Nirvana in the Himalayas
ANANDA SPA AND RISHIKESH
Uttarakhand, India
It’s hard to imagine a better setting in which to restore and rejuvenate your body and soul. The Ananda Spa, built around a former maharaja’s palace, lies amid 100 acres of virgin forest in the foothills of the Himalayas and overlooks the sacred Ganges River. You begin your experience at Ananda (Sanskrit for “happiness and contentment”) by consulting with an Ayurvedic expert, who will personalize a program that includes treatments in the spa—there are some 80 regimens to choose from—as well as yoga and meditation in an open pavilion with views that amaze.
While the gardens and grounds themselves offer miles of walking trails, treks up into the Himalayas or a half-hour car ride down through verdant sal forests to the Hindu pilgrimage town of Rishikesh can also be arranged. Known as the gateway to the Himalayas and the birthplace of yoga (dozens of yoga centers can be found throughout town), Rishikesh is where the Beatles holed up in the 1960s at the now closed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ashram, seeking enlightenment and finding inspiration for their White Album. Here, every evening at sunset, the Hindu ritual of aarti is performed on the banks of the Ganges, during which small lamps are lit and bha-jans (hymns) are sung to the deities. Simple hotels like the Great Ganga let you tap into the town’s love-and-peace vibe; its inspiring views and a good restaurant encourage you to stay awhile. The proximity to Rishikesh is no doubt responsible for Ananda’s emphasis on spiritual reawakening despite the ample options of Western treatments and spa therapies that help fill out the menu.
Ananda hosts visiting masters from all over the world who teach everything from stress reduction to advanced meditation and will even lead you on an exhilarating morning of river rafting down the Ganges. Confirmation that Ananda indulges on all levels can be found in its 75 deluxe rooms and suites and three private villas. The luxurious facilities include a Turkish steam bath, Finnish sauna, hydromassaging facilities, a heated swimming pool, and even a challenging six-hole golf course.
The 24,000-square-foot Ananda Spa focuses on yoga and meditation, but also offers more modern services.
WHERE: 161 miles/260 km north of New Delhi. Tel 91/137-822-7500; www.anandaspa.com. Cost: from $540 per person, all-inclusive. GREAT GANJA: Tel 91/135-244-2119; www.thegreatganja.com. Cost: $75. BEST TIMES: Mar–Apr and Sep–Oct; Mar for International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh; Oct–Nov for Diwali festival of lights.
The World’s Greatest Monument to Love
THE TAJ MAHAL
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Nothing can adequately prepare the visitor for his or her first glimpse of the Taj Mahal. It may be a visual cliché, the Niagara Falls of architecture, but it’s also the embodiment of grace and romance, of balance and symmetry, an architectural icon revered for three and a half centuries as one of the most beautiful and dazzlingly constructed buildings in the world.
The fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, built the Taj as a tomb to honor his third and favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal (Chosen One of the Palace), who died giving birth to their 14th child in 19 years. It took 22 years and 20,000 laborers to build the white-marble mausoleum, completed in 1653, and costing the equivalent in today’s currency of $340 million. It was an extravagance that moved one of Jahan’s sons to eventually depose and imprison him in the nearby Agra Fort.
Long considered the “architect” of the powerful Mughal dynasty, Shah Jahan had renovated the red sandstone fortified palace that now served as his jail. It had been built by his grandfather Akbar—the third and greatest of the Mughal emperors—over 8 years and completed in 1573. From his chambers, Shah Jahan would gaze at the Taj Mahal downriver, mourning the loss of his wife and his empire, until his death in 1658.
Akbar’s other landmark fort, Fatehpur Sikri (City of Victory), is worth a visit to understand the legacy of the Mughal dynasty, as is the elegant Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah. A transition from the older architectural style, which incorporated heavy red sandstone architecture, to that of translucent marble, it was a precursor to—and likely inspiration for—the Taj Mahal.
Although many people visit Agra as a day trip from Delhi, thanks to the Oberoi Amarvilas (Sanskrit for “eternal haven”), there’s now an irresistible reason to linger overnight in this otherwise unlovely city. The Moorish- and Mughul-inspired palace hotel boasts terraced gardens, bubbling fountains, a marble pool, the fine Esphahan restaurant, and the Oberoi spa. It and every one of the hotel’s 100-plus rooms afford an unobstructed view of India’s most beloved national monument, a mere 650 yards away. A less extravagant interpretation of the Amarvilas is the new Orient Taj resort (no relation to the Taj hotels), where the welcome is no less grand. If you plan your visit to fall on the night of the full moon or within two nights before or after, you’ll find the Taj Mahal grounds open for viewing.
