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At the time of the Moghuls, Agra was the capital of India and much of its superb architecture, which includes the Taj Mahal and the enormous Agra Fort, dates from this era. Apart from its smattering of imposing Moghul monuments, Agra shares similar characteristics with other north Indian cities - namely a large cantonment, bustling bazaars, predatory rickshaw riders and persistent guides in temper-fraying profusion. The city is a two-hour train ride south of Delhi and, if you're in a hell of a hurry, can be visited on a daytrip from the capital.
 The Taj Mahal: the atmospheric approach (9K)
The Taj Mahal: the picture-postcard view (11K)
The Taj Mahal, described as the most extravagant monument ever built for love, has become the de facto tourist emblem of India. This poignant Moghul mausoleum was constructed by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his second wife Mumtaz Mahal, whose death in childbirth in 1631 left the emperor so heartbroken that his hair is said to have turned grey overnight.
Construction of the Taj began in the same year and was not completed until 1653. In total, 20,000 people from India and central Asia worked on the building. The main architect is believed to have been Isa Khan, who was from Shiraz in Iran. Experts were also brought from Europe, which allowed the British to delude themselves for some time that such an exquisite building must certainly have been designed by a European.
Taj Mahal: the ambitious amateur photographer shot (16K)
The Taj stands on a raised marble platform in ornamental gardens on the bank of the Yamuna. Tall, purely decorative white minarets grace each corner of the platform - as the Taj Mahal is not a mosque, nobody is called to prayer from them. Twin red sandstone buildings frame the building; the one on the western side is a mosque, the identical one on the eastern side is purely for symmetry. It cannot be used as a mosque because it faces in the wrong direction.
The central Taj structure has four small domes surrounding the bulbous central dome. The tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan are in a basement room. Above them in the main chamber are false tombs, a common practice in mausoleums of this type. Light is admitted into the central chamber by finely cut marble screens. The echo in this high domed chamber is superb, and there is always somebody there to demonstrate it.
Although the Taj is amazingly graceful from almost any angle, it's the close-up detail which is really astounding. Semiprecious stones are inlaid into the marble in beautiful patterns using a process known as pietra dura. The precision and care which went into the Taj Mahal's design and construction is just as impressive whether you view it from across the river or from arm's length. Note that the Taj is closed on Monday.
The city's other major attraction is the massive red sandstone Agra Fort, also on the bank of the Yamuna River. It was begun by Emperor Akbar in 1565, though additions were made up until the rule of his grandson, Shah Jahan. In Akbar's time the fort was principally a military structure, but during Shah Jahan's reign it had partially become a palace. The auricular fort's colossal double walls rise over 20m in height and measure 2.5km in circumference. They are encircled by a fetid moat and contain a maze of superb halls, mosques, chambers and gardens which form a small city within a city. Unfortunately not all buildings are open to visitors, including the white marble Pearl Mosque, regarded by some as the most beautiful mosque in India.
Agra Fort (14K)
Other worthwhile Moghul gems include the Itimad-ud-daulah, many of whose design elements were used in the construction of the Taj, and Akbar's Mausoleum at Sikandra which blends Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Christian motifs, much like the syncretic religious philosophy Akbar developed attempted to do.
The capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow is largely the creation of the nawabs of Oudh, Muslim rulers who controlled a region of north-central India for almost a century after the decline of the Moghul Empire. The nawabs ruled eccentrically, flamboyantly and badly but whatever their shortcomings, Lucknow's reputation as a city of culture and gracious living stems from this time. Today it's a city of crumbling mausoleums, pock-marked ruins, rich Mughlai cuisine and outrageous pollution.
The city's most striking building is the Bara Imambara mausoleum, built as a famine-relief project in 1784 by Asaf-ud-Daula. It has one of the largest vaulted galleries in the world, an amazing labyrinth, a bottomless well and views over the city from the roof. Beside the Bara Imambara, and also built by Asaf-ud-Daula, is the imposing Rumi Darwaza, an impressive replica of an entrance gate built in Istanbul. Nearby is the Hussainabad Imambara, which was built in 1837 by Muhammed Ali Shah to serve as his own mausoleum. It contains small imitations of the Taj Mahal, and houses a silver throne, tacky chandeliers and various paraphernalia of state.
