the caves are devoted to Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainism deities.

Virupaksha Temple:

The Virupaksha Temple in the city of Hampi started out as a small shrine and grew into a large complex under the Vijayanagara rulers. It is supposed that this temple has been operative uninterruptedly ever since the small shrine was constructed in the 7th century AD thus this makes it one of the oldest functioning Hindu temples in India.

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Originally published at http://rohitkaleblogs.bravesites.com on October 12, 2018.