Places for this
Ajanta-ElloraBuddhist wall paintings at Ajanta, and Buddhist, Hindu and Jain temples cut into a hillside at Ellora.GuwahatiA busy Brahmaputra river city with one famous hill temple, and your main way into Northeast India.HampiThe ruins of a lost empire scattered among huge boulders, best seen on foot in the cool months.HaridwarThe Ganges leaves the mountains here, and pilgrims crowd the riverbank for the evening fire ceremony.KhajurahoHindu and Jain temples covered in carved stone figures, in a small town you can see in two days.OrchhaPalaces, working temples and memorial domes on the Betwa river, with fewer crowds than Agra or Khajuraho.PushkarA holy lake ringed by stone steps, sunrise from a hilltop temple, and a camel fair that fills the town once a year.VaranasiBoats at dawn, fire on the river at dusk, and life and death in plain sight on the same stone steps.ChennaiTamil temples, a very long city beach and some of India's best breakfasts, in a big, warm, unshowy city.MaduraiTowering temple gateways and night food, in a busy temple city in the heart of Tamil Nadu.MajuliA large Brahmaputra river island you can only reach by ferry, with villages, potters and Hindu monasteries called satras.ManaliHimachal's busiest mountain resort at about 2,050 m: snow peaks, cedar forest and an orchard village full of cafes.MumbaiBig and loud: colonial stone, street food, late nights, and a boat to Hindu carvings at Elephanta.Puri, Konark, BhubaneswarA pilgrimage beach town, Konark's stone chariot temple and the old temples of Bhubaneswar, close together in Odisha.RishikeshYoga, rafting and riverside walks on the Ganges, right where the river leaves the Himalayan foothills.AhmedabadA walled old city of mosques, Jain carving and Gandhi's ashram, in dry Gujarat, with very good vegetarian food.GokarnaA small Hindu temple town and a string of quiet beaches you walk between, cheaper and slower than Goa.JaipurHill forts, bazaars and rooftop evenings in Rajasthan's pink-walled royal capital.MahabalipuramTemples cut from single rocks, a huge carved rock face and a fishing beach, all in one small town south of Chennai.MysuruA royal city with a grand palace, a busy old market and a hill above the town, easy to do in two days.UdaipurPalaces on still lakes, a sunset boat, rooftop dinners, and a long day out to a hill fort and a Jain temple.