India is everything and more at once. It’s a visual explosion of bright saris, clumsy cows, ornate palaces, and bright sun. The magic of India is simply inexhaustible. With its rich architectural and cultural history, if we start making a list of tourist attractions, we will be here all day. So, we have selected just five tourist attractions for you to see.
Here we introduce you to the sights that you should definitely experience on your trip to India!
Thar desert
The Thar Desert is located in the western part of the state of Rajasthan. However, parts of the huge, 300,000 square kilometer sandy desert belong to Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and neighboring Pakistan.
Many areas of the Thar are covered by large, up to 150 m high dunes. The strong winds that hit the area, especially before the start of the monsoon season, are constantly changing their shape and location.
Between the months of July and September, most of the precipitation of the year falls in the desert. The saltwater lakes that can be seen in this desert at this time are curious, but evaporate again during the dry season. The resulting salt comes from the erosion of the surrounding rock.
Incidentally, despite the harsh conditions and high temperatures, Hindus and Sikh minorities inhabit the desert.
Ranakpur Jain Temple
Ranakpur is located between the cities of Jodhpur and Udaipur. The city is very small and actually quite inconspicuous. However, there are a number of spectacular Jain temples, with the white marble Adinath Temple being one of the most beautiful that you can visit in India.
The 4,000-square-kilometer temple by the way Adinath is dedicated to an important personality of Jainism and presumably founder of this religion.
The temple with its characteristic domes, sikharas and towers rises majestically from a slope. A total of 1,444 exquisitely carved marble columns support the temple and each of these columns is unique.
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
The Gurdwara Bangla is the most important Sikh temple in the city of Delhi. It is located very close to the central Connaught Place and you can recognize it immediately by the peculiar golden dome that glistens in the sun.
Visit the majestic Gurudwara Bangla Sahib when in Delhi. It is a sacred place for Sikhs all over the world. It is believed that the sacred water of its pond has healing properties. The Gurudwara site includes a community temple, community kitchen, school, library, and art gallery. If you are lucky, you can enjoy a traditional langar-style meal prepared by the Gurudwara students in the communal kitchen.
Hawa Mahal in Jaipur
The Hawa Mahal Palace was built so that the women of the court could see the drama of the city streets without being seen for themselves. For this purpose, the total of 953 windows that cover the facade of the palace were designed in such a way that one cannot look inside from the outside.
Located in the heart of Jaipur, this beautiful five-story palace was built in 1799 as an extension of the Royal Palace.
Hawa Mahal literally translates as “Palace of the Winds” as its small windows or jharokhas allow the cool breezes to freely circulate inside the building during the hot Indian summers.
Dada Harir Stepwell
An octagonal well, dug eight stories deep, is a work of art to see. It is located in the city of Ahmedabad, which is also known as Manchester of India. Dada Harir is built out of sandstone and is designed in Solanki architectural style.
Each level in the well has unique and beautiful carvings and is wide enough that people can easily congregate. From flower motives to animals such as elephants and Hindu and Jain gods to Islamic architecture, you will find them all carved alongside each other. It is indeed a thing of beauty to be witnessed and admired.
Dada Harir is not only beautiful in its architecture but its history as well. It was built in 1485 by Dhai Harir, its namesake. She was the head woman of harem that belonged to Sultan Mahmud Begada of Gujrat. The well pays homage to the sultan with inscriptions carved into the well, both in Sanskrit and Arabic.
