India - Highlights
India's dance and art vary as much as its regions. There is everything from operatic Kathakali dance drama in Cochin to Mumbai's many movie sets, Jaipur's Moghul miniature paintings to contemporary art in Delhi.
See Moghul art and royal memorabilia at Jaipur's City Palace and Indian folk art at the Craft Museum in New Delhi. Traditional operatic Kathakali Dance is performed at Cochin's cultural centres, traditional qawwali music at urs celebrations in Sufi shrines and south Indian Carnatic at the Music Academy in Chennai. See the latest creations at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai and Delhi, and sneak into the filming of the latest Bollywood blockbuster at Mumbai's film studios.
Follow the hoards of visitors to Agra's Taj Mahal, built for love, and the Sikh pilgrimage site Golden Temple in Amritsar. Visit the shore temples of Mahabalipuram and Mumbai's colonial Victoria Terminus and waterfront Gateway of India. The erotic temple sculptures of Khajuraho are one of India's many UNESCO heritages sites. Travel back to the Moghul era at Delhi's Red Fort and spot the endangered Royal Bengal tiger at the Sundarbans National Park on the Ganges delta.
Children are cherished in India and most locals bring their kids to everything. Take them to Chowpatty Beach in Mumbai for snacks on the busy sands at sunset, and swimming in the Arabian Sea from Goa's beaches. Elephanta Caves are a short boat trip from Mumbai, and the sound-and-light show at Old Delhi's Red Fort is dramatic. Take a trip on the tiny steam train to Darjeeling, or share a camel ride up to Rajasthan's Amber Fort. Tuck into a picnic in cool hill-station Ooty and see the Chinese fishing nets at coastal Cochin.
Keep tabs on dates of unexpected regional holidays for entry to museums and places of interest. Get used to persistent touts around major tourist attractions and turn down the help from unofficial guides.
Dance on the Amritsar-bound train to bhangra king Daler Mendhi's Bolo Ta Ra Ra, get wistful to Radha kaise na jale by iconic chanteuse Asha Bhosle, from hit film Lagaan and tap your feet to Aziz Mian's Qalandar Mast Mast.
