Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Nearest Airport: New Delhi Distance from Nearest Airport : 220KM / 137Mile Taj Mahal, synonymous with India's identity, is the crowning jewel of Mughal architecture in India. An architectural marvel, the structure incorporates elements of Persian influences like the design of the Dome and incorporation of arched entrances or "Iwans" along with inspiration from contemporary Hindu design elements like chhatris and copious incorporation of the lotus motif. The interior of Taj mahal is dominated by a cavernous octagonal central chamber with eight smaller chambers radiating from it. The smaller chambers are leveled across two floors making a total of 16 such niches. The central chamber is the main funerary chamber housing the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. The two ornate marble cenotaphs are enclosed within a marble screen and face the south. The actual sarcophagi are housed below the tomb is a relatively simple crypt

Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh,India

Nearest Airport: New Delhi Distance from Nearest Airport : 220KM / 137Mile Taj Mahal, synonymous with India's identity, is the crowning jewel of Mughal architecture in India. An architectural marvel, the structure incorporates elements of Persian influences like the design of the Dome and incorporation of arched entrances or "Iwans" along with inspiration from contemporary Hindu design elements like chhatris and copious incorporation of the lotus motif. The interior of Taj mahal is dominated by a cavernous octagonal central chamber with eight smaller chambers radiating from it. The smaller chambers are leveled across two floors making a total of 16 such niches. The central chamber is the main funerary chamber housing the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. The two ornate marble cenotaphs are enclosed within a marble screen and face the south. The actual sarcophagi are housed below the tomb is a relatively simple crypt.

Statue of Gomateshwara (Bahubali), Shravanabelagola, Karnataka

Nearest Airport : Bangalore, Karnataka Distance from Nearest Airport : 122KM / 75Mile Gommateshwara Statue (17 m) high monolithic statue located on Vindyagiri at Shravanbelagola in the Indian state of Karnataka. Vindyagiri Hill is one of the two hills in Shravanabelagola; the other is Chandragiri, which is also a seat of several ancient Jain centers, much older than Gommateshwara statue. The Gommateshwara statue is dedicated to the Jain god Bahubali. It was built around 983 A.D. and is one of the largest free standing statues in the world.

Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Nearest Airport : Madurai Distance from Nearest Airport :0 Meenakshi Amman Temple, or popularly called as Madurai Meenakshi Temple, is a famous religious destination in Tamil Nadu. There are over 33,000 sculptures in the temple complex of Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. The temple is built using Dravidian South Indian style of architecture, and is one of the most impressive temple structures in South India. The temple has 12 lofty gopurams, out of which 4 major ones are placed facing the four directions. There are 4 inner gopurams that act as the entrances to the shrine. The Hall of Thousand Pillars, or Aayiram Kaal Mandapam is a wonderful piece of architecture and is believed to be built out of a single rock.

Sun Temple, Konark, Odisha

Nearest Airport : Bhubneshwar, Odisha Distance from Nearest Airport : 64km / 40Miles A Temple of Great Architectural Brilliance and a splendid blend of Architecture-Art-History, the Konark temple consists of a Vimana (main temple) intended for housing the deity, Jagamohana (hall in front of vimana). Each of its facades are broken by five small projections to produce an effect of light and shade on the surface and also to create an impression of one contineous verticle line, called Rekha. Its roof is of a terraced pyramidal shape and the string cornices are separated by three tires by means of high recesses, which contain a number of beautiful life-sized standing figures of women in various dancing poses. The basements of the temple are decorated with a band of about 1452 elephants in different pose.

Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Nearest Airport : Jaipur, Rajasthan Distance from Nearest Airport : 0 It is a collection of 19 architectural astronomical instruments. It features the world's biggest stone sundial "Smarat Yantra", and is UNESCO World heritage site. Jantar mantar is the most complete and best preserved great observatory site built in the Ptolemaic tradition. It provides an outstanding testimony of the scientific and technical conceptions of the great observatory devised in the medieval world.

Rani Ka Vav, Patan Gujarat

Nearest Airport : Ahmedabad, Gujrat Distance from Nearest Airport : 193KM/ 119Mile This lesser-known architectural heritage of India is situated on the banks of River Saraswati in Patan district of Gujarat. The Solanki dynasty's queen, Rani Udayamati built the structure as a memorial to her deceased husband Bhimdev I in the 11th century. Literally translated as the 'Queen's Stepwell', Rani ki Vav is designed as an inverted temple that pays homage to water. It is not just a subterranean water storage system but also an architectural wonder. The well has seven levels of stairs that are beautifully carved with over 1500 mythological and religious sculptures. The stepwell is proof of the quality of workmanship that has withstood the passage of time, fraught with natural calamities and wars.

