Nalanda Ajanta Caves- Bihar

Buddhist monuments like the stupas are among the earliest monuments to be found in India, going back to 230-500 B.C. At Nalanda, southeast of Patna in Bihar, excavations have revealed temples, monasteries, cells and libraries, and statues. Near Aurangabad in Maharashtra, about 30 rock-caves famous as the Ajanta caves contain delicate carvings and frescoes, which are still colourful. At Bodha Gaya in Bihar, a decorative railing and a stupa portray medieval architectural styles.
At Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh, Emperor Ashoka, who had embraced and promoted Buddhism, had raised the first of the famous Ashokan pillars. Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh has a massive stupa with marvellously carved gateway and railings. Kushinagara in Uttar Pradesh is another site where Ashoka had erected a pillar and constructed a stupa. The principal stupa has a large hemispherical dome topped with a small balcony surrounded by three umbrellas.
A stone casing was added to the original structure sometime later, and two smaller stupas and an impressive carved gateway erected. It was visited by Huien Tsang in the 7th century! In Ladakh, there are gumphas or monasteries, for example, at Leh, Lamayarn, and Spituk.

Agra Fort- Agra

Built principally as a military establishment by Akbar in 1565, the red sandstone Agra fort was partially converted into a palace during Shah Jahans time. Though the principle structure was built by Akbar many more additions were made by his grandsons. This massive fort is 2.5 kms long and is considered as the predecessor of the Delhi Red fort. The colossal walls are 20feet high and the whole fort is encircled by a fetid moat. Amar Singh gate towards the south is the only entry point in the fort. The building and structures inside the fort gives an impression of a city within the city. Many of the building inside the fort is now closed for the public. The marble pearl mosque inside the fort is one of the most stunningly beautiful mosques in India. Diwan-i- Am : This structure was originally made out of wood but was later constructed in the present form by Shah Jahan. The throne room bears a clear influence of Shah Jahan style with the inlaid carving and panels of marble with floral motifs. This hall of public hearing is the place where the Emperor heard the petition’s of the public and met the officials. The hall of public hearing gives way to the Nagina Mosque and the Ladies bazaar where only ladies merchants were allowed to sell items to the Moghal ladies. Diwan-E-Khas : This was the hall of private audience. This hall was also added by Shah Jahan. Thsi hall is divided into two rooms connected by three arches and it was here that the famous peacock throne was kept before being shifted to Delhi by Aurangzeb and finall carried away to Iran. Octagonal Tower : This exquisitely carved tower is close to the Diwan-i- Khas. It was here that Shah Jahan spent last seven years of his life imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb. The tower was considered to provide one of the best views of the Taj but today the pollution has reduced the visiblity. The tower is in bad shaoe today but blank spaces and the empty inlay works give an idea how this building must have looked in those days. Jehangir Palace : This was built by Akbar for his favourite son Jehangir to provide him with the comfort and luxury inside the fort.

Qutub Minar- Delhi

15 km south of New Delhi, the Qutab Minar rises high into the firmament over looking an entire area - named Mehrauli which is dotted with ruins of Islamic monuments. The minar or tower itself is 73 metres high, its diameter 15 metre at the base and just 2 and a ½ metres at the top. It has five distinct storeys, the first three are of red sandstone, and the fourth and fifth of marble and sandstone. Each storey has a projecting balcony.
The ornamental work on the tower only reinforces the impressive stature of the tower. It was started in 1193, after the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi fell to the Afghan invader Qutab-ud-din. The Qutab Minar complex contains Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, the first mosque to be built in India. It was surrounded in early 13th century by a cloistered court by Iltutmish, and in early 14th century by a red sandstone gateway( the Alai Darwaza) by Ala-ud-din. To the north of the Qutab Minar and the mosque, stands an unfinished minar 27 metres high, This is the Ala-i Minar, begun by Ala-ud-din but abandoned after his death. Beside the Ala-i Darwaza lies the tomb of Imam Zamin and Iltutmish"s tomb is by the north-west of the mosque. In the courtyard of the mosque stands a 7-metre-high iron pillar, which is one of the wonders of India. It was brought from elsewhere and erected there by the Hindu king Chandra Varman in the 5th century.
Its origins may have been in the Gupta period. Indications that it had once been crowned by the figure of the mythical bird Garuda who carries the Hindu god Vishnu on his back suggest that the pillar had originally belonged to a temple dedicated to a Vishnu temple. The iron in the pillar is of such inexplicable purity that it has not rusted in all these centuries. It testifies to the fact that ancient India had acquired great metallurgical skills. Most everyone who visits the Qutab Minar tries to encircle the iron pillar with one"s back to the pillar. It is supposed to be wish-fulfilling.

