Lotus Temple - The 7th Bahai Temple of the World
Important Facts
- Also Known as: Bahai Temple, Bahá'í House of Worship
- Faith: Bahai Faith
- Built in: 1986
- Height: 40 metre
- Highlights: Exhibitions, Excellent photography that tells of the Bahai faith, 30 minute movie.
- Must Do: Offer Prayers within in Temple
Originally named as the Bahá'í House of Worship, the Lotus Temple is an important tourist attraction in Delhi. It is visited by large numbers of tourists consistently. It is the worship place for all regardless of their religion, culture and faith. Anyone can visit the temple complex and offers pray freely without any issue. The construction of this temple complex was completed in the year of 1986. Now it becomes one of the most visited monuments not even only in Delhi and India but across the world.
The temple got fame as the Lotus Temple due to its shape like as Lotus flower. The temple is built with 27 free standing marble petals. These petals arranged in group of three that forms nine sides of the temple. Each side of the complex has beautiful door. All these doors open in a huge hall of about 40 meters height that can hold up to the 2,500 people. The whole complex built with white marble from Penteli Mountain in Greece. It covers about the area of 26 acres and surrounded by pools and gardens.
The temple is globally famous for its eye-catching beauty and architecture. It is visited by large numbers of people everyday. As the late of 2002, the total popular visited to this temple reached about 50 millions, make Lotus Temple one of the most visited sites over the world. About 13,000 thousand people visit this temple everyday and 9 people in every minute. In some years, visited population of Lotus Temple also surpassed from the visited population Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower, the most visited heritage monuments around the world.
Lotus Temple has been featured in many travel magazines and got many awards due to their remarkable beauty and architecture. According to CNN report it is the most visited building in the world. It is visited by 4.5 millions of visitors every year more from the visitors of Taj Mahal. It is also visited by many celebrities and international personalities over the time including Pandit Ravi Shankar sitar maestro, Prince Niranjan Shah, of Nepal, Dr. Uton Muchtar Rafei, Regional Director, World Health Organization, First Lady of the Slovak Republic the Silvia Gasparovicova and many government officials of several countries.
How to Reach
By Air: Delhi is the national capital city of India. It has domestic and international airports. Flights for all the major cities and countries are regularly operated from Delhi. Tourists can easily reach Delhi from any corner of the world.
By Rail: Delhi is well-connected with Indian Railways network. It has three major railway stations as New Delhi, Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin. Regular trains for all important cities across the country are operated from Delhi.
By Road: Delhi has strong avenue system. It is well connected by all the important cities in North India. Tourists can easily reach Delhi through road links.
Khajuraho Temples - The Sexiest Temples in India
Important Facts:
- Location: Khajuraho, Chhatarpur District, Madhya Pradesh.
- Famous for: Marvelous Architecture.
- Highlights: Intricately Carved Sculptures on the Wall of Temples.
- Declared as: UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
- Also known as: One of Seven Wonders of India.
- Best Time to Visit: September to March.
Khajuraho Group of Temples is prime tourist attraction in India. It is located in Khajuraho town in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. It is the largest medieval period Hindu and Jain temples complex in India. The Khajuraho temples are boasted with unique architectural beauty. Outer walls of some temples also contains erotic sculptures and depicts human life in various forms are the prime attraction of the site. Due to their unique architecture and beauty, the Khajuraho Group of Monuments is also designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Khajuraho was the cultural capital of Chandel Rajputs. They ruled over the city from 10th to 12th centuries. Khajuraho temples were built over the long time span of 200 hundred years from 950 to 1150. The whole complex was enclosed by a wall with eight gates. About 80 Hindu temples were carved over here but only 25 of them are preserved now. These temples are scattered over the area of 20 sq-km. These temples are the fine example of old Indian architecture and one of the Seven Wonders of India.
Khajuraho temples have gained immense popularity due to the numerous beautiful erotic sculptures. Several people also abbreviate it as the “Temple of Love”. These temples are built with sandstones. The whole temple complex is divided into the three groups as western, eastern and southern. Chausath Yogini, Parshvanath, Vishwanath and Chaturbhuja are the must watch temples around the complex.