The city's most evocative remnant is the Residency. Built in 1800, it became the stage for the Siege of Lucknow, the most dramatic event of the 1857 Mutiny. A small British garrison, under the command of Sir Henry Lawrence, held out in the Residency for three months, only to be surrounded by mutineers again for a further two months after supposedly being relieved. Left exactly as it was at the time of the final relief, the group of buildings retain an eerie echo of battle: shattered walls scarred by cannon shot; musty cellars where many of the women and children sought refuge; and, outside, a cemetery holding the graves of over 2000 people, including that of the unfortunate Sir Henry.
For over 2000 years, Varanasi, the `eternal city', has been the religious capital of India. Built on the banks of the sacred Ganges, it is said to combine the virtues of all other places of pilgrimage and anyone who ends their days here, regardless of creed and however great their misdeeds, is transported straight to heaven. The easternmost city in Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi is an important seat of learning, and is the home of novelists, philosophers and grammarians. This has been reflected in its role in the development of Hindi - the closest thing to a national language in India.
Buildings and temples loom precariously over a Varanasi ghat (19K)
Varanasi has over 100 bathing and burning ghats but the Manikarnika Ghat is the most sacred of them all. This is the main burning ghat and one of the most auspicious places that a Hindu can be cremated. Corpses are handled by outcasts known as chandal, and they are carried through the alleyways of the old city to the holy Ganges on a bamboo stretcher swathed in cloth. You'll see huge piles of firewood stacked along the top of the ghat, each log carefully weighed on giant scales so that the price of cremation can be calculated. There are no problems watching cremations, since at Manikarnika death is simply business as usual, but leave your camera at your hotel.
Varanasi ghat during the early morning bathing rush (23K)
The best ghat to hang out at and absorb the riverside activity is Dasaswamedh Ghat. Here you'll find a dense concentration of people who come to the edge of the Ganges not only for a ritual bath, but to do yoga, offer blessings, buy paan, sell flowers, get a massage, play cricket, have a swim, get a shave, and do their karma good by giving money to beggars. It's also the best place to arrange a boat trip since there's plenty of competition among boatmen.
Apart from the many ghats lining the river, the city's other highlights include the Golden Temple, built in a roofed quadrangle with stunning gilded towers; shopping at markets famous for their ornamental brasswork, lacquered toys, shawls, silks and sitars (yes, Ravi Shankar does live here); losing yourself in the impossibly narrow labyrinthine alleyways which snake back from the ghats; visiting the nearby Buddhist centre of Sarnath; and taking the compulsory dawn river trip slowly down the Ganges.
Bodh Gaya, a small town in sweaty central Bihar, is where the Buddha attained enlightenment and is the most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in the world. The world's major Buddhist communities have built temples, monasteries and monuments here, ranging from modest to splendid; the 25m Japanese-built Great Buddha Statue is a highlight. There is a significant Tibetan presence - the Dalai Lama often spends December in town - and many westerners come to Bodh Gaya to learn about Buddhism and meditation. The focal point of the town is the Mahabodhi Temple topped by a 50m tower in the form of a truncated pyramid. Inside, on the altar at the wall of the sanctum, is a large gilded image of Buddha. Much of the stone railing around the temple is ornamented with wonderful carvings: fish-tailed women inserting their arms into makaras - mythical crocodiles with large elephant-like ears and long hind legs - lotus flowers, centaurs and so on. The bo tree growing here is said to be a direct descendant of the original tree under which the Buddha sat, meditated and attained enlightenment.
This quiet, genial, dusty village in northern Madhya Pradesh is awash with temples. Temples for everything - sun gods, sacred bulls and, more memorably, sex. Stone figures of apsaras or `celestial maidens' pout and pose like Playboy pin-ups while mithuna, erotic figures, run through a whole Kama Sutra of positions and possibilities. It's highly salacious stuff and one reason why the temples of Khajuraho are famous throughout the world. The other reason is that they are liberally embellished with some of the finest handiwork of the Chandela period, a dynasty which survived for five centuries before falling to the onslaught of Islam. Visitors are also drawn to a dance festival, celebrated in March, which attracts some of the best classical dancers in the country - the floodlit temples provide a spectacular backdrop during the event.
