Ancient Architecture
38 destinations
Places to Explore
Agra · Uttar Pradesh
Taj Mahal
The world's most iconic marble monument to love, built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century.
Jaipur · Rajasthan
Hawa Mahal
The iconic "Palace of Winds" – a stunning pink-and-red sandstone structure with 953 tiny latticed windows.
New Delhi · Delhi
Red Fort
Shah Jahan's vast 17th-century red-sandstone Mughal fort in Old Delhi — a UNESCO site and the stage for India's Independence Day address.
New Delhi · Delhi
Qutub Minar
The world's tallest brick minaret — a 72.5-metre, 12th-century fluted sandstone tower in Mehrauli, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
New Delhi · Delhi
Humayun's Tomb
India's first great Mughal garden-tomb — a 16th-century red-sandstone and marble mausoleum that was the architectural prototype for the Taj Mahal.
New Delhi · Delhi
Lodhi Garden
Delhi's favourite green escape — a 90-acre landscaped park dotted with 15th-century tombs, free to enter and perfect for a morning walk.
New Delhi · Delhi
Jantar Mantar
An 18th-century open-air astronomical observatory of giant masonry instruments, built by Maharaja Jai Singh II beside Connaught Place.
Hyderabad · Telangana
Charminar
The iconic four-minareted heritage arch built in 1591, centerpiece of old Hyderabad's commerce and bazaar life.
Agra · Uttar Pradesh
Agra Fort
A massive UNESCO-listed red sandstone fortress — the seat of Mughal power and Shah Jahan's final prison.
Agra · Uttar Pradesh
Fatehpur Sikri
Akbar's abandoned "City of Victory" — a UNESCO World Heritage ghost capital 40 km from Agra, frozen at 1585.
Agra · Uttar Pradesh
Itmad-ud-Daula
The "Baby Taj" — the first Mughal structure built entirely of white marble, a jewel-box mausoleum on the east Yamuna bank.
Agra · Uttar Pradesh
Akbar's Tomb (Sikandra)
Emperor Akbar's mausoleum at Sikandra — a unique five-storey blend of Hindu, Indo-Islamic, Buddhist, and Jain architectural styles.
Agra · Uttar Pradesh
Chini Ka Rauza
A rare Persian-style glazed tile mausoleum on the Yamuna east bank — Agra's most beautifully obscure architectural gem.
Agra · Uttar Pradesh
Mariam's Tomb
Mariam-uz-Zamani's mausoleum at Sikandra — Akbar's queen and Jahangir's mother, with gilded frescos and intricate carvings.
Agra · Uttar Pradesh
Jaswant Singh ki Chhatri
A rare Hindu cenotaph built during the Mughal era — an elegant example of how Rajput architectural tradition coexisted with Mughal rule in 17th-century Agra.
New Delhi · Delhi
Sunder Nursery
Delhi's showcase heritage park — a 90-acre Mughal-era garden of restored tombs, lily pools and rose beds beside Humayun's Tomb, perfect for a slow, green half-day.
New Delhi · Delhi
Purana Qila (Old Fort)
Delhi's oldest fort, raised on the legendary mound of Indraprastha — massive gateways, a moat with pedal-boats and an evening sound-and-light show.
New Delhi · Delhi
Hauz Khas Complex
A 14th-century royal reservoir, madrasa and tomb overlooking a lake and deer park in South Delhi — medieval ruins beside a buzzing café village.
New Delhi · Delhi
Laxminarayan Temple (Birla Mandir)
A landmark 1930s Nagara-style temple to Vishnu and Lakshmi west of Connaught Place — inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi and open to all, free to enter.
New Delhi · Delhi
Chhatarpur Temple
One of India's largest temple complexes — a sprawling white South-and-North-Indian shrine to Goddess Katyayani in South Delhi, near Qutub, free to enter.
New Delhi · Delhi
Agrasen ki Baoli
A dramatic 60-metre medieval stepwell of 108 stone steps hidden minutes from Connaught Place — one of Delhi's most photogenic and atmospheric monuments, free to enter.