Tawang Monastery, Arunachal Pradesh

Nearest Airport : Tezpur, Assam Distance from Nearest Airport : 317KM/ 197Mile The Tawang Monastery Arunachal Pradesh is India's largest monastery, and the world's second largest. Situated on a mountain in the town of Tawang at an altitude of over 3000 m, Tawang Monastery is one of the most important Buddhist sites in the world. The monastery is the centre of the Gelug school (Yellow Hat) of Mahayana Buddhism, and is bordered with a 282 m long compound wall. It is a collection of 65 residential buildings for the monks, as well as other structures for different uses. Tawang Monastery was established in 1680-81, at the request of the 5th Dalai Lama, by his contemporary Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso.

Victoria Memorial, Kolkata, West Bengal

Nearest Airport : Kolkata, West Bengal Distance from Nearest Airport :0 The Victoria Memorial's architect was William Emerson (1843,1924), president of the Royal Institute of British Architects.The design is in the Indo-Saracenic revivalist style which uses a mixture of British and Mughal elements with Venetian, Egyptian, Deccani and Islamic architectural influences. The building is 338 feet (103 m) by 228 feet (69 m) and rises to a height of 184 feet (56 m). It is constructed of white Makrana marble.[13] The gardens of the Victoria Memorial were designed by Lord Redesdale and David Prain. Emerson's assistant, Vincent Jerome Esch, designed the bridge of the north aspect and the garden gates.

Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana

Nearest Airport : Hyderabad, Telangana Distance from Nearest Airport :0 The Golkonda fort is listed as an archaeological treasure on the official "List of Monuments" prepared by the Archaeological Survey of India under The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act. Golkonda actually consists of four distinct forts with a 10 km (6.2 mi) long outer wall with 87 semicircular bastions (some still mounted with cannons), eight gateways, and four drawbridges, with a number of royal apartments and halls, temples, mosques, magazines, stables, etc. inside. The lowest of these is the outermost enclosure into which we enter by the "Fateh Darwaza" (Victory gate, so called after Aurangzeb's triumphant army marched in through this gate) studded with giant iron spikes (to prevent elephants from battering them down) near the south-eastern corner. An acoustic effect can be experienced at Fateh Darwazaan, characteristic of the engineering marvels at Golkonda. A hand clap at a certain point below the dome at the entrance reverberates and can be heard clearly at the 'Bala Hisar' pavilion, the highest point almost a kilometer away. This worked as a warning note to the Royals in case of an attack.

India Gate, New Delhi

Nearest Airport : Delhi Distance from Nearest Airport :0 All India War Memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, a leading war memorial designer at that time.Cenotaph is the first British national war memorial erected after World War I and was commissioned by David Lloyd George, contemporary British prime minister. Although it is a memorial, the design is that of a triumphal arch, similar to the Arch de Triomphe in Paris, France. The India Gate is 42m in height and 9.1m in width. The building material is primarily Red and yellow sandstones sourced from Bharatpur. The structure stands on a low base and rises in asymmetrical steps crowned with a shallow dome at the top.

Mysore Palace, Mysore, Karnataka

Nearest Airport : Mysore, Karnataka Distance from Nearest Airport :0 The architectural style of Mysore palace is hybrid. That is, its design is a mixture of various schools of architecture. The palace is made in a style collectively called Indo-Saracenic Revival style. Elements of Hindu styles and Islamic styles merged to form unique school. In Mysore Palace one can see the elements of Hindu, Islamic and Gothic elements in its design and construction.

Lotus Temple, Delhi

Nearest Airport : New Delhi Distance from Nearest Airport :0 The Bahai House of Worship in Delhi, India, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flowerlike shape, is a Bahai House of Worship and also a prominent attraction in Delhi. The temple gives the impression of a half-open lotus flower, afloat, surrounded by its leaves. Each component of the temple is repeated nine times. The temple is open to people of all faiths, languages and cultures. It is a symbol of a United India.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai

Nearest Airport : Mumbai Distance from Nearest Airport :0 The core of the architecture of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is Victorian Gothic Style of Architecture. It is a perfect illustration of the beautiful amalgamation of Indian Architecture and the Victorian Italianate Gothic Architecture. One can notice the influence of Indian Architecture in the skyline, the intricately carved arches the ground plan and the turrets. Some of the work on the structure was done by the Students of Jamsetji Jeejebhoy School of Art. They mainly worked their magic on the tiles, the ornamental metal railings, wood carvings and grills.