Taj Mahal - Agar

Typical frontal views of the Taj fail to capture its full magic the magic that has inspired many , including Rabindranath Tagore to poetry. The 17th century Mughal emperor Shah Jehan fell in love with Mumtaz Mahal at first sight and waited full five years for her hand to be granted to him in marriage. In their 19 years of married life, she bore him 14 children(of which only 6 survived to adulthood, and only 3 to old age), before dying in childbirth in 1632, the fourth year of Shah Jehan"s reign. Devastated with grief, Shah Jehan determined to build the world"s most beautiful mausoleum for her. For two decades, workers from all over India and also from Central Asia, worked on it. The main architect was Isha Khan of Iran, but experts included Austin of Bordeaux, France and Veroneo of Venice, Italy. The Taj Mahal complex in Agra is situated on the bank of river Yamuna, and is approached through a high red sandstone gateway with Koranic inscriptions. The gardens, walks, watercourse, fountains and subsidiary structures of the complex are dominated and unified by the multi-domed Taj Mahal itself which stands on a raised marble platform with four tall but purely decorative minarets at four of its corners. The actual tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan are in the basement while in the main chamber, there are false tombs surrounded by lace-like marble screens. The marble all around is inlaid with semi-precious stones in the pietra dura process. From every view , in every weather , in dawn and dusk, in nights moonlit and moonless, the Taj is an unique experience.

The Golden Temple - Amritsar

The most famous of Sikh monuments is the Golden Temple at Amritsar. It contains the Darbara Sahib, a hallowed place built on a small island in the middle of a pool. Erected at the end of the 16th century, it was ornamented and covered with gilt in 1802 by Ranjit Singh.It contains no shrine. It is the sacred book Guru Granth Sahib that is in the seat of honour. Patna Sahib, Sri Kesargarh Sahib (Anandpur, Punjab), Sri Huzur Sahib, and Damdama Sahib (Nanded, Maharashtra) are other such holy and important places.

Konark- Orrisa

Konarak is a small coastal place about 33 km from Puri and 64 km from Bhubaneswar, the capital of the State of Orissa. Its famous Suryamamndir ( Sun Temple) was built in the 13th century and lay half-hidden under the sands till 1904.The temple, built to commemorate a military victory, was conceived as a chariot for Sura, the Sun God. There are 24 gigantic carved-stone wheels around the base of the temple, and 7 horses pulling at it.
All over the huge temple is laden with carvings, sculptures, figures and bas-reliefs. The main entrance is guarded by two stone lions crushing elephants. Horses strain on either side as steps rise to the main entrance. There are three images of Surya , so constructed as to catch the sun at dawn, noon and sunset. Between the main steps and the entrance enclosure, there is a dancing hall. Elephants and horses trampling on men add to the awful majesty of the temple.
Beginning at the base of the temple, and going up to the walls and roof is a continuous series of carvings, some minute and some gigantic, mostly of men and women in erotic postures. There is said to be a philosophical basis for having so much eroticism displayed on the external surface of the temple, especially at the base and the middle. It is that Spiritualism is at the core and on higher levels

Basilica Of Bom Jesus - Goa

The Basilica of Bom Jesus was started in 1594 and completed in 1605.A simple monument, not plastered on the outside, it has richly gilded altars. It contains the tomb and mortal remains of St.Francis Xavier who had first arrived in Goa in 1542 to spread Christianity in the Portugese colonies of the east. Even though he had died on 3 December , 1552 in Sancian Island near China, his body was found undecayed in 1554, when it was sent to Goa. After he was canonised, his body was removed to the Basilica of Bom Jesus. Every year a festival is held in Goa on the anniversary of St Xavier"s death, and thousands of pilgrims flock to the Basilica. Every 10 years, the body is exposed to public view on the death anniversary, the next occasion being 2004.The Duke of Tuscany underwrote the construction of the Tomb of St Francis, and Giovanni Batista Foggini, the sculptor from Florence, executed it.10 years were required for its completion, which came in 1698. The bodily remains of St Xaviers are in a silver casket(once, a bejeweled one). Surrounding walls contain murals depicting scenes from St Xavier"s missionary journeys. Next to the Basilica. There is the Professed House, a two-storeyed laterite building covered with lime plaster. The Jesuits opposed its construction but it was completed in 1585. Partially burnt in 1663, it was rebuilt in 1783