Sculptural detail, Khajuraho (9K)
The largest and most important temples are in the attractively landscaped Western Group. Externally, the temples consist of curvilinear towers with clusters of lesser turrets clinging to them, suggestive of rising mountain peaks (ahem) converging round a great central peak. Round the exterior walls are two, sometimes three, superimposed rows of gods, goddesses, kings and heroes, courtesans, couples in carnal embrace and, in some cases, friezes depicting various forms of bestiality. The interiors are just as ornate, with an open portico leading into a main hall, then a vestibule beyond which is an inner sanctum containing the free-standing cult image. In fact, the sculpture and architecture blend so perfectly that each building appears to have been conceived by a single - and highly sexed - mastermind.
Fatehpur Sikri
This magnificent fortified ghost city was the capital of the Mughal Empire between 1571 and 1585, during the reign of Emperor Akbar. A few years earlier, it had been nothing more than a simple stone cutters village. Legend says that Akbar, despite his army of wives, was without a male heir when he made a pilgrimage to Sikri to see the Muslim saint Shaikh Salim Chishti. The saint foretold the birth of three sons, and when this came true Akbar was so impressed that he pledged to build a city at Sikri.
Just fourteen years later, the city was abandoned as suddenly and dramatically as it had been built, possibly due to difficulties with the water supply. Akbar moved his capital to Lahore and within two decades Fatehpur Sikri was deserted - it has remained that way ever since. When Akbar returned to the area in 1598 he set up shop in Agra, which led some to conclude that the city had been nothing more than an emperor's whim. Today, thanks to the durable red sandstone and a lot of work by the Archaeological Survey of India, Fatehpur Sikri is a perfectly preserved example of a Mughal city at the height of the empire's splendour.
During his stay in Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar spent much time studying religions other than Islam. From discussions with Hindus, Jains, Parsis and recently arrived Portuguese Jesuits from Goa, he developed a new religion called Deen Ilahi, which attempted to combine elements from all major religions. Fatehpur Sikri itself can be seen as a similar synthesis: a place where Islamic architecture fuses with Hindu and Jain decorative art. Most people visit Fatehpur Sikri as a day trip from Agra, but it can be an atmospheric place to stay.
This tranquil place in northern Uttar Pradesh, surrounded by hills and bisected by the wide and sluggish Ganges, is often claimed as the `Yoga Capital of the World'. Back in the 1960s Rishikesh gained instant - and fleeting - fame as the site where The Beatles (or, as some tourist brochures would have it, `The Beatless') came to say with their guru, the beatific Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. No longer part and parcel of that era, it's still an excellent place to meditate, study yoga and turn experience into epiphany. What's more, Rishikesh is also a good starting point for treks to Himalayan pilgrimage centres such as Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri.
Kanha National Park
Kanha is one of India's largest and most remote national parks, covering 1945 sq km of forest and lightly wooded grasslands supported by an extensive network of rivers and streams. The setting of Kipling's Jungle Book, there's an excellent variety of wildlife in the park including leopards, chital, sambar and, most famously, the tiger. It's possible to make elephant-back excursions into the park in the early morning and evening, though opportunities to see tigers may be decreasing because of the work of poaching gangs. Although wildlife can be seen throughout the season, sightings increase during the hotter months of March and April, because the animals move out of the tree cover in search of water. The park is closed from 1 July to 31 October.
Elephant bath, Kanha (18K)
The main gateways to this area are Delhi (if you're coming from the west) and Calcutta (if you're coming from the east). Lucknow and Varanasi are the closest things to transport hubs on the plain; Varanasi is a convenient stop on the overland route to Nepal. There are flights from Delhi to Agra, Dehra Dun (near Rishikesh), Khajuraho, Lucknow, Patna and Varanasi. Lucknow and Varanasi are also connected to each other by flights.
Numerous express trains crosses the Ganges plain, negotiating the distance between Delhi and Calcutta in around 24 hours, and stopping at most major cities en route. It's eight hours from Delhi to Lucknow by train and about 13 hours to Varanasi. It's possible to visit Agra as a day trip from Delhi because there's an excellent train service, but the city (and the Taj Mahal) deserve more than a rushed visit.
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