Best Places to Visit in Uttar Pradesh

Taj Mahal

Ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna in Agra.

Varanasi Ghats

Long terraces of stone-slab steps drop down the Ganga bank. Pilgrims gather at dawn and dusk for ritual ablutions.

Agra Fort

Red sandstone on a colossal scale. Mughal emperors kept their main residence here, above the Yamuna, until the capital shifted to Delhi in 1638. UNESCO World Heritage status. The parapets frame one of the finest distant views of the Taj Mahal you will find anywhere in Agra.

Fatehpur Sikri

Akbar's red sandstone capital. Built across fourteen years from 1571, then abandoned after fourteen more when the wells ran dry. The UNESCO site lies 40 km from Agra — the best-preserved Mughal city anywhere, frozen mid-ambition.

Sarnath

Ten kilometres from Varanasi, this is where the Buddha gave his first sermon — the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, addressed to five ascetics. The UNESCO-tentative archaeological zone is anchored by the 5th-century CE Dhamek Stupa. Also here: the Ashokan Lion Capital that became India's national emblem.

Kushinagar

Beneath twin sal trees in 483 BCE, the Buddha entered Mahaparinirvana on this ground. The UNESCO-tentative archaeological complex turns on two anchors: the 6.1-metre reclining Buddha inside the Mahaparinirvana temple, and the Ramabhar Stupa raised over the cremation site.

Alopi Devi Temple (Madhaveshwari)

Fourteenth peetha of the Ashtadasha — the spot where Sati's wrist fingers fell, near the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj. No idol stands inside. Devotees worship a wooden palanquin (doli) suspended on chains, honouring the legend of a goddess who vanished into thin air leaving only her doli behind.

Sravasti

Capital of the ancient Kosala kingdom. The Buddha spent 24 of his 45 monsoon retreats here, more than at any other place. You will find the site of the Twin Miracle and the Anathapindika-built Jetavana monastery, where foundation stones still outline the Gandhakuti that served as the Buddha's residence.

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