Things to do in India

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Attraction

Hawa Mahal

Jaipur, Rajasthan

Built in 1799 by Sawai Pratap Singh in red and pink sandstone, on the edge of the City Palace and joined to the zenana, the women's quarters. Its nine hundred and fifty-three lattice windows — jharokhas — let the women of the household watch processions in the street below without being seen, and the honeycomb of openings pulls air through the building, which is what keeps it bearable in a Jaipur summer. The famous view is from outside, facing east: go before nine, while the sun is on the front. Inside it is narrow ramps and small chambers, and much less than the facade promises.

Attraction

Hazratbal Shrine

Hazratbal Shrine (Srinagar), Jammu & Kashmir

The white-marble lakeside shrine housing a sacred relic of the Prophet.

Market

Hazratganj

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow's elegant heritage shopping district.

Attraction

Hemis Heritage Museum

Hemis Monastery, Leh & Ladakh

A gallery below the monastery holding thangkas, ritual objects and gilded figures the gompa had in storage. Small, well lit, and easy to miss if you only look at the courtyard.

Viewpoint

Howrah Bridge

Kolkata, West Bengal

A riveted cantilever span opened in 1943, carrying an extraordinary weight of foot traffic. Photographing it from the bridge is prohibited and the rule is enforced. The flower market at Mullick Ghat underneath, busiest before dawn, is the better reason to come.

Attraction

Hoysaleswara Temple (Halebidu)

Belur & Halebidu, Karnataka

A colossal twin-structured temple complex wrapped in over two hundred metres of continuous, horizontal exterior stone scroll friezes.

Viewpoint

HPCA Stadium

McLeodganj & Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh

One of the highest international cricket grounds anywhere, with the Dhauladhar wall standing directly behind the stands. On non-match days you can usually walk in and look, which is worth ten minutes.

Attraction

Humayun's Tomb

Delhi, Delhi

A Mughal garden-tomb and UNESCO site that inspired the Taj Mahal.

Attraction

Idargarh Fort Ruins

Idar Hill (Idargarh), Gujarat

The historic medieval fort ruins resting on top of the granite hill. It features the remains of the royal palace (Kharar Mahal), rock-cut guard posts, and panoramic vistas over the boulder terrain.

Market

Ima Keithel (Mother's Market)

Imphal, Manipur

A centuries-old market run entirely by thousands of women.

Attraction

Indroda Dinosaur and Fossil Park

Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Widely recognised as India's Jurassic Park, this 400-hectare eco-reserve is run by the GEER Foundation. It holds fossilised dinosaur eggs and bones found across western India, along with lifelike scale models of prehistoric beasts, an open-air botanical nursery and a zoo. A long wilderness walking trail runs along the Sabarmati riverbed.

Attraction

Inner Cave Sanctum

Kamakhya Temple, Assam

The natural subterranean stone fissure representing the Goddess, continuously fed by a sacred underground spring.

Attraction

Jagatpita Brahma Mandir

Pushkar, Rajasthan

One of very few temples anywhere dedicated to Brahma, and by some distance the most important of them. The structure dates to the fourteenth century with later partial rebuilding, in marble and stone slabs, with a red shikhara and a hamsa — the goose that carries Brahma — as its motif. The sanctum holds a four-headed image of Brahma with Gayatri beside him, and the temple is governed by a Sanyasi ascetic priesthood. It stands a few minutes from Pushkar Lake, to which its legend is tied. Shoes come off well before the steps, and cameras are not welcome in the sanctum.

Attraction

Jahangir Mahal

Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

Built for a single visit by Jahangir, who is said to have stayed one night in it. Three storeys of chambers and terraces around a courtyard, and you can walk almost all of it unsupervised, which is rare for a building this size.

Attraction

Jai Vilas Palace

Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

A 19th-century Scindia palace and museum famed for its durbar hall.

Attraction

Jaisalmer Fort

Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

Built in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal at a crossroads of trade routes that fed into the old silk roads, and the second-oldest fort in Rajasthan. It is one of the very few living forts left anywhere: around a quarter of the old city still lives inside the walls, alongside shops, guesthouses and the Jain temples in the middle, which are the best thing in it. The yellow sandstone reads tawny at midday and honey at sunset, which is where the golden fort name comes from. Seepage from the plumbing of all those households is undermining the foundations, which is why staying inside is discouraged.

Market

Johari Bazaar

Jaipur, Rajasthan

The old city's street of gem and jewellery dealers, known for silver work, hand-crafted kundan settings and tie-dye textiles.

Attraction

Junagarh Fort

Bikaner, Rajasthan

Begun in 1589 and never taken, which is why the painted and gold-leaf interiors survive as well as they do. The walls and moat went up between 1589 and 1594 under Karan Chand, prime minister to Rai Singh of Bikaner. It was called Chintamani until the early twentieth century, when the ruling family moved out to Lalgarh Palace and this became simply the old fort. Unusually for Rajasthan it stands on flat ground rather than a hill, so the city grew around it instead of below it. The museum holds a First World War biplane, which is not what anyone expects in a desert fort.

Experience

Kadathanadan Kalari Center

Thekkady (Periyar), Kerala

An institutional arena in Kumily showcasing daily evening performances of Kalaripayattu, India's oldest traditional martial art.

Attraction

Kailasanathar Temple

Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

The city's oldest temple, an 8th-century Pallava sandstone masterpiece.

Attraction

Kailash Temple (Cave 16)

Ellora Caves, Maharashtra

Cut downwards out of one piece of hillside in the eighth century until a complete two-storey temple stood clear of the rock — nothing was added, only stone taken away. Ellora closes on Tuesdays. Walk up the side path for the view down into it.

Attraction

Kalika Mata Temple

Pavagadh Hill, Gujarat

A Mahakali shrine on the summit of Pavagadh, about forty-six kilometres from Vadodara and one of the most visited hill shrines in Gujarat. The records point to a Jain origin — the temple belonged to the Svetambara Achalgaccha sect, and the Mahakali image was installed in the twelfth century. The hill and the ruined city below it form the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, which UNESCO listed in 2004 as the only complete pre-Mughal Islamic city in India. A ropeway covers most of the climb; the last stretch is steps, and it is shoulder to shoulder at weekends.

Experience

Kalka-Shimla Toy Train

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

The UNESCO narrow-gauge railway winding through 100+ tunnels to Shimla.

Attraction

Kanaka Sabha Sanctum

Chidambaram (Nataraja Temple), Tamil Nadu

The inner sanctum under a gold-plated roof, holding the Nataraja bronze and, beside it, the curtained empty space worshipped as ether. Ask a Dikshitar priest when the curtain is drawn back.