Things to do in India

Things to do

Explore attractions, temples, viewpoints and local experiences across India. Search by name, then narrow by type or state.

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Page 18 of 23

Attraction

Ranchhodraiji Temple

Dakor, Gujarat

Built in 1772 by a Maratha noble, with eight spires over a walled compound and a black stone Krishna inside. Full-moon days bring very large numbers on foot from the surrounding villages — avoid those unless that is what you came for.

Attraction

Rani ki Vav

Patan, Gujarat

A stepwell on the bank of the Saraswati at Patan, built in the eleventh century and attributed to Udayamati, queen of the Chaulukya king Bhima I. It silted over and was effectively lost until the 1940s, then excavated and restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the 1980s — which is why the carving is as sharp as it is. Seven levels of stairs descend to the water, each lined with sculptural panels of Hindu deities: it was built as an inverted temple, a shrine you go down into rather than up. UNESCO listed it in 2014, and it is on the ₹100 note.

Attraction

Raniji-ki-Baori (Queens Stepwell)

Bundi, Rajasthan

Built in 1699 by Rani Nathavati Solanki, queen of Rao Raja Anirudh Singh, and about forty-six metres deep — a multi-storey stepwell with a place of worship on each level, carved brackets running down the sides, and a narrow four-pillared entrance under a high arched gate, with stone elephants facing each other in the corners. Bundi has dozens of stepwells and most are locked, dry or full of rubbish; this is the one kept open and maintained. Go in the morning, while the sun still reaches down the shaft — by afternoon the carving is in shadow and stops reading.

Attraction

Ranthambore Fort

Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan

A tenth-century Chauhan fort standing inside the tiger reserve, founded under Sapaldaksha and added to by the kings who followed him, UNESCO-listed since 2013 with the other hill forts of Rajasthan. It sits high enough to give the clearest view there is over the park below. Entry is free and separate from the safari, because the Ganesh temple inside is a working shrine receiving pilgrims — which makes this the one part of Ranthambore you can walk into without a permit or a jeep booking. It is a real climb, with langurs along the path who are entirely used to people carrying food.

Attraction

Red Fort

Delhi, Delhi

The grand Mughal fort and UNESCO site, from whose ramparts the PM addresses the nation.

Experience

Rishikonda Water Sports

Rishikonda Beach (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh

Surfing, jet-skiing and banana-boat rides off the beach.

Attraction

Rock Garden

Chandigarh, Chandigarh

Nek Chand's vast sculpture garden built entirely from recycled materials.

Attraction

Rumi Darwaza

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

An ornate 60-foot Awadhi gateway, a symbol of the city.

Attraction

Rumtek Monastery

Gangtok, Sikkim

A large multi-storey Tibetan Buddhist monastery 24 km away, and the principal international seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage.

Attraction

Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple

Sabarimala, Kerala

The hilltop forest shrine of Lord Ayyappa, reached by a trek from Pamba.

Attraction

Sabarmati Ashram

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Gandhi's home on the west bank of the Sabarmati, about six kilometres from the town hall, and the place he set out from on 12 March 1930 to walk to Dandi and break the salt law. He lived here and at Sevagram in Wardha for twelve years between travelling and prison, with Kasturba and followers including Vinoba Bhave; the Gita was recited daily as part of the day's routine. It is a national monument now — low buildings, a courtyard, his room kept as it was. Best in the morning, before the school groups.

Attraction

Sacred Flames Chamber

Jwalamukhi (Jwala Ji) Temple, Himachal Pradesh

The inner rock sanctum featuring nine natural gas flames emerging directly from stone cracks, each representing a distinct goddess form.

Attraction

Saheliyon-ki-Bari

Udaipur, Rajasthan

The garden of the maidens, in the north of Udaipur, built by Rana Sangram Singh for the women of the court. Fountains, kiosks, a lotus pool and marble elephants, laid out around water brought down from the lake above — the fountains were engineered to run on that fall alone, without pumps. There is a small museum on the site with material on the city's history. It is a garden rather than a monument, so treat it as half an hour and not an afternoon, and go early: it is small enough that two coach parties fill it.

Experience

Sam Sand Dunes

Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

The expansive rolling sand dunes located 40 km outside the city, famous for evening camel safaris, jeep dune bashing, and cultural camps.

Attraction

Samadhi Mandir

Shirdi, Maharashtra

The temple enshrining Sai Baba's tomb, the heart of the pilgrimage.

Experience

Samaguri Satra (Mask Making)

Majuli, Assam

The monastery famous for crafting traditional Assamese masks used in ritual theatre.

Hidden Gem

Sanasar Lake

Patnitop, Jammu & Kashmir

A small natural lake in a bowl of meadow 20 km away, off most itineraries, and used for paragliding and wilderness camping.

Experience

Saputara Lake

Saputara, Gujarat

The lake in the middle of town, with boats on it and a path around the edge. Half an hour, and it is what everyone does on arriving.

Viewpoint

Saputara Ropeway

Saputara, Gujarat

A cable car from the town up to the sunset point, which saves a climb and is the only reason most people get up there. Short queues on weekdays, long ones at dusk on Sundays.

Attraction

Saputara Tribal Museum

Saputara, Gujarat

A single-room state museum of Dang tribal material — instruments, masks, wedding dress, farming tools. It takes twenty minutes and is better than it has any need to be. Small enough for half an hour, and it shuts for a break in the middle of the day.

Experience

Sarayu Ghats

Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh

Riverfront ghats famous for the evening aarti and the Deepotsav festival.

Experience

Sariska Safari

Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan

Jeep safaris through the scrub-thorn and dry deciduous forest of Sariska, a reserve of about 1,203 square kilometres in Alwar district with an 881 square kilometre core. It was Alwar's royal hunting ground before it was anything else — a sanctuary from 1958, a Project Tiger reserve from 1978. Sariska is also the reserve that lost every one of its tigers to poaching by 2004 and was restocked from Ranthambore afterwards, so the population is small and a sighting is genuinely uncertain. Come for the Aravalli landscape and the ruined temples inside the park, and treat a tiger as a bonus.

Attraction

Sarnath

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Where the Buddha gave his first sermon, with stupas and a museum, 10 km away.

Attraction

Sarnath Archaeological Museum

Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh

India's oldest site museum gallery housing the original 3rd-century BCE Ashokan Lion Capital and masterfully carved sandstone Buddha statues.