Symmetrical gardens and reflecting pools, meant to invoke paradise, lead up to the unforgettable Taj Mahal.
WHERE: 118 miles/190 km southeast of New Delhi. TAJ MAHAL: Archaeological Survey of India, tel 91/562-222-7261; www.asi.nic.in. OBEROI AMARVILAS: Tel 91/562-223-1515; in the U.S., tel 800-562-3764; www.oberoihotels.com. Cost: from $320 (off-peak), from $780 (peak); dinner at Esphahan $65. ORIENT TAJ: Tel 91/172-3000-311; www.orienttajagra.com. Cost: $175. BEST TIMES: mid-Oct–Mar, sunrise and sunset, and during the full moon; Feb for Taj Mahotsav Festival.
An Eternal City on the Banks of the Sacred Ganges
THE GHATS OF VARANASI
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Every Hindu yearns to visit Varanasi at least once. Originally called Kashi (“resplendent with divine light”) and later Benares by Britain’s empire builders, Varanasi is dedicated to Lord Shiva and has been the religious center of Hinduism throughout recorded time. Founded 3,000 years ago, it is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Mark Twain wrote that Varanasi was “older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.”
The Ganges River is the city’s lifeline, and Hindus believe it washes away their sins and holds salvation in every drop. Some 70 broad stone ghats (stepped areas leading down to the river) line a 4-mile stretch of its banks and teem with life: An estimated 1 million pilgrims flock here every year. Most are elderly, since devout Hindus believe that anyone who dies here achieves instant nirvana, their soul freed from the endless cycle of reincarnation known as samsara. If their wish is fulfilled, their bodies are burned on one of the ghats, where cremation pyres are fueled around the clock, and their ashes are then scattered on the Ganges. The birth of babies is also celebrated on the ghats by dipping the newborns in the water.
The dark, tangled streets of the Old Town are lined with shops selling colorful silk saris (for which the city is known), bangles, and food, and all roads seem to lead down to the river. Hire a cyclo driver to expertly weave his way through traffic, somehow avoiding collision with other rickshaws, cars, bikes, people, and wandering cows and dogs. The next day, pay a boatman to take you on the river at dawn, when the light and the scene are the most magical. You’ll see Hindus bathing in the river, performing puja, a ritual of reverence, to the rising sun, and making offerings of food or flowers. Although puja is a solemn ritual, Hinduism is a joyous religion, and bathing is often accompanied by loud splashing and laughing, sounds that echo and mingle with the bells and gongs of the temples that line the Ganges’s shores. Be there when the blowing of the conch shell welcomes the sun’s first rays reflecting off the life-giving Ganga Ma, or Mother Ganges, and Varanasi becomes a transcendent place.
Bathers congregate and make offerings on the banks of the Ganges.
WHERE: 481 miles/774 km southeast of New Delhi. WHERE TO STAY: Nadesar Palace is an 18th-century maharaja’s residence recently transformed into 10 large luxury suites. Tel 91/542-666-0002; in the U.S., 866-969-1825; www.tajhotels.com. Cost: from $330 (off-peak), from $565 (peak). Flowering gardens and pool make the Gateway Hotel Ganges Varana
si a true oasis. Tel 91/542-666-0001; www.thegatewayhotels.com. Cost: from $210. BEST TIMES: crack of dawn at the ghats and just before dark; Nov–Mar for nice weather; Oct–Nov for Diwali, the Festival of Lights.
Teatime and the Glory of the Raj
THE DARJEELING HIGHLANDS
West Bengal, India
Guarded by the awe-inspiring Himalayan peaks that rise out of the mist, the 7,000-foot summer retreat of Darjeeling was founded by the British as a sanatorium. It later became a scenic escape from the steamy heat of Calcutta and the low-lying Bengali plains for socialites, diplomats, and other government workers (it also often served as the Indian seat of government during the summer). Explorers stopped here, bound for the Himalayas, just 30 miles to the north.
But before all the elbow-rubbing came the tea. The British established extensive plantations, and the tea produced here became known worldwide as “the champagne of teas.” Of the 80 or so working tea estates in Darjeeling today, many offer tours and tastings. One of the few that now welcome overnight guests is the venerable 1,600-acre Glenburn Tea Estate, a scenic hour’s drive outside town. Established in 1860 by the Scottish, it is owned and run by the gracious Prakash family. Visitors stay in stylishly refurbished bungalows surrounded by the workings of the tea-making process, which doesn’t appear to have changed much since it began. The mountaintop estate is a great place for hiking, birding, fishing, and relaxing and affords direct views of Mount Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain.
