North India Temple Tour: In Search of Spirituality

North India temple tour traverses the courses of these significant places which celebrate and preserve the art and culture of various socio-cultural beliefs and practices. Meticulously crafted temple tours to select destination in northern part of India is a quest to bring out the vibrant aspect of spirituality and art embedded in some glorious monuments and temples.

Evening Aarti at Bathing Ghats by the Sacred river Ganges in Varanasi

Beginning your North India temple tour from Delhi gives you flexibility and variety of choice to cover some most significant places of worship and pilgrimage. Delhi itself is home to many temples dedicated to and serving different religious beliefs. Some of the important places worth mention includes Lotus Temple (The Bahá'í House of Worship), Akshardham Temple (Swaminarayan), Birla Temple, ISKCON Temple, Jama Masjid and Chhatarpur Temple.

Located a few hundred kilometers away from Delhi are Mathura and Vrindavan. These are the places around which lord Krishna was born and brought up. These destinations are major pilgrimage sites of Hindus. Place of interest in Vrindavan include ISKCON Temple also known as Sri Krishna-Balaram Mandir, Banke Bihari Temple, Madan Mohan temple and Sri Vrindavan-Chandra Mandir located some 145 kilometers away from Delhi. In Mathura places of interest include Dwarkadheesh temple and Govardhana Hill among others.

One of the major pilgrimage centers of international fame is located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab. Harmandir Sahib, popularly known as the Golden Temple, is the most sacred temple of Sikh community. The temple is popularly referred to as Golden Temple because of the gold plating on the upper floors of the structure.

Vacations in India

In Rajasthan, Pushkar is a major pilgrimage center of international renown famous for its annual fair. Brahma temple, situated in Pushkar, Rajasthan is the most prominent temple dedicated to the Hindu creator god Brahma. Just a short distance from Pushkar is Ajmer which is a major pilgrimage of Muslims. The Ajmer Sharif shrine is renowned for its secular character attracting pilgrims of all faiths.

Temple tours in India especially in the northern part, is incomplete without a visit to Varanasi. Varanasi is the most sacred pilgrimage site of Hindus. Considered one of the most ancient cities in world, the allure of Varanasi lies in its archaic temples and holy bathing ghats of Ganges. A boat cruise in the mythical river Ganges is a must to do thing in Varanasi.

Lotus Temple (Baha'i House of Worship) - New Delhi

India is home to an array of religious beliefs, creeds and practices. To say that North India Temple Tour is the best way to experience religious fervor and Indian culture will not be an overstatement. With almost every religion practiced here in India, patrons of art and culture have seen to it that multitude of religious monuments dot the length and breadth of India since time immemorial. These places are memorial of the beliefs, culture and practices of the society and temple tours in India offer a window to let you witness the rich heritage of India in these timeless monuments.

To select from an array of tastefully crafted North India tour packages, feel free to visit the website of Indian Luxury Trains.

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Humayun's Tomb, Delhi - World Heritage Sites in India

Humayun’s Tomb is the resplendent example which set the tone for innovations in Mughal style of architecture culminating in the Taj Mahal of Agra. The tomb situated in Nizammuddin, Delhi was built in 1570 was commissioned by the wife of the Mughal King Humayun, Hamida Haji Begum fourteen years after his death. This complex was declared a ‘UNESCO World Heritage Site” in the year 1993.

Architecture
It is the first distinct example of Mughal style of architecture built by a Persian architect, Mirak Mirza Ghiyath. The tomb begins the introduction of extensive use of red sandstone in the later Mughal architectures. The tomb begins the introduction of extensive use of red sandstone in the later Mughal architectures. The interesting known fact behind this monument is that Humayun got very much inspired by Persian architecture during his exile and he himself planned to build a tomb which was later commissioned by his wife. It took 8 years to build the Humayun tomb at a cost of Rs.1.5 lacs.

The Octagonal central chamber containing four long and four short sides is surmounted by a 42.5 m double dome clad of marble which has pillared kiosks. The tomb built of ruins granite and red sandstone, uses white marble as a protective clothing and also for the flooring, trellis screens, door frames, roof space and for the main arena. It stands on a vaulted terrace eight-meter high and spread over 12000 sq. meter.

Char-Bagh Garden
The Humayun Tomb is placed in the center of 30 acre four-square garden divided into four main parts in a Persian quadrilateral style. The entire tomb and the garden are enclosed with four rubble walls. The west and south rubble wall are the two-double storied gateways used for the entrances out of which south wall remains closed. The center of the eastern wall is occupied by a baradari and northern wall by a hammam.

Royal Graveyard
The tomb was later used for the funeral of various Mughal emperors and members of the royal family consisting of some 150 graves. It has appropriately described as the ‘Necropolis of the Mughal Dynasty’. Some important names interred inside the tombs are Dara shikoh, Hamida Begum, Bahadur shah Zafar and his three princes and Humayun itself.

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