The rich cultural diversity of India has resulted in the relative obscurity of many of the country’s most remarkable events. In case India is somewhere on your travel wish list , I’ve compiled a list of ten of the country’s priceless Hidden Gems that you must see.
Hindu Temples at Hampi
A significant Hindu pilgrimage site is the holy temples of Hampi. Forts, temples, shrines, sacred complexes, and water features make up the ruins of this ancient metropolis, which extend across around 16 square miles. Although it was once the second-largest mediaeval city in the world, Hampi is now far from a popular tourist destination.
However, now that there is an airport approximately 50 km away, getting there is much easier, and the trip is worthwhile. The architecture and artwork at this UNESCO World Heritage Site date back to the 14th century and are really breathtaking. Incredible, gigantic buildings with elaborate carvings attest to the settlement’s existence as far back as 1 AD.
The Art of Crafting Metal Mirrors with Hidden Gems
One extended family in the Keralan town of Aranmula keeps the region’s metallurgical heritage alive by crafting secretive metal-alloy mirrors by hand. Although imitations of these highly sought-after mirrors abound, nothing beats the genuine article, which is utilized in traditional wedding rites and is thought of as a promising item. To create its reflective surface, the alloy is meticulously polished. Unlike glass mirrors, which have a rear surface, this one doesn’t, so there are no blurring or secondary reflections.
Kalari Payattu
One of the world’s oldest Hidden Gems martial arts, this Indian discipline has its roots in the southern state of Kerala. Kalari translates to “battlefield,” and it was modelled after ancient fighting styles that were used on battlefields when weapons such as shields, spears, axes, three-bladed knives, and swords were used. The commonly held belief is that a Buddhist monk from India brought this mental and physical training style to China, and subsequently, it evolved into Karate on the Okinawan Islands.
The Khichan village
The Thar Desert is home to this Bishnoi town where tens of thousands of the beautiful Demoiselle Cranes spend the winter. Jambeshwar, most often known as “Jamba-ji,” was a guru from the 15th century who established 29 (bis-noi) principles that all Bishnois adhere to. Wildlife finds a natural haven surrounding their settlements because of their intense belief in the sacredness of plant and animal life.
The locals began scattering buckwheat seeds fifty years ago as a bird food source, and today,as a Hidden Gems, it is a popular destination for birdwatchers. This species of crane, known for its elegant dancing show, is found all over central Europe and Siberia. While making their way to Mongolia for the summer, they traverse the Himalayas at heights of up to 26,000 feet, making it one of the most remarkable migrations you’ve ever seen.
Estate of Glenburn Teas
Guests can enjoy a blend of Darjeeling’s famous tea in an atmosphere of old-fashioned elegance and leisure at this charming tea plantation perched on a hilltop overlooking the Kanchenjunga mountain range in Darjeeling as a Hidden Gems. The Prakashes are one of the first pioneering families in India to cultivate tea, and their estate is home to some of the country’s most beautiful teas—picked at the height of the season and plucked straight from the gardens—along with a first-rate array of hotels and spa services. Guests of the plantation can easily access the several hiking trails in the Darjeeling and Sikkim areas.
Park of Kaziranga
This Hidden Gems perfect park is home to every amazing Asian big game, including the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceros, and wildlife roams freely inside its infinite boundaries. Rhino populations, which were formerly abundant over the northern Indian subcontinent, collapsed due to sport hunting and the killing of these animals as agricultural pests.
One of the most remarkable conservation success stories in Asia has been the return of the larger one-horned rhino, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Indian and Nepalese wildlife officials rescued the larger one-horned rhino from extinction by implementing stringent protection and management measures. Rhinos in Nepal’s Terai plains and northeastern India now number about 3,700. Experience the wonders of this awe-inspiring environment on a safari by Jeep, boat, or elephantback. Meet beautiful animals, including rhinos, Royal Bengal Tigers, Indian Elephants, Asian Buffalo, swamp deer, raptors galore, and a plethora of unusual bird species.
Kingdom of Majuli
Majuli is a one type of Hidden Gems , an island in Assam on the Brahmaputra River, is the biggest river island in the world, spanning around 340 square miles. The 144 villages that make up this first-ever Indian district are home to people of many different ethnicities and non-tribal backgrounds.
The island is also home to 22 Vaishwanite monasteries, each of which has its distinctive style of traditional Hindu dance that is performed in honour of Lord Vishnu. The river and its tributaries are redirected to create the island, and the island’s verdant wetlands are home to a wide variety of bird species.
Stepwells at Abhaneri
One of the biggest and most picturesque stepwells on the planet as a Hidden Gems, the Chand Baori in Rajasthan’s Abhaneri Hamlet is “one of the 10 great unknown wonders of the world”, according to the BBC. Built-in the eighth and ninth centuries, it descends 64 feet to a refreshing pool via 3,500 small steps. A miracle of water conservation and accessibility, the stepwell also provides a cool meeting spot during extreme heat.
Temple of Kailasha
The world’s largest single monolithic rock excavation, the Kailasha temple is a chariot-shaped shrine to Lord Shiva. Sculptures and monuments depicting Hindu deities and intricate details representing the home of Lord Shiva on top of Mt.
Kailash adorn the massive temple carved out of the rock cliff face in Cave 16 of the Ellora Caves, a rock-cut monastery-temple cave complex of over a hundred caves in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. What makes this temple even more remarkable than its enormous size and stunning appearance is the fact that it was fashioned from a single block of stone. It took seven thousand workers about 150 years to finish.
The Incredible Kumbhalgarh Fort Wall
Among the breathtaking hill forts of Rajasthan as a Hidden Gems, the Kumbhalgarh fortress boasts the second-longest unbroken wall, second only to China’s Great Wall. It is thus designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its 22 kilometres of defences atop western hills in the Aravalli range attest to its enormous size.
Between the eighth and eighteenth centuries, five more hill forts in Rajasthan—Chittorgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar, Jaipur, and Jaisalmer—were constructed using comparable architectural styles. Urban dwellings, bazaars, palaces, and temples were encased in protective walls, and today, tourists may see much of what has survived from these structures.
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