A Light and Sound show is organized everyday at the Khajuraho Temple Complex in evening. It is also an important attraction of the site. The show is organized in English and Hindi languages subsequently. It is hour show and offers interesting historical facts about the building of Khajuraho temples. Khajuraho Dance Festival is a popular cultural event organized every year in first week of February. The festival offers wonderful exposure of classical and traditional India dances. This event attracts large number of classical dance lovers from far way places.
How to Reach
By Air: Khajuraho town has well managed airport. It has direct flights for Delhi, Agra and Varanasi.
By Rail: Mahoba Railway Station is the nearest railway station located about 65 km distance. Other close railway stations are Harpalpur (94 km), Satna (117 km) and Jhansi (175 km).
By Road: Regular buses for Khajuraho easily available from Mahoba, Harpalpur, Satna, Jhansi, Gwalior, Agra and Bhopal.
Harmandir Sahib - Temple of Sprituality Or Golden Temple of Amritsar
Important Facts
- Also known as: Swarm Mandir, Darbar Sahib, Temple of God, Harmandir Sahib, Har Mandir.
- Faith: Sikh
- Location: Amritsar, Punjab, India.
- Built in: 1574 AD
- Established by: Guru Ram Das Ji, the fourth guru of the Sikhs.
- Highlights: Akal Takht, Amrit Sarovar, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Central Sikh Museum.
The Harmandir Sahib commonly known as the Golden Temple is the most prominent pilgrimage of Sikhs in India. The blessed temple complex is located in Amritsar district, Punjab in North India. Construction of Golden Temple was commenced by the forth Sikh ruler, Guru Ram Das and later completed by his successor Guru Arjan Dev. He also written Adi Granth and installed at Gurudwara in the year of 1604. The Adi Granth is the holiest epic in Sikhism.
Golden Temple damaged several times in 18th century. It was the site of fighting between Sikhs and Mughals at that time and damaged occasionally. The current Golden Triangle was built by Maharaja Jassa Singh Ahluwalia in the year of 1764. The area was completely protected by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 19th century who also covered the upper floors of the complex with golden. Thereafter the temple got fame as the “Golden Temple” and becomes most important and popular Sikh pilgrimage.
The Gurudwara Complex is surrounded by the beautiful lake. The lake contains holy water. There are four entrance ways to this complex. Numerous important shrines and imposing sculptures are located around the complex also grab the attention of most of the visitors. Interior of the complex was decorated with excellent fresco work and precious gemstones and exhibits wonderful architectural beauty.
The blessed shrine also hosts several popular cultural events. Vaisakhi is the most important cultural event celebrated over here most probably in the second week of April every year. The martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur and the birthday of Guru Nanak are also celebrated by the people with great joy. Hindu festival Diwali is also celebrated at the Harmandir Sahib. Thousands of lamps are illuminated and fireworks discharged at that day. So, if you want to aware from the lively culture of Sikhs, it is the must visit site for you. A trip of Harmandir Sahib will be a memorizing experience for all the travelers.
How to Reach
By Air: Amritsar Airport has regular flights for Delhi, Mumbai and other sites of the cities of the country. Now the Airport has promoted as the international airport.
By Train: Amritsar Railway Station with all cities of North India.
By Road: Amritsar is connected by major cities of North India. One can easily access Amritsar by road through Delhi, the national capital of India.
Akshardham Temple - A Spiritual Abode in Delhi
Important Facts
- Location: Near Nizamuddin Bridge, Delhi, India
- Built in: 2005
- Inspired & Moderated by: Pramukh Swami Maharaj
- Built by: Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha.
- Dedicated to: Lord Swaminarayan
- Managed by: Swaminarayan Sect
- Temple Status: The Largest Hindu Temple Complex in the World.
- Famous for: Superb Architecture and Ornate Pillars.
- Famous as: India's Spiritual Theme Park.
- Opening Time: 9 AM to 9 PM (Monday Closed for Visitors).
- Activities to Enjoy: Audio Animation Show, Spiritual Light & Sound Show, Boat Ride.
- Attractions: Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple, Musical Fountains, Bharat Upvan, Museum.
