Unique Travel Experiences in India
Sunrise at the Taj Mahal in India is truly a sight to behold. As the ancient wonder awakes, this is the perfect time of day to begin exploring the great Mughal Mausoleum. The air is cool, the people are sparse, and here you can enjoy some rare tranquil moments in the morning sun, often hard to come by in India. Described by many scholars as the world's greatest monument to love, the pristine Taj Mahal in India draws upwards of three million visitors each year. Emperor Shah Jehan ordered the mausoleum be built to honour his wife, Mumtaz, after she passed away giving birth to their fourteenth child. Construction took over ten years and was completed in 1648. The Taj Mahal is now listed as ...
Madurai is one of the great temple cities of Tamil Nadu in Southern India, and is considered the cultural capital of the state. Here, they celebrate several festivals throughout the year, but the most spectacular of these is the Madurai Float Festival (also known as Teppam). The festival's origins date back to 17th century when King Thirumalai Nayak would take the divine idols of the Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareshwarar for a boat ride around the lake on his birthday. The Madurai Float Festival is a spectacular scene to behold. The deities are taken in golden palanquins escorted by elaborately decorated elephants and horses, along with musicians and devotees who sing songs all the way from the main temple to the lake at the break ...
Every January, the small village of Ladera in Bikaner, Rajasthan becomes the venue of the two-day and night Bikaner Camel Festival. People from all over the world come to India to attend the Bikaner Camel Festival where camel owners flock to show-off their camels. Camel and owner alike, dressed in their finest designer jewellery and accessories, kick-off the Bikaner Camel Festival with a regal march. This is a spectacular sight as the camels parade past spectators to the open sands with the Royal Junagarh Fort in the background. Colorful bridles, bejeweled necks, jingling anklets and long, lanky camel shadows on the dusky sand casts a magical atmosphere over the Bikaner Camel Festival. The Bikaner Camel Festival also holds numerous sports and cultural activities, but the ...
India is a country of diverse faiths, and Kumbh Mela is one of the holiest events in India, bringing Hindus from all over the country, and the world, together. This is a time when Hindus forget which caste they belong to, which region they come from or their social status, and take part in the mass celebration of Kumbh Mela. This event has attracted the acclaimed title as the largest human gathering in the world, where people come with only one thing on their mind, faith. Pilgrims come to Kumbh Mela full of such tremendous devotion, and in such overwhelming numbers, that it boggles the mind. It looks like an ocean of humans. Kumbh (pot) Mela (fair) is the sacred pilgrimage of the Hindus that ...
If you're a kite lover then you can't miss the Kite Festival in Jaipur, India on January 14th each year. Kite flying is traditional celebratory fare in various parts of India, as this day marks the the occasion of Makar Sankranti - the retreat of the winter season. Family and friends gather in throngs on top of roofs, celebrating Makar Sankranti and unleashing their kites on the sky. The band of revelers is so great, that the sky becomes almost invisible behind the mosaic of colourful paper creations. The Jaipur Kite Festival is a three-day celebration that starts on the Polo Grounds in Jaipur. Indian Air Force helicopters commence the Makar Sankranti festivities by releasing kites from the sky, while hundreds of schoolchildren release balloons ...
The national capital of India has many tourist attractions, and the famous Bahai Faith Lotus Temple of Delhi is right at the top of the list. A visit to the Lotus Temple should be high priority for any trip to the Indian capital. Open to all faiths, the stunning lotus shape architecture of marble, cement, dolomite and sand sets the scene for meditation, peace and tranquility. The Lotus Temple is the main temple in India to represent the youngest of all the independent religions in the world. Its founder father, Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), is regarded as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God, which includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad. The Lotus Temple is located in Kalkaji, south of Delhi, and ...
Rath Yatra Chariot Festival is one of the biggest festivals in Hindu culture, and nowhere is the celebration bigger then in the holy city of Puri in Orissa. Millions of devotees from all over the world come to the Jagannath Puri temple every year to participate in this grand festival. Abiding to ritual, the sacred idols of Lord Jagannath of Puri, along with the idols of his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra, are taken out in grand procession in big wooden chariots from the Jagannath temple of Puri to the Gundicha Temple, where they remain for nine days. The Rath Yatra Festival is celebrated every year in the second day of the lunar month (June/ July), and the holy city of Puri attracts ...
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