Nepal (6,993 m) – Sacred Hindu Mountain Machapuchare is one of the great peaks of Nepal, and one of the most sacred Hindu mountains outside of India. Sometimes called the Matterhorn of Nepal, it s famously resemblant of its European Twin. Its name means Fish Tail. Located in the Annapurna Himalaya, Machapuchare has been considered sacred by Hindus from antiquity. … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF PLASSEY (PLASSEY BATTLEFIELD)
Palashi, India (1757 AD) The Battle of Plassey was one of the defining engagements of the Colonial era in Asia. An extension of the Seven Years War that was then raging in Europe and the Americas, it pitted the forces of the British East India Company against both indigenous rulers as well as their French rivals. In some ways it marked the end of the early stages which had … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF KALINGA (KALINGA BATTLEFIELD)
Bhubaneswar, India (261 BC) The Kalinga War was the last major effort of expansion of the Maurya Empire in India, and the final military campaign of Ashoka the Great. The battle, which was actually a series of engagements in the Dhauli Hills, is believed to have been the bloodiest campaign in history until World War I nearly twenty-two centuries later. Hundreds of thousands … [Read more...]
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
Kolkata, West Bengal St. Paul’s Cathedral in Kolkata is the largest Anglican church in India and among the largest in Asia. Located in what was for over a century the capital of British India, St. Paul’s was of particular religious and political importance throughout much of the British colonial era. It is part of a cluster of the city’s major sites, including a number of … [Read more...]
BARA IMAMBARA
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh The Bara Imambara is, depending on who you ask, the largest mosque in India. However, an Imambara is technically not a mosque but rather a Shia ceremonial building used for the commemeroation of the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammed. This tremendous building, a public works project which ran for years in order to keep … [Read more...]
TAJ-UL-MASAJID
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh The Taj-ul-Masajid is the largest mosque in India (not counting the Bara Imambara), the second largest outside of the Middle East and the tenth largest in the world. It was the last major construction project to be initiated by the Mughal Empire in its last days, and it was not completed until 1985 after a construction hiatus that lasted more than a … [Read more...]
JAMA MASJID – AGRA
Agra, Uttar Pradesh The last great Turkic empire to arise in Central Asia was that of the Mughals, which at its height in the late Middle Ages dominated much of Afghanistan, Persia, Pakistan and India. The Mughal Empire reached its peak during the reign of Shah Jahan in the 17th century. Shah Jahan, who was largely responsible for expanding the Mughal Empire into India, made … [Read more...]
KHAJURAHO JAIN TEMPLES
Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh The city of Khajuraho in Central India was once home to one of the most thriving Jain communities in India. The Jain legacy here includes one of the finest collections of temples in Madhya Pradesh (this is enhanced by the fact that the city is also home to over a dozen major Hindu temples as well). There are three main Jain temples here: the … [Read more...]
TAWANG MONASTERY
Tawang, Aranachel Pradesh The Tawang Monastery is by some measures India’s biggest monastery, one of the largest monasteries in Asia, and one of the largest Buddhist monasteries anywhere outside of Lhasa. Nearly five hundred monks call it home. It is famous among Buddhists for its enormous golden Buddha statue and its old and incredibly valuable collection of sacred texts. The … [Read more...]
GREAT STUPA
Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh The Great Stupa of Sanchi is the oldest intact religious shrine in India, and the last of the original stupas constructed by the Emperor Ashoka to remain standing. It is thus both of great religious importance to Buddhists as well as great architectural and archaeological importance to scholars. Because of numerous additions to the site over the … [Read more...]