The Akshardham Temple or Swaminarayan Akshardham is the largest Hindu temple complex around the world. It is located in national capital Delhi adjacent to Yamuna Bank. It is one of the important tourist attractions in Delhi and attracts about the 70 percent of total tourists who visit Delhi. The temple is built on the basis of Indian architecture according to the Vastu Shastra and Pancharatra Shastra. It is dedicated to Swaminarayan respected as an manifestation of Lord Narayan. It exhibits several important incidents of life of Swaminarayan and Indian history.
The Temple complex was built by the Pramukh Swami Maharaj. He was the head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha. The temple was constructed after the combined effort of 3000 volunteers of the Sanstha and 7000 thousand artisans. The temple opened for tourists from 6, November, 2005. Now the Akshardham Temple is an important attraction in the city. The temple shows wonderful architectural beauty, mysticism, culture and religion of Hindus.
The temple complex is made up of Rajasthani pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble. The main monument is located at the center of the complex. It is a 43 meters high, 96 meters wide and 110 meters long structure. Its architecture is based on Sthapatya Shastra and also combines many architectural styles across the country. It has 234 beautifully carved pillars, 9 domes and over 20,000 sculptures of Hindu deities and gurus. About 3.4 meters long statue of Lord Swaminarayan is placed under the central dome of the main monument. It is surrounded by several other statues of Hindu gurus and deities like Sita Ram, Radha Krishna, Shiv Parvati, and Lakshmi Narayan. Each of them is made up from Panch Daatu according to the Hindu culture.
Hall of Values, Theatre, Musical fountain and Garden of India are the other impressive parts of this huge temple complex. Visitors can also enjoy boat ride and Light and Sound show at the Akshardham Temple complex. The boat takes visitors from the 10,000 years Indian history within 12 minutes from an artificial river.
How to Reach
By Air: Delhi is the national capital of India. It is well connected by all the major cities and several countries across the world. Delhi has national and international airport. Regular flights for many cities and countries are operated by the government and private airlines.
By Rail: Delhi is very well connected by India Railways. It has three major railway stations as New Delhi Railway Station, Delhi Railway Station and Nizamuddin Railway Station and very well connected from rest of the country.
By Road: Delhi has excellent connectivity from all major cities in North India. It can be easily reached by private and government vehicles.
Mahabodhi Temple - The World Heritage Monuments of India
Important Facts
- Initially called: Bodhimanda-vihara
- Location: Bodhgaya, Bihar, India
- Importance: Place of Nirvana of Lord Buddha
- Faith: Buddhism
- Features: Footsteps of Lord Buddha
- Declared as: UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002
The Mahabodhi Temple is an important temple complex belongs to Buddhism. It is located in Bodhgaya, Bihar in East India. Bodhgaya has great importance in Buddhist religion and culture. It is the place where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment after the long mediation under a Bodhi tree. The site is also known as the Bodhimanda Vihara means the place of position of awareness. It is visited by large numbers of devotees of Hindu and Buddhist religions consistently. In Hindu mythology it is also believed that the Lord Buddha was one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
The temple was constructed in Dravidian styles. It has many imposing structures inside the complex. The tallest tower at the temple is about 55 meters high. The tower is surrounded by four small towers built into the similar approach. The whole temple complex was built with brick, regarded as the oldest brick found in Eastern India. It is the fine example of India brick works. According UNESCO survey, it is the most imposing structures built with bricks from Gupta period.
In the year of 2002, the Mahabodhi Temple was declared as the UNESCO World Heritage site. There are many Buddhist shrines located around the complex built by several Buddhist followers from several countries. Large numbers people visit this beautiful temple complex from over the world due to its religious importance as well its remarkable architectural beauty.
How to Reach
By Air: Gaya Airport is an international airport located about 15 km away from the city. Regular flights for several cities of India and Asian countries are operated from Gaya Airport.
By Rail: Gaya Junction is the nearest railway station at the 15 km away from Bodh Gaya. It is very well connected from several cities of the country.
By Road: Bodhgaya is very well connected by excellent avenue system from several cities of North and East India. It can be easily explored via public and private vehicles.
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