Cultural sightseeing in India

In India, tourists will find such a large number of museums, temples, and historical sites that it is impossible to visit everything during one stay and they have to choose which is more important to visit. Those who want to learn more about Indian culture have lots of opportunities to do it. There are many places of worship for believers in the country. One of them is the world-famous Taj Mahal in Agra. It is a popular landmark, a mosque, and a mausoleum, as well as a masterpiece of Great Mughal architecture. This great monument made of white marble is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The mosque was built in the middle of the 17th century. Everything exudes power and grandeur including the tomb, the guest house, the main gate and this masterpiece as a whole.

You will find the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, a place of worship for Hindus, in Tiruchchirappalli. Despite the fact that only Hindus are allowed to enter the temple, everyone else can admire the temple-city from the outside. The exterior of the temple is startling. Everything here looks extraordinary for a European eye: giant gates, Brahmin dwellings, and wonderful architecture, in which everything is thought out to the smallest detail. There are about 40 pavilions, 21 towers, plenty of shops which will make your visit to this religious complex a really unforgettable one. The temple is considered as one of the largest functioning Hindu worship places in the world. You can spend the whole day here, feeling a solemn spirit and increasingly falling in love with Hindu culture.

The temple of the sun-god Surya in Konark was built seven centuries ago. Built entirely of stone, the temple is known for its bas-reliefs of a sexual nature, which can be seen on its walls. Birds sing around the chariot-shaped temple, beautiful flowers grow everywhere. In other words, this temple is fascinating both on the inside and on the outside. In 1951, the Somnath Temple dedicated to Shiva was opened in Prabhas Patan. This is a modern, reconstructed building of the temple on the site of an ancient construction which was built at the end of the 10th century. The ocean waters caress the base of the temple. It is very clean here and there are always many pilgrims, suffering Hindus praying to Shiva for healing. Taking pictures inside the temple is prohibited. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The “Calico Museum of Textiles”, which was built in the early 50s of the last century, is located in the city of Ahmedabad. It contains a rich collection of fabrics with complex patterns, antique documents, and bronze items. Guides provide comprehensive information about the process of creation and history of each exhibit. The fabric used for tailoring, for pujas and other needs, shawls, carpets, scarves – simply put, all kinds of Indian fabrics from different eras are collected here. The age of some items in the collection is almost half a thousand years. In New Delhi, there is a National Museum of Natural History, which was opened in 1978. Here visitors can see some ancient ornaments, ethnic art, weapons, manuscripts, archaeological objects, Indian miniatures and much more. The museum was reconstructed in April 2016 after a fire, which caused damage to many collections.

For those who are keen on science, it is recommended to visit Ranchi Science Center. It is a science museum with interactive exhibits and games, a 3D projection theater, scientific collections, and a children’s education area. Animations, computers, technologies ranging from the most simple to complex modern can be found here too. You can get closer to science and technology in the museum and get an idea of the daily processes and complex physical laws. Those who visit Kozhikode should pay attention to the Pazhassi Raja Archaeological Museum, which is famous for its ancient exhibits, the newest of which trace their lineage to the 200th year of our era. The museum also has a gallery, where you can find paintings of Indian artists, who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries. The bicentennial building once housed a court. What is more, there was a prison in the basement.

The Heritage Transport Museum in Tauru is the first museum of its kind in India, which was opened in 2013. It gives you the opportunity to observe the evolution of Indian transport: bicycles, motorcycles, vintage cars, modern sports cars, transport into past centuries, carriages, old buses, trains, carts, trucks — for all of Indian’s history, they are known to move on wheels. Bhopal is proud of its Museum of Tribal Culture, where you can look at the authentic tribal housing and instruments of labor, as well as learn how people from the seven main tribes that inhabited the state lived, what they believed in, what they did, and how they had fun. There is a library and a children’s gallery too.

Near the city of Gwalior, tourists can find a fortress built in the 6th century located on a basalt hill. Time did not affect its beauty and greatness. According to legend, it was named after the Saint who healed the leper king. The complex consists of several palaces and temples, some of which were built during the existence of the fortress. Lal Qila, or the “Red Fort” situated in the center of Delhi, was founded at the beginning of the 17th century and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Built in the Indo-Islamic style, it is made of marble and red sandstone. Within the walls of the magnificent fortress, there are several palaces, a market, a mosque, and a park.