Ladakh, India

A stunning high-altitude endorheic lake at 4,350 m that changes colour through shades of blue and green, stretching from India into Tibet.

Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

The world's most celebrated monument to love — an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the Yamuna, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his empress Mumtaz Mahal. Its perfect dome, minarets, pietra-dura inlay and charbagh gardens change colour from dawn pink to moonlit silver, and it draws millions each year as India's crown jewel and a UNESCO World Heritage wonder.

Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India

The richest and most visited temple on Earth — Lord Venkateswara's hilltop abode on the seven Tirumala hills draws up to a lakh pilgrims a day, whose offered hair and donations fund vast charities, and whose chant of 'Govinda!' rolls up the ghat road day and night.

Uttarakhand, India

India's oldest national park and a flagship Project Tiger reserve, rich with Bengal tigers, elephants and over 600 bird species.

Deoghar, Jharkhand, India

One of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and among the most sacred pilgrimage sites in India, drawing millions during Shravani Mela.

Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India

The grand Nagara-style temple at Ram Janmabhoomi, consecrated in 2024 — three storeys of carved Bansi Paharpur sandstone housing Ram Lalla.

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Jyotirlinga of Kashi — Shiva's own city's heart, its gold-plated spire now approached by the grand new corridor from the Ganga.

Amritsar, Punjab, India

Sri Harmandir Sahib floats on its sacred pool in a shimmer of gold — Sikhism's holiest shrine, ringed by white marble parikrama and open to every human being. The world's largest free kitchen serves langar to up to 100,000 people a day, and the temple glowing over the Amrit Sarovar at night is one of India's great sights.

Kolkata, West Bengal, India

The iconic 1943 cantilever bridge over the Hooghly — 705 m of riveted steel carrying a hundred thousand vehicles and countless stories daily.

Badrinath, Uttarakhand, India

The northern seat of Vishnu at 10,170 ft between the Nar and Narayana peaks — the crown of the Char Dham, framed by Neelkanth's pyramid.

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

The 'Palace of Winds' — a five-storey pink honeycomb of 953 jharokha windows built in 1799 so royal ladies could watch the street unseen.

Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India

The great ghat where the Ganga leaves the mountains — Vishnu's footprint, Kumbh crowds and the fire-and-conch spectacle of Ganga aarti.

Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India

Vrindavan's most beloved shrine, where the curtain sways open and shut on Bihariji's darshan lest his gaze overwhelm the beholder.

Hampi, Karnataka, India

A surreal sea of granite boulders strewn with the ruins of Vijayanagara — 500-year-old temples, royal elephant stables, the stone chariot of Vittala and colonnaded bazaars scattered across 26 sq km beside the Tungabhadra. Sunrise from Matanga Hill over this UNESCO landscape is pure magic.

Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

The UNESCO red-sandstone fortress of the Mughals — Akbar's walls wrapping Shah Jahan's marble courts, with the Taj framed from Musamman Burj.

Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India

The dramatic 3,978-m saddle above Manali where the green Kullu valley flips to Lahaul's stark moonscape — snow walls in early summer, glacier views, and the high-altitude thrill that made it Bollywood's favourite mountain backdrop.

Alappuzha, Kerala, India

A dreamlike maze of palm-fringed canals, lagoons and paddies below sea level, cruised on converted rice-barge houseboats with crew, fresh karimeen meals and nothing to do but watch village life drift past. Venice of the East and the crown of Kerala's backwaters.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Mumbai's basalt triumphal arch on the Apollo Bunder waterfront — built for George V's 1911 visit and the ceremonial exit point of the last British troops in 1948.

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

A honey-hued bastion cascading down the Aravalli ridge above Maota Lake — ramparts, cupolas and courtyards leading to the dazzling Sheesh Mahal, whose thousands of mirrors turn a single candle into a galaxy. Jaipur's crowning Rajput-Mughal masterpiece and part of Rajasthan's UNESCO hill forts.

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Nearly ninety stone ghats step down to the Ganga in one of Earth's oldest living cities, where pilgrims bathe at dawn, priests whirl fire at the evening Ganga Aarti, and life and death flow side by side at Dashashwamedh, Assi and Manikarnika. A dawn boat ride past the waking ghats is among India's most unforgettable experiences.

Delhi, Delhi, India

Shahjahanabad's mighty sandstone heart — two kilometres of 33-m walls enclosing pearl-white marble halls, the jewel-inlaid Diwan-i-Khas and gardens where the Peacock Throne once stood. Every Independence Day the Prime Minister unfurls the tricolour from its Lahori Gate ramparts.

Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Srinagar's mirror — shikaras glide past floating gardens, lotus beds and carved cedar houseboats moored since the Raj, with the Pir Panjal reflected in glassy water. Mornings bring a floating vegetable market; evenings, saffron kahwa on your houseboat deck.

Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India

The 'Queen of the Hills' (6,170 ft) — Mall Road promenades, Doon valley night-lights and writers from Ruskin Bond's bookshelf.

Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

The citadel of the sun — 400 ft of sheer wall over the Blue City, with palace museums, cannonball scars and India's best-run fort experience.