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Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Taj Mahal meaning Crown of the Palace is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall. Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees. The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The Taj Mahal...

Lakshadweep, India

Lakshadweep formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islands is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 kilometres (120 to 270 mi) off the south western coast of India. The archipelago is a Union Territory and is governed by the Union Government of India. They were also known as Laccadive Islands, although geographically this is only the name of the central subgroup of the group. Lakshadweep comes from "Lakshadweepa", which means "one hundred thousand islands" in Sanskrit. The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India: their total surface area is just 32 km2 (12 sq mi).  The lagoon area covers about 4,200 km2 (1,600 sq mi), the territorial waters area 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi) and the exclusive economic zone area 400,000 km2 (150,000 sq mi). The region forms a single Indian district with ten sub divisions. Kavaratti serves as the capital of the Union Territory and the region comes under the jurisdiction of Kerala H...

Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Srinagar is the largest city and the summer capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is famous for its gardens, waterfronts and houseboats. It is also known for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts and dried fruits.  Srinagar is one of several places that have been called the "Venice of the East" or the "Kashmiri Venice" Lakes around the city include Dal Lake – noted for its houseboats – and Nigeen Lake. Apart from Dal lake and Nigeen lake city is also famous for wular lake and manasbal lake to the north of srinagar. Wular lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia.  Srinagar has some Mughal gardens, forming a part of those laid by the Mughal emperors across the Indian subcontinent. Those of Srinagar and its close vicinity include Chashma Shahi (the royal fountains); Pari Mahal (the palace of the fairies); Nishat Bagh...

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

The Rama Krishna Mission Beach is one of the most popular beach parks in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It gets its name from the Ramakrishna Mission ashrama across the Beach Road from the park. The beach is best known for the INS Kursura Submarine Museum, which preserves the Kalvari class submarine. INS Kursura (S20) was a Kalvari-class diesel-electric submarine of the Indian Navy. She was India's fifth submarine. Kursura was commissioned on 18 December 1969 and was decommissioned on 27 February 2001 after 31 years of service. She participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, where she played a key role in patrol missions. She later participated in naval exercises with other nations and made many goodwill visits to other countries. After decommissioning, she was preserved as a museum for public access on Ramakrishna Mission Beach in Visakhapatnam. Kursura has the distinction of being one of the very few submarine museums to retain originality and has been ...

Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram Island, Tamil Nadu, India

Ramanathaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva located on Rameswaram island in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is also one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples.It is one of the 274 Paadal Petra Sthalams, where the three of the most revered Nayanars (Saivite saints), Appar, Sundarar and Tirugnana Sambandar, have glorified the temple with their songs. The temple was expanded during the 12th century by Pandya Dynasty, and its principal shrines sanctum were renovated by Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan and his successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan of the Jaffna kingdom. The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. The temple is located in Rameswaram considered a holy pilgrimage site for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Smarthas. The presiding deity, the Lingam of Ramanathaswamy (Shiva), is believed to have been established and worshiped by Rama, an avatar of the god Vishnu, to absolve the sins created during the Ramayana war at Sri Lanka. Adam...

Wild Wadi Water Park, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Wild Wadi Water Park is an outdoor water park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Situated in the area of Jumeirah, next to the Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the water park is operated by Jumeirah International, a Dubai-based hotelier. Wild Wadi has a heated/cooled wave pool, multiple water slides and two artificial surfing machines. In addition, the park had the largest water slide outside of North America, but it has since been removed to make space for two other rides. Another feature of the park is an 18 m (59 ft) waterfall that goes off every ten minutes. The water park also has two gift shops, three restaurants and two snack stands. It was featured in The Amazing Race 5 and The Amazing Race Asia 1, in which teams had to slide down a 21 m (69 ft) drop. It was later featured in The Amazing Race Australia 2, but instead, the teams had to ride the Surf Machine and use boogie boards to surf their way to the end where they got their next clue. ...

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, one of the seven union territories of India, are a group of islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. The territory is 150 km (93 mi) north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated from Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) by the Andaman Sea. It comprises two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, separated by the 10°N parallel, with the Andamans to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobars to the south. The Andaman Sea lies to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands is a group of over  572 Islands, islets and rocks in the Bay of Bengal, South-East of the Indian mainland. Andaman & Nicobar Islands is the Dream Destination for the Eco-friendly Tourist. The territory's capital is the Andamanese town of Port Blair. The total land area of these islands is approximately 8,249 km2 (3,185 sq mi). The capital of Nicobar Islands is Car Nicobar. The islands host the A...

Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, India

Kasauli is a cantonment and town, located in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station, 77 km from Shimla, 65 km from Chandigarh, and 94 km from Ambala Cantt (Haryana), an important Railway Junction of North India and lies at a height of 1,927 metres (6,322 ft). The town is a health resort, having an elevation of 1,900 metres above sea level. Christ Church, Since 1970 it has been under the auspices of the Church of North India (CNI) in the diocese of Amritsar. The church contains Spanish and Italian imported stained glass windows depicting Christ, Mary, Saint Barnabas and Saint Francis. The Parsonage was built in 1850 for priests of the Anglican church. The Kasauli Club was established by civilians and service personnel in 1880, as the Kasauli Reading and Assembly Rooms. It gained its present name in 1898 when a limited liability company and constitution were establi...

Rann Utsav, Kutch, Gujarat, India

The Great Rann of Kutch is a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India and the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is about 7,505.22 square kilometres (2,897.78 sq mi) in size and is reputed to be one of the largest salt deserts in the world. This area has been inhabited by the Kutchi people. The name "Rann" comes from the Hindi word ran meaning "desert". The Hindi word is derived from Sanskrit/Vedic word attested in the Rigveda and Mahabharata. As early as 325 BCE, Alexander the Great was aware of the area. Rann Utsav is a celebration of life, festivities and culture of Kutch and Gujarat. It is a landmark bestowing grace and elegance where the world gathers for more than 2 months. A riot of colour sprinkled on the barren lands, Rann Utsav offers visitors an excellent opportunity to experience the diverse traditions and the generosity and hospitality of Kutchi people. The picturesque “White Dessert” i...

Mahe Beach, Puducherry, India

Mayyazhi, increasingly spelled Mahé, is a small town at the mouth of the Mahé River and is surrounded on all sides by the State of Kerala. The Kannur District surrounds Mahé on three sides and Kozhikode District from one side.  In fact, geographically Mahé District is part of North Malabar. Formerly part of French India, Mahé now forms a municipality in Mahé district, one of the four districts of the Union Territory of Puducherry. Mahé has one member (MLA) in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly. Mahé district is one of the four districts of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. It consists of the whole of the Mahé region. It is the sixth least populous district in the country (out of 640). Mahe, along the coast of Arabian sea is a quiet and lovely minor entity of Pondicherry. Place has great historical inheritance which was under French rule till 1954. Mahe has got poetic essence due to its brevity and serenity where Mahe River meets Arabian Sea.  ...