Things to Do in India

Rajpath, or King’s Way, is a grand boulevard running through the heart of New Delhi from Rashtrapati Bhawan through India Gate and on to the National Stadium. The 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) stretch of road, considered one of the most important in India, is home to some of Delhi’s top attractions, making it a perfect starting point for a walking tour of the new city.

Designed by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (also responsible for India Gate), Rajpath was meant to offer an uninterrupted view of the new city from the Viceroy’s palace, today the residence of the President of India.

From the sixteenth to eighteenth century, Old Goa (Ela) served as the colonial capital of Portuguese-India and was one of the richest cities anywhere in Asia, with a population exceeding that of both Lisbon and London. While repeated cholera and malaria outbreaks eventually forced the capital to be moved to Panaji in 1843, the old, atmospheric churches, cathedrals and convents of Old Goa remain largely intact.

All the sites of Old Goa can be reached by foot, but give yourself at least a half-day to soak up the history and the atmosphere. Old Goa highlights include the Basilica of Bom Jesus, where the remains of Francis Xaviar, patron saint of Goa, are kept. Another must-see attraction is St. Catherine’s Cathedral (Sé Cathedral), the largest church of those in Old Goa.

Food and accommodation options are rather limited in the Old Goa area, so it’s best to base yourself in nearby Panjim (or somewhere else in Goa) and either take a bus or hire a taxi for a day to Old Goa.

Jain temples are known for being some of the most highly decorated of any in India, and the Pareshnath Jain Temple in Kolkata (Calcutta) is one of the most resplendent. Built by art enthusiast Ray Badridas Bahadur in 1867, the temple interior is filled with intricately patterned marble, mirrors, stained glass, European chandeliers and gilded surfaces.

The pastel candy-colored buildings are subdivided into four smaller temples, set within a garden dotted with silvered statuary, fountains and mosaics. The main temple is dedicated to Sitalnathji, one of the 24 sages believed to have achieved Nirvana (tirthankaras) in the Jain religion, and houses an eternal flame in his honor.

The temple opens to non-Jains daily in the morning and afternoon with no admission charge. Give yourself an hour or two to stroll around the grounds and appreciate the detail while learning about a religion of which little is known in the Western world.

One of the world’s oldest active synagogues, and the oldest in the Commonwealth, can be found in the center of the port’s spice district, Jew Town. The district is a particularly historic reminder of Fort Cochin’s multicultural heritage.

The synagogue sits at the center of the district once inhabited by Fort Cochin’s prosperous spice trading community of Malabari Jews, who traveled here from Holland and Spain. Today, apart from the synagogue and faded street signs, reminders of the district’s once-thriving Jewish community are few.

There were once seven synagogues in this quarter of Old Cochin, but Paradesi Synagogue (also called Pardesi) is the sole survivor. It sometimes also known as the Mattancherry Synagogue, as it shares a temple wall with the neighboring Mattancherry Palace. The word ‘paradesi’ is an Indian term for foreigner.

The original synagogue built in 1568 was destroyed by the Portuguese, and the current building with its distinctive clock tower was erected under the rule of the Dutch.

Notable features include the synagogue’s floor of blue-and-white tiles, individually hand-painted in Canton in a willow pattern. Colored glass lamps and glittering Belgian-glass chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and the gold pulpit is richly decorated.

As is traditional, there is a separate upstairs balcony for female worshipers. There are also historic Torah scrolls and copper plates inscribed with the synagogue’s charter of privileges on display.

When you visit the synagogue, make sure to come modestly dressed (no shorts or sleeveless tops allowed).

Sometimes called the French Riviera of the East, the seaside town of Pondicherry operates at a slower pace than nearly any other Indian city. The small city was the largest French colony in India, and since the French only left in 1954, the town has retained much of its colonial flavor.

Practically everything worth seeing in Pondicherry exists within walking distance in the grid of streets and alleyways of the French Quarter; where whitewashed villas, colonial churches and gardens overflowing with bougainvillea are interspersed with quaint little French cafes. Cross over the Grand Canal and you’ll find yourself transported to a typical Tamil village.

The French-influenced local cuisine and variety of accommodation, both reasonably priced, make Pondicherry worthy of an overnight getaway from Chennai. For the spiritually minded traveler, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram teaches yoga and meditation to the ever-changing contingent of expats who come to Pondicherry and end up staying longer than anticipated.

The superb buildings in this complex date from the onset of Islamic rule in India. The Qutub Minar (Qutb Minar or Qutab Minar) itself is a soaring 240 foot (73 meter) high tower of victory that was started in 1193, immediately after the defeat of the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi. At its base is Quwwat ul-Islam Masjid (Might of Islam Mosque), India's first mosque.

The tower has 5 distinct stories, each marked by a projecting balcony, and it tapers, like something out of a fairytale, from a 50 ft (15 m) diameter at the base to just 8 ft (2.5 m) at the top. The first 3 stories are made of red sandstone, the fourth and fifth of marble and sandstone. The stairs inside the tower coil so steeply that they're enough to make the hardiest climber dizzy and claustrophobic, and it was no surprise when a stampede during a school trip in 1979 resulted in a number of deaths. The inside of the tower has since been closed to visitors.

An inscription over the mosque's eastern gate provocatively informs that it was built with material obtained from demolishing 27 idolatrous (read Hindu) temples. A 23 ft (7 m) high iron pillar stands in the courtyard of the mosque and it's said that if you can encircle it with your hands while standing with your back to it, your wish will be unfulfilled; however, the pillar is now protected by a fence.

At the site of Mahatma Ghandi's cremation in 1948 is a memorial. In black marble, surrounded by lawn and with an eternal flame burning, Raj Ghat remembers the man who is known as the Father of India for his tireless and pacifist work to reclaim India's independence from Britain. The memorial has the words 'He Ram,' which translates as 'O, God,' said to be the last words spoken by Ghandi after his assassination. Every Friday, the day of his death, a memorial ceremony is held.

'Raj Ghat' loosely translates as 'Kings Bank' and Ghandi's memorial is not the only one here. There are also many others to India's Prime Ministers since independence, including Indira Ghandi, similarly assassinated, and Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India.

With a history dating back thousands of years, the city of Delhi has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times by numerous leaders. Purana Qila serves as a reminder of the capital’s turbulent past as one of the oldest structures in Delhi and its oldest surviving fort.

Purana Qila was built during the rule of Afghan ruler Sher Shah between 1538 and 1545 in the midst of a power struggle between him and Humayun, the son of Babur, the first Mughal emperor. Humayun had built his own fort in the same spot in the 1530s but was forced out by Sher Shah, who proceeded to destroy what Humayun had built and establish his own capital.