MANMADE
Muted colors of peace and tranquillity
The Ajanta murals are the finest examples of early Indian art
A Sufi shrine with a healing touch
Chishti's Dargah at Ajmer is revered the world over
A stalagmite of staggering proportions
The cone of ice in Amarnath Cave waxes and wanes with the moon
Ashoka the Great's engraved ideology
Rock edicts and pillars spread his message of peace
An ode to the Bah'ai Faith
The Lotus Temple is a nine-sided expression of worship
The baroque Basilica of Bom Jesus
In its chapel lie St. Francis Xavier's miraculously preserved remains
Sacred Shaktipeeth of Goddess Kali
Bhimakali Temples are sanctuaries of the Bushahr rulers of Rampur
Petroglyphs from the Mesolithic period
Bhimbetka's primeval paintings
Shrines of power and prestige
Bhubaneshwar's temples appease Shiva
"Rural hub" in red clay
Bishnupur's terracotta temples resemble thatched huts of Bengal
Buddha's seat of enlightenment
The Buddha meditated under the legendary Bodhi Tree at Bodhgaya
Thanjavur's "Big Temple"
The Brihadeshwara Temple's cupola had to be pushed up by an elephant
Symbol of Rajput valor
Chittorgarh Fort stands tall in defeat
Traveling on the 125-year-old "toy train"
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway climbs 1,750 meters(5,741 ft.) without a single tunnel
Remains of 4,500-year-old cities
Dholavira and Lothal attained high sophistication in town planning
The opulent Dilwara temples
Ornate ceilings have a cosmological import
Krishna's refuge by the sea
Dwarka's mythological and historical origins remain underwater
Shiva's dark home
Elephanta Caves are deep journeys into the spiritual world
Grand grottoes of EIIora
The finale of rock-cut architecture
Prose in red sandstone
Fatehpur Sikri is an expression of Akbar's eclecticism
The fine heritage of a financial district
The ramparts of Mumbai's Fort area were replaced by elegant edifices
Bijapur's Gol Gumbaz
The city of minarets has the largest uninterrupted floor space under a tomb
Gilded in gold
The Golden Temple is the center of Sikhism
The guardian of Gwalior
The flamboyant fort controlled the routes to central India
Hoysala temples at Belur and Halebid
King Vishnuvardhana's architect produced two jewels fusing northern and southern Indian styles
Glorious ruins amidst boulders
The city of Vijayanagara was once as large as Rome
Emblems of Jaipur
Hawa Mahal and Amber Fort dominate the city's monumental treasure
A perfectly symmetrical mausoleum
Humayun's Tomb was a precursor to the Taj Mahal
The Imambaras of Lucknow
The dwelling place of the Holy imam recalls a rich culture
Portals and pillars lead to the Lord of the Universe
Puri's Jagannatha Temple is one of four sacred dhams
Citadel of mustached men and marvelous mansions
Golden battlements rise like a mirage over Jaisalmer
Shahjahanabad evokes Mughal nostalgia
Old Delhi, Jama Masjid, and brimming bazaars were the center of an empire at its peak
Lord Shiva's abode
Kedarnath Temple nestles in the Himalayas
Sublime homage to earthly desires
The Khajuraho temples celebrate erotic love
Sweeping greens around sleeping sultans
Lodhi Gardens are New Delhi's urban oasis
City of gaiety
Mandu's sultans dotted it with playful edifices
Temple of splendid towers
The Meenakshi Temple reveres Parvati, yet reverberates with many other divinities
The forbidding fort
The Rathores of Jodhpur amassed a treasury of war spoils behind Mehrangarh's walls
The gompas of Ladakh
Remote and spectacular, Buddhist monasteries are the repositories of Ladakhi culture
The most lavishly ornamented royal home
Mysore's fairytale palace was rebuilt after a fire
Treasures of Nagarjunakonda
Second-century Buddhist and Hindu artifacts are preserved on an island
The ancient university of Nalanda
Its library contained nine million manuscripts
Orchha's sophisticated Indo-lslamic skyline
The gift of dynamic Bundela kings
The wooden palace of Padmanabhapuram
Small in scale but great in grandeur
The Palace on Wheels
Travel on a luxury train like the maharajas of yore
A museum of fine antiquities
Exhibits at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu
Sangrahalaya span several millennia
Delhi's towering identity
The stupendous Qutb Minar and Quwwatul Islam
Mosque symbolize Muslim rule in India
The residence of the President
Rashtrapati Bhawan is the centerpiece of Lutyens' Delhi
The blushing fort of opulence
The Red Fort was the seat of Mughal authority in India
A tremendous art collection
Hyderabad's Salar Jung Museum showcases the passion of three generations
Sanchi's crowning glory
The Great Stupa represents an upturned alms bowl of Buddhist monks
