Our country offers many incredible sites which also the Indians have no idea. Most of us only visit the popular places. Like that, when someone asks us about the monuments of India, we only remember the popular ones like the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Agra Fort but other than that our India has many monuments to visit. But the problem is these monuments are not known by many. These are incredible, magnificent, and architecturally wonderful like the popular ones.
Kanch Mahal, Agra
Kanch Mahal is situated near Akbar’s Tomb in Agra. This Mahal is an example of brilliant Mughal architecture. The monument called Kanch Mahal because of the use of tile work in the construction. The outside is designed with plaster inlaid with artistically carved red stone and it is decorated with sunken circular niches which have flowery creepers, wine vases and geometrical designs.
Originally, it was a harem quarter or ‘Ladies Resort’ which was also used as the Royal Shikargah (hunting lodge) by Jehangir. It is surrounded by a garden, causeways, water channels and tanks.
Bada Bagh, Jaisalmer
Bada Bagh or Big Garden is a garden complex of Jaisalmer. It is a resting place of the members of the royal family who once ruled the place. The attraction here is the cenotaphs or chhatris built in honour of the royals starting with Jai Singh II. The construction was made with yellow sandstone. The traveller can enjoy the mesmerising sight of sunset in the evening.
Salim Singh Ki Haveli, Jaisalmer
Salim Singh Ki Haveli was built in 1815. This impressive structure was made with yellow sandstone which is very common in that place. A unique feature differentiates the haveli with others. The feature is the roof which was constructed in the shape of peacock. The other notable features are the gateways which are guarded by the realistic sculptures of elephants and the haveli has 38 balconies with each having its own different features.
Sarkhej Roza, Gujarat
Sarkhej Roza is a mosque and tomb complex located in the village of Makaraba. This complex is known as the “Acropolis of Ahmedabad” because of its comparison to the 20th-century architect Le Corbusier’s design of Acropolis of Athens. Once it was a very famous centre of Sufi culture as Sufi saint Shaikh Ahmed Ganj Baksh lived there.
Rabdentse, Sikkim
It was the second capital of the former kingdom of Sikkim from 1670 to 1814. The Gurkha army invaded and destroyed this city. Only the ruins are seen now. One can witness superb viewpoint, the amazing beauty of the Kanchendzonga ranges from this place.
Itmad-ud-Daulah Tomb, Agra
This mausoleum is often described as the “jewel box” or sometimes called the “Baby Taj” as it looks like the miniature version of Taj Mahal. Jahangir had bestowed the title of Itmadud-Daulah on Mirza Ghiyas Beg, the father of his wife Noor Jahan and her father. The tomb was constructed with red sandstone with marble decorations and it stands amidst the famous Persian Gardens called Char Bagh. It was built between 1622 and 1628.
Bidar Fort, Karnataka
Bidar is called the ‘City of Whispering Monuments’. This 15th-century fort is a Bahmani monument. It was built at the time when Sultan Alla-Ud-Din Bahman moved his capital from Gulbarga to Bidar in 1427 and built his fort along with several Islamic monuments. There are more than 30 monuments inside the fort.
Chini Ka Rauza, Agra
This is the monument of the famous poet and scholar Allama Afzal Khan Mullah. He was also the prime minister of Shah Jahan. This masterpiece is one of the examples of Indo-Persian architecture in India. It was built in 1635. The glazed tile work of the monument is amazing and it called kasha or chini in Mughal era buildings. Another uniqueness of the tomb is the Islamic inscriptions on the walls of the tiles.
Tughlaqabad Fort, New Delhi
This fort is now a ruined site in Delhi. It was built by the founder of Tughlaq dynasty, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq in 1321. The ruins resemble like the ruins of Harappa and Mahenjodaro.
Maner Sharif, Bihar
Maner Sharif is situated near Patna. The town of Maner has the tombs of Sufi saint Makhdoom Yahya Maneri and Makhdoom Shah Daulat and the tombs are known as Bari Dargah (the great shrine) and Chhoti Dargah (the small shrine). Maner is an important tourism centre.
