Things to do in India

Arrive at dawn to see the white marble mausoleum glow pink and gold as the first rays strike the Yamuna-facing facade.

Drift through palm-fringed canals and lagoons aboard a kettuvallam, watching village life unfold along the shore.

Walk barefoot on the cool marble parikrama around the Harmandir Sahib, whose gold-leafed sanctum reflects in the sacred Amrit Sarovar.

At Dashashwamedh Ghat, priests in saffron robes perform a choreographed fire ritual to the river goddess, with brass lamps, incense and chanting.

Clamber over giant boulders and explore the sprawling Vijayanagara empire remains, from the stone chariot of Vittala Temple to the riverside Virupaksha shrine.

Grab Mumbai’s iconic potato fritter sandwich from this legendary street food joint outside Mithibai College.

Trek into a UNESCO-listed alpine valley blanketed with endemic blooms like blue poppies and brahma kamal.

From the Sam sand dunes near Jaisalmer, sway atop a ship of the desert as the sun melts behind rippling sands.

Join the city’s collective art fest when neighbourhoods build elaborate temporary temples for the goddess.

In the world capital of yoga, unroll your mat as the river hums beside you and ashram bells ring.

This 15th-century temple boasts 1,444 intricately carved pillars that no two are alike, creating a forest of luminous white marble under an open sky.

Rising 400 feet above Jodhpur, this imposing fort offers vertiginous views of indigo-brushed houses.

Set in a crescent of coconut palms, this south Goan beach is perfect for a slow day of swimming, kayaking to Butterfly Island, and sipping feni at a shack.

Trek down stone steps to the double-decker root bridge at Nongriat, formed by training Ficus elastica roots across streams by the Khasi people.

Hop on an open jeep at dawn to scan dry deciduous forest and ancient ruins for the stripes of India’s most charismatic predator.

Squeeze through lanes where the scent of parathas, jalebis and spices mingle with the clatter of rickshaws.

A monolithic wonder, the world’s largest rock-cut temple was chiselled vertically out of a basalt cliff in the 8th century.

Every November, thousands of camels, horses and cattle converge on the holy town’s dunes for trading, races and the exuberant colour of Rajasthani turbans and moustache competitions.

Walk through rolling carpets of tea bushes that blend into the Western Ghats, visit a factory to see leaf-to-cup processing, and taste a fragrant orange pekoe while mist curls around the hills.

See the elaborate makeup applied before your eyes, then witness a story from the Mahabharata told through eye gestures, hand mudras and footwork to the beat of chenda drums.

This 13th-century stone chariot of the sun god, with 24 giant wheels and seven horses, is a poetic fusion of architecture and astronomy.

A grand white marble edifice set amid 64 acres of gardens, built to commemorate Queen Victoria but now a museum of colonial art.

Roam the excavated red-brick monasteries and stupas of one of the world’s first residential universities, where scholars debated philosophy and medicine in the 5th century CE.

A heritage haveli rooftop setting serves an endless silver platter of regional vegetarian delicacies—from farsan to shrikhand—each bite tangy, sweet, and spiced to perfection.

Ranked among the world’s best paragliding sites, launch from Billing (2,400m) and soar like a bird above tea gardens and monasteries.