Colors of tradition and change
The painted homes of Shekhawati were a measure of their owners' wealth
Shrine on the shore
The granite temples of Mamallapuram marked the zenith of Pallava art
Monolith of a Jain saint
The Gomateswara.statue is carved out of a single granite slab
The stepwells of Gujarat are more than just water reservoirs
Elaborate architecture and impeccable engineering made them perfect community areas
The cathedral of Kolkata
St. Paul's is renowned for its paintings, plaques and stained-glass windows
Chariot of the Sun God
The Konark Temple is "driven" by seven horses
The marvel in marble
The Taj Mahal embodies a Mughal emperor's love for his queen in dazzling perfection
Sculptured pillars surround the reclining Vishnu
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple lies within seven walled enclosures
Pleasure retreat on a lake
The Lake Palace at Udaipur was a special abode of the Sisodia kings
The holiest Hindu city
The ghats of Varanasi are gateways to nirvana
Indian Renaissance style at its flamboyant best
The former Viceregal Lodge was the British government's summer seat of power
The Taj Mahal of the British Raj
Kolkata's Victoria Memorial is one of the Empire's lasting symbols
From shed to stupendous railway station
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus rises above Mumbai's mayhem
NATURAL
Archipelago of tropical forests and prehistoric people
Andaman and Nicobar Islands were once infamous as penal settlements
Tigers reign over Bandhavgarh's wilderness
Chances of spotting the beautiful cat are high at this national park
A tribal culture, vigorously alive
Bastar's aboriginal people still have an indigenous lifestyle
Where a million turtles nest
Bhitarkanika is the world's largest breeding site for the Olive Ridley turtle
Son of Brahma, the creator
The Brahmaputra is India's only "male" river
A blue-green river amid labyrinthine ravines
The Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary was once the lair of bandits
A fertile junction of waters
ChiLika is the largest inland lake on the subcontinent
Jim Corbett's jungle
To many, Corbett National Park is the pinnacle of wildlife in India
Home of the Nilgiri tahr
The goat-antelope is the mascot of Eravikulam
National Park
Where the Ganges is born
At Gangotri, near the glacial source, it is a raging torrent
The roar of the Asiatic lion
The "pride" of Gir National Park
In Goa, all roads lead to the beach
The coastline of this former Portuguese colony is an oasis of local culture
The meadows of Kashmir
Nestled deep in the lap of stunning mountain vistas
Sentinel of the eastern Himalayas
Kanchenjunga, one of the lesser-climbed 8,000-meter (26,246-foot) peaks
The stronghold of the one-horned rhino
The big beast thrives on the wet savannah grasslands of Kaziranga National Park
Birdwatchers' paradise
Keoladeo Ghana National Park resounds with the call of over 400 bird species
The inlets of Kerala
A coastline cruise enhances the state's history and ecology
Kheechan's annual winged visitors
The small village attracts multitudes of
Demoiselle Cranes
The gods' gala
Two hundred deities descend on the pretty
Kullu Valley on Dussehra
Coral reefs and a clear sea
Lakshadweep Islands are a scuba-diving paradise
Floating stage of dancing deer
Loktak Lake shelters the nearly extinct sangai
The high road from Manali to Leh
A mesmerizing drive into trans-Himalayan deserts
Dark, impenetrable, and unexplored
Namdapha is one of the last forest frontiers of the world
The sanctuary of lasting peace
Nanda Devi National Park touches the feet of the goddess
Park of pachyderms
Elephants rule over Periyar's rich tract of rainforest
A preserved piece of France
Puducherry exudes Sri Aurobindo's spiritual philosophy
A desert of many moods
The Rann of Kutch is the salty marsh of Gujarat
The mysterious Rupkund Lake
Hundreds of human skeletons remain intact in its waters
A gleaming jewel of a lake
Chandratal's myriad hues overlook Buddhist Spiti
Vale of houseboats
Srinagar is laced with lakes, gardens, rivers and history
Dense delta of three rivers
The Sundarbans' salty waters are reputed to breed man-eating tigers
Plantations for the perfect brew
Assam's tea gardens produce strong and smooth teas
Settlements of the Todas
Were they a tribe from Israel or descendants of the Pandavas?
The Valley of Flowers
Hundreds of wildflower species bloom in this beautiful glen
Thunder and spray
These South Indian waterfalls are a spectacle to behold
The canyon in the Land of White Copper
The Zanskar River forms an awesome valley on its way to the Indus
