Taj Mahal, Agra

Taj_Mahal_(Edited).jpeg

Best time to travel: Nov-Feb
Walk difficulty: Easy
Ease of travel: Moderate
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Ivory-white marble mausoleum on the bank of the Yamuna river
  • Commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, in order to house his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal
  • Contains a tomb, mosque, guest house, gardens, and crenellated walls
  • The original cost of the building would be approximately $827 million in 2015 dollars

Radhanagar Beach, Havelock Island

Best time to travel: Nov-Feb
Ease of travel: Moderate
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$

  • One of the largest islands in Ritchie’s Archipelago, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Radhanagar Beach, also known as Number 7 Beach, achieved the prestigious blue flag certification in 2020
  • A Blue Flag beach is an eco-tourism model endeavoring to provide the tourists or beachgoers clean and hygienic bathing water, facilities, safe and healthy environment

Wonderla, Bengaluru

Best time to travel: July-Sept
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Park that features a wide variety of attractions including 55 land and water rides, a musical fountain, laser shows, and a virtual reality show
  • Wonderla Bangalore has a full-fledged dance floor with a twist, electronically controlled rain showers
  • It uses solar-heated water for all its pools during winter
  • Wonderla Holidays opened its first luxury resort, an 84-room hotel complex spread over 100,000 square feet, in 2012

Red Fort, Old Delhi

Best time to travel: Jan-Feb, Oct-Dec
Walk difficulty: Easy
Ease of travel: Moderate
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Historic fort in Old Delhi that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors
  • Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort in 1638, when he decided to shift his capital from Agra to Delhi
  • Originally red and white, its design is credited to architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori, who also constructed the Taj Mahal
  • The fort was plundered of its artwork and jewels during Nadir Shah’s invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1739
  • Most of the fort’s marble structures were subsequently demolished by the British following the Indian Rebellion of 1857
  • The fort’s defensive walls were largely undamaged, and the fortress was subsequently used as a garrison
  • Every year on India’s Independence Day (15 August), the Prime Minister hoists the Indian tricolor flag at the fort’s main gate and delivers a nationally broadcast speech from its ramparts

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai

Best time to travel: Jan-Feb, Oct-Dec
Walk difficulty: Easy
Ease of travel: Moderate
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Historic terminal train station in Mumbai, designed in an exuberant Italian Gothic style
  • Its construction began in 1878, and was completed in 1887, the year marking 50 years of Queen Victoria’s rule
  • In 1996 the station name was changed from Victoria Terminus to “Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus” after Shivaji, the 17th-century warrior king who employed guerrilla tactics to contest the Mughal Empire and found a new state in the western Marathi-speaking regions of the Deccan Plateau

Dudhsagar Falls, Goa

Best time to travel: Jan-Feb, Oct-Dec
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Ease of travel: Moderate
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Four-tiered waterfall located on the Mandovi River in the Indian state of Goa
  • Dudhsagar Falls is amongst India’s tallest waterfalls with a height of 1017 feet and an average width of 100 feet
  • The area is surrounded by deciduous forests with rich biodiversity

Ranthambore Fort, Ranthambore National Park

Best time to travel: Jan-March, Oct-Dec
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Fort that lies within the Ranthambore National Park
  • The park is the former hunting grounds of the Maharajahs of Jaipur until the time of India’s Independence
  • In the 13th century the Delhi Sultanate captured the fort for a brief time
  • The fort provides a panoramic view of the surrounding Ranthambore National Park and is now a popular attraction

Sitabani Wildlife Reserve, Uttarakhand

Best time to travel: Jan-March, Nov-Dec
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$

  • Wildlife reserve in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, and home to a variety of flora and fauna, including leopards, tigers and over 500 species of resident and migrating birds throughout the year

Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand

Best time to travel: Jan-Feb, Nov-Dec
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$$

  • National park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state
  • The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj
  • In 1956, nearly a decade after India’s independence, it was renamed Corbett National Park after the hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett, who had played a leading role in its establishment
  • Corbett National Park comprises an area of hills, riverine belts, marshy depressions, grasslands and a large lake
  • Winter nights are cold but the days are bright and sunny, and it rains from July to September
  • Forest covers almost 73% of the park, while 10% of the area consists of grasslands. It houses around 110 tree species, 50 species of mammals, 580 bird species and 25 reptile species

EsselWorld, Gorai

Best time to travel: Jan-March
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Year-round amusement park located in Gorai on Dharavi island, Mumbai, it was opened in 1989
  • The park offers rides, an ice skating rink, dance club, and bowling alley