Things to do in India

Things to do

Showing 188 places for Spiritual & Pilgrimage.

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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

Janki Chatti

Yamunotri, Uttarakhand

The road head six kilometres below the temple, where vehicles stop and the walk starts. Ponies and palanquins are hired here at posted rates.

Attraction

Kailasanathar Temple

Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

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

Experience

Kailash Kora (Parikrama)

Mount Kailash

The sacred 52-km circumambulation trek around the base of the mountain.

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.

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.

Experience

Kanchipuram Silk Weavers

Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

Workshops weaving the city's world-famous silk sarees.

Experience

Kashi Vishwanath Mandir

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

The highly sacred golden-spired Jyotirlinga Shiva temple, recently transformed into a wide, modern barrier-free pedestrian corridor.

Attraction

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

One of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, at the heart of the new corridor.

Attraction

Kedarnath Temple

Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

The ancient stone Jyotirlinga temple of Lord Shiva amid snow peaks.

Attraction

Kharsali

Yamunotri, Uttarakhand

A village across the river from Janki Chatti, and the winter seat of the Yamunotri deity. It has an old Someshwar temple in Garhwali timber and stone, and almost nobody walks over to see it.

Attraction

Kirti Mandir

Porbandar, Gujarat

The house where Gandhi was born in 1869, and the small museum built beside it for him and Kasturba. Inside are objects he used, life-size portraits of the two of them, old photographs and a library of his writing and of books about his thinking. The ancestral home itself is entered through the museum — narrow rooms, steep stairs, and a marked spot on the floor. It is modest by design, and the contrast with the Statue of Unity three hours away is worth sitting with. World leaders have made the trip; most visitors need about half an hour.

Experience

Konark Sand Art Stretch

Chandrabhaga Beach (Konark), Odisha

The beach famed for the international sand-art festival.

Attraction

Krishna Janmabhoomi

Mathura & Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh

The temple complex at the believed birthplace of Lord Krishna in Mathura.

Accommodation Area

Kudle Beach

Gokarna, Karnataka

A wide, expansive sandy bay located just a short walk over the ridge from the town, famous for yoga retreats and sunset dining.

Attraction

Lakhota Palace and Museum

Jamnagar, Gujarat

A semicircular fort on an island in Ranmal lake, built in the nineteenth century as famine relief so that people had wages. It is a museum now — Saurashtra pottery, an old armoury — reached by a stone causeway.

Attraction

Lakshman Temple

Hemkund Sahib, Uttarakhand

A small temple beside the lake at Hemkund, marking where Lakshman is said to have meditated. At 4,600 metres, so do not linger.

Attraction

Maa Jogulamba Sanctum

Jogulamba Temple, Telangana

The reconstructed core inner sanctum housing the unique terrifying seated form of the Goddess, wrapped by historic stone icons.

Attraction

Machi Fort and Gateways

Pavagadh Hill, Gujarat

The medieval military fortification structures guarding the central hill plateau. It features stone walls, watchtowers, and ancient deep water harvesting cisterns carved directly out of the volcanic rock.

Attraction

Madhuban Temple Town

Shikharji (Parasnath), Jharkhand

The base settlement of Jain temples and dharamshalas below the hill.

Attraction

Mahabaleshwar Temple

Gokarna, Karnataka

The historic 4th-century Dravidian granite temple complex housing the sacred Atmalinga stone relic, managed by traditional scholars.

Attraction

Mahabat Maqbara Complex

Junagadh, Gujarat

Two mausoleums side by side, finished in 1892 and 1896: one for Mahabat Khan II, Nawab of Junagadh, the other for his minister Bahauddin Hussain Bhar. What makes them worth the detour is the mix — Indo-Islamic domes and arches carrying Gothic windows, silver doors, and four minarets with staircases winding up the outside of them, which is close to unique in India. They have been poorly maintained for years and are often locked; the exterior is the visit, and it is enough. Late afternoon light suits the stonework better than midday.

Attraction

Mahabodhi Temple & Bodhi Tree

Bodh Gaya, Bihar

The UNESCO temple beside the tree under which the Buddha was enlightened.