Indian history is very much enriched and diversified with respect to its cultural and religious heritage. The Indus Valley Civilization, which dates back from 3300 to 1300 BCE, was older than any other similar culture.
Several dynasties such as the Mauryas, Guptas, Cholas, Chalukyas, Pallavas, Mughals have left an ineffaceable mark on the history of the country.
Similarly, all historical places in India have a legend of their own and a visit to them can prove to be a life changing experience. These famous historical places and stunning monuments spread across India are a pleasure for any traveler. Here we have listed down top 5 historical places in India with information and historical background.
Top 5 historical places in India :
1. Taj Mahal:
Taj Mahal, the symbol of eternal love, is the 1st name appears in your mind when you are talking about Indian history and monuments. It was a tribute of Shah Jahan, the 5th empire of Mughal Dynasty, to her beloved queen Mumtaj Mahal. This is actually a tomb over the body of Mumtaj which took 22 years and 20,000 workers to complete.
Back to 1630 AD, so many history and myths are related to this marble beauty. Taj Mahal is not mere a historical place in India, this is a timeless celebration of love and harmony.
2. Sun Temple at Konark:
The Sun Temple at Konark is a beautiful temple where ‘the language of stones defeats the language of Man’. Konark represents the rich architectural heritage of Indian culture.
As per historians, King Narashimhadev I had built the temple in AD 1238-64 in honor to the Sun God, Surya Dev. Over 1200 sculptors worked day and night and it took twelve years to complete this temple.
The temple is designed as a Chariot for Surya. It has 24 huge stone wheels which symbolize 24 hours in a day. Each wheel has 8 spokes which stands for 8 ‘prahars’ and it is being driven by seven horses. The horses stands for 7 days of the week.The wheels of the temple are actually sundials which can be used to calculate time accurately to a minute including day and night.
The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also featured on NDTV’s list of Seven Wonders of India and Times of India’s list of Seven Wonders of India.
3. Khajuraho Temples :
If you have some interest over kamasutra and ancient Indian erotica, you must visit Khajuraho Temples. UNESCO World Heritage Site Khajuraho is not a single temple; actually it is a group of temples spread across 175 km of area in Jhansi in Madhya Pradesh. These 1000 years old temples were built by Chandela Dynesty.
Khajuraho is one of the four holy sites linked to God Shiva (the other three are Kedarnath, Kashi and Gaya). But these temples are build by both Hindus and Jains. This shows the diversity and acceptability of Indian religions.
The Khajuraho temples feature a variety of erotic sculptures outside and inside the temples. These sensual art works represent diverse sexual expressions of different human beings. It shows that ‘kama’ is a integral part of human life and a natural step of life cycle before getting ‘Moksha’.
One must attend the Khajuraho Dance Festival in February. Every year it features various classical Indian dances set against the backdrop of the Chitragupta or Vishwanath Temples.
4. Hampi :
Hampi was one of the richest and largest cities in the world during Vijayanagara Dynesty. Now it is famous for Virupaksha Temple and other temples on the ruin of Vijayanagara Temple. In around 1500 Vijaynagar had about 500,000 inhabitants (supporting 0.1% of the global population during 1440-1540), making it the second largest city in the world after Peking-Beijing and almost thrice the size of Paris. Vijayanagara was one of the most mysterious lost cities in India.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is the most Google searched historical place in Karnataka.
5. Fatehpur Sikri :
Fatehpur Sikri is just 39 km away from Agra, Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. This is the place where you can feel the essence of Mughal architect, Emperor Akbar and his nine jewels (Navaratnas). Akbar created this planned city to shift his capital from Agra but left it just after build up, because of water scarcity and Raj-putana Turmoil. The whole city is still intact within a walled boundary.
Its major attractions are Jama masjid, Buland Darwaja, Tomb of Selim Chisti, Diwan-e-Aam, Ibadat Khana, Panch Mahal etc. All these red stoned huge architects depict Mughal creativity and culture.
Hope you have liked these informations of top 5 historical places in India. You may also check top 5 best tourist places in India or top 5 palaces in India.
