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Awantiswarmi Vishnu Temple
At the roadside in Awantipora , 29km before Srinagar, is the chunky ruin of 9th-century Awantiswarmi Vishnu Temple , with stylistic similarities to the Hindu temples of Southeast Asia. A smaller, similarly ancient Shiva Temple , 1km west, can be visited on the same ticket.
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Ghantai Temple
Located between the old village and the Jain Enclosure, the small Ghantai Temple, also Jain, is named after the ghanta (chain and bell) decorations on its pillars. It was once similar to nearby Parsvanath, but only its pillared shell remains, and it’s normally locked.
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Palace Buildings
The first of the palace buildings is the largest, the Palace of Jodh Bai , and the one-time home of Akbar’s Hindu wife, said to be his favourite. Set around an enormous courtyard, it blends traditional Indian columns, Islamic cupolas and turquoise-blue Persian roof tiles.
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Mohan Lal Saraf Haveli
This haveli is located about 50m southeast is the Mohan Lal Saraf Haveli. On the south wall, a maharaja is depicted grooming his bushy moustache. There’s fine mirror- and mosaic-work around the door to the inner courtyard, and Surya, the sun god, can be seen over the lintel.
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Brahmeswar Mandir
Standing in well-kept gardens, flanked on its plinth by four smaller structures, this 9th-century temple is a smaller version of Lingaraj Mandir. It’s notable for its finely detailed sculptures with erotic elements. Turn right at the 13th-century Bhaskareswa Temple .
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India Gate
At Rajpath’s eastern end, and constantly thronged by tourists, is India Gate. This 42m-high stone memorial arch, designed by Lutyens, pays tribute to around 90,000 Indian army soldiers who died in WWI, the Northwest Frontier operations, and the 1919 Anglo-Afghan War.
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Indo
This museum in the garden of the Bishop’s House preserves the heritage of one of India’s earliest Catholic communities, including vestments, silver processional crosses and altarpieces from the Cochin diocese. The basement contains remnants of the Portuguese Fort Immanuel.
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Sheetalnathji Mandir
The best known of a closely grouped trio of Jain temples, this 1867 complex is a dazzling if unrefined pastiche of colourful mosaics, spires, columns and slivered figurines. The effect is Gaudi-esque. It’s 1.6km from Shyambazar metro. The temple relies on donations.
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Pookot Lake
The picture-perfect Pookot Lake is 3km before Vythiri. Geared up for visitors, it has well-maintained gardens, a cafeteria, playground and paddle/row boats for hire (Rs30/50 per 20 minutes). It gets packed on the weekends, though feels quite peaceful during the week.
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Virupaksha
An unsigned path across the road from the northwest corner of Arunachaleshwar Temple leads the way up past homes and two caves, Virupaksha (about 20 minutes up) and Skandasramam (30 minutes). Sri Ramana Maharshi lived and meditated in these caves from 1899 to 1922.
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Old Palace
In the heart of the old town this palace was once was the ruling Chatrapati’s main residence, and is still occupied by some in the family. You can enter the building’s front courtyard but there’s little to see today except a temple dedicated to the deity Bhavani Mata.
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Tamil Nadu government museum
The Tamil Nadu government museum displays hero stones in the forecourt dating from the 8th century and depicting the stories of war heroes in battle. The dusty exhibits have seen much better days, but the small collection of tribal clothes and artefacts is interesting.
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Thirumayam Fort
Simple and imposing, the renovated Thirumayam Fort, about 20km south of Pudukkottai, is worth a climb for the 360-degree views from the battlements over the surrounding countryside. Theres a rock-cut Shiva shrine up some metal steps on the west side of the small hill.
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Shanti Vana
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian prime minister, was cremated just to the north of Raj Ghat, at Shanti Vana, in 1964. The cremation sites of Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi, and grandsons Sanjay and Rajiv are lined up along the riverbank in their own memorial parks.
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Morarka Uattara Haveli
An haveli owned by the Morarka family, with some fine paintings, including miniatures above the entrance depicting the legends of Krishna (the most celebrated of the Hindu deities). Nowadays it is rented out for weddings and that may help explain its sorry condition.
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Statue of Chamba
This gigantic (32m) full-colour Statue of Chamba (Maitreya-Buddha) sits on a hill between Diskit Gompa and the main road and is visible for miles around including from the windows of many Diskit guesthouses. It was formally inaugurated by the Dalai Lama in July 2010.
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Aquarium
Sorry, we currently have no review for this sight.
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Guru Ghantal Gompa
Historic Guru Ghantal Gompa is the oldest monastery in Lahaul and allegedly founded by Padmasambhava. Although crumbling, the gompa contains ancient murals and unusual wooden statues of bodhisattvas (Buddhist enlightened beings). Ask monks in Tupchiling for the key.
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Xuan Zang Memorial Hall
About 2km from the Archaeological Museum is the huge Xuan Zang Memorial Hall , built by the Chinese as a peace pagoda in honour of the famous Chinese traveller who studied and taught for some years at Nalanda. Modern-day backpackers will appreciate the statue of Xuan Zang at the fr
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Tribal Cultural Museum
About 1.5km east of the train station, this small museum showcases artefacts (jewellery, utensils, musical instruments, even black-magic accessories) from remote tribal belts. Highlights include some demonic-looking papier-mâché festival masks and superb monochrome Warli paintings.
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