New Delhi · Delhi
National Museum
India's premier museum on Janpath — 5,000 years of art and history from the Indus Valley's Dancing Girl to Chola bronzes and the sacred relics of the Buddha.
New Delhi · Delhi
Safdarjung's Tomb
The 'last flicker' of Mughal architecture — a grand 18th-century domed garden-tomb on Lodhi Road, quieter and calmer than its famous cousins.
New Delhi · Delhi
Tughlaqabad Fort
A vast, rugged 14th-century ruined fortress in South Delhi — massive sloping stone walls and bastions spread over a rocky ridge, steeped in legend.
New Delhi · Delhi
ISKCON Temple (Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi)
Delhi's grand Hare Krishna temple on Hare Krishna Hill, East of Kailash — striking modern architecture, a Vedic cultural centre and a pure-veg restaurant. Free to enter.
New Delhi · Delhi
Mehrauli Archaeological Park
A 200-acre open-air museum of ruins beside the Qutub — a Lodhi-era stepwell, Balban's tomb, colonial follies and a thousand years of Delhi's history in one green sprawl. Free.
New Delhi · Delhi
Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir
Delhi's oldest Jain temple — a striking red-sandstone shrine opposite the Red Fort, famous for its gilded upper halls and a charitable bird hospital next door. Free.
New Delhi · Delhi
Uttara Swami Malai Temple (Malai Mandir)
North India's grandest South-Indian Murugan temple — a granite hilltop shrine in R.K. Puram fusing Chola, Pallava and Pandya architecture. Free to enter.
New Delhi · Delhi
Yogmaya Temple
An ancient living temple beside the Qutub Minar — dedicated to the goddess Yogmaya, sister of Krishna, and often called Delhi's only surviving pre-Sultanate temple. Free.
New Delhi · Delhi
Feroz Shah Kotla
The 14th-century citadel of Firozabad — a rugged Tughlaq fort crowned by a polished 3rd-century-BC Ashokan pillar, with a rare circular stepwell and ruined halls.
New Delhi · Delhi
Gauri Shankar Temple
Old Delhi's revered Shiva temple beside the Jain Lal Mandir — an ancient brown-stone lingam ringed by silver serpents, built by a Maratha soldier in 1761. Free.
New Delhi · Delhi
Prachin Hanuman Mandir
An ancient Hanuman temple at Connaught Place, famed for a non-stop Ram-naam chant running since 1964 (a Guinness record) and a rare crescent-moon spire. Free.
New Delhi · Delhi
Rahim Khan-i-Khanan's Tomb
A beautifully restored 1598 Mughal garden-tomb near Humayun's Tomb — the mausoleum of Rahim, Akbar's statesman and beloved Hindi-doha poet, a stylistic bridge to the Taj Mahal. Inexpensive ASI ticket.
Faridabad · Haryana
Surajkund
A 10th-century amphitheatre-shaped Sun reservoir on the Aravalli ridge — and the grounds of India's famous February crafts mela. Largely free.
Faridabad · Haryana
Raja Nahar Singh Palace
A restored 18th-century sandstone Jat palace at Ballabgarh — home of Raja Nahar Singh, a martyr of 1857 — reachable right at the Violet Line metro terminus. Nominal entry.
New Delhi · Delhi
Zafar Mahal
The last monument the Mughals built — a red-sandstone summer palace and towering Elephant Gate in old Mehrauli, tied to the last emperor's empty grave. Free.
New Delhi · Delhi
Adham Khan's Tomb
A 1562 octagonal Mughal tomb in Mehrauli nicknamed the 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' for its maze-like wall passages — built by Akbar for his foster brother. Free.
New Delhi · Delhi
Gandhak ki Baoli
A 13th-century five-tier stepwell in Mehrauli — Delhi's largest baoli, named for its sulphur ('gandhak') water, from the reign of Sultan Iltutmish. Free.