Watching sunrise over the snowy peak of Kanchenjunga is a Darjeeling tradition. Make the trek (or travel by car) to the top of 8,284-foot-high Tiger Hill, 5 miles outside town, and you might be able to see Mount Everest too. Darjeeling has a rich climbing heritage, having served as the launch point for the earliest expeditions to Everest. Treks today can last a few hours (to visit nearby monasteries or neighboring plantations) or a few weeks (into neighboring Sikkim and Bhutan; see pp. 550 and 532). The adventurous can also enjoy whitewater rafting, kayaking, and elephant-back safaris.
Or perhaps enjoying an authentically prepared English afternoon tea is exertion enough, served at the Windamere, the “colonial hotel of the Himalayas.” A gem left over from the days of the visiting viceroys and other Raj dignitaries, it is loved for its profusely flowering gardens, mountain views, and its accommodations: a collection of heritage suites, bungalows, and cottages. The amiable staff tucks hot-water bottles between the sheets while guests enjoy an after-dinner brandy in front of the crackling fire.
The most scenic way of reaching the hill station is aboard one of the steam trains that have been in service since 1881 and are so diminutive that they are nicknamed “toy trains” (see Shimla; p. 536). Winding along a narrow-gauge line and gaining over 7,000 feet in elevation between New Jalpaiguri or Siliguri and Darjeeling, they puff away for approximately 50 miles through incredibly scenic countryside. In 8 hours, they cross 500 bridges and maneuver 909 hairpin curves, without a single tunnel to block the view.
One of several plantations established by the British, Happy Valley Tea Estate exports tea leaves around the world.
WHERE: 60 miles/97 km from Bagdogra, the nearest airport. THE GLENBURN TEA ESTATE: Tel 91/98-300-70213; www.glenburnteaestate.com. Cost: $490, inclusive. WINDAMERE HOTEL: Tel 91/354-225-4041; www.windamerehotel.com. Cost: from $210, inclusive. DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY: www.irctc.co.in. BEST TIMES: Mar–May and Sep–Nov for nicest weather; tea picking and processing takes place in Apr and Nov; Dec–Jan for tea festival.
Museums in India’s Cultural Nerve Center
PALACES OF KOLKATA
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
The Indian Museum, the country’s biggest and the oldest in the Asia-Pacific region, is right where it should be: in a city known for its intelligentsia. Three of India’s Nobel Prize winners hail from Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and the city boasts nine universities. It has a vibrant intellectual life and is also the nerve center of the Bengali film industry. The museum began as a sort of rambling, Victorian palace; eventually it grew to over 60 galleries dedicated to archaeology, art, anthropology, zoology, and industry. Among the over 1 million items in what the locals call Jadu Ghar—House of Magic—is an ancient urn believed to contain the Buddha’s ashes, an emerald goblet that once belonged to Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal (see p. 552), a 4,000-year-old mummy, and an extraordinary collection of other cultural artifacts.
The museum’s many treasures come as no surprise. This port city (known as the “City of Palaces”) amassed enormous wealth under the British, who were responsible for the rich mix of Raj-era architecture, one of Kolkata’s brightest highlights, even though its monumental Colonial structures and royal homes are now crumbling. In its day, the 19th-century Marble Palace was an imposing Neoclassical mansion of the deep-pocketed trader Raja Rajendra Mullick Bahadur, who made lavish use of Italian marble to create his showcase, typical of the period’s ostentation. Descendants of the original owners live in the upper quarters, leaving the lower floors—chockablock with what remains of its former glory—open to the public. One can only imagine the heirlooms that have been sold off, but look what remains: paintings by Reynolds, Rubens, and Titian; dust-covered crystal chandeliers the size of elephants; Uffizi-like corridors with marble statuary and inlaid-mosaic floors; and an empty throne room where an errant peacock roams.
Seek out your own lavish quarters at the landmark Oberoi Grand, a vast, block-long Colonial hotel that is part palace, part society bastion, and entirely old school. Locals come for afternoon tea and an adda (local parlance for a chat) over a plate of Bengali sweets, catching up on life in their “City of Joy.”
Founded in 1814, the Indian Museum, or House of Magic, occupies a white palace in Kolkata.
THE INDIAN MUSEUM: Tel 91/33-2286-1699; www.indianmuseumkolkata.org. MARBLE PALACE: Tel 91/33-2269-3310. HOW: Calcutta Walks offers various accompanied routes as well as home stays. Tel 91/33-4005-2573; www.calcuttawalks.com. OBEROI GRAND: Tel 91/33-2249-2323; in the U.S., 800-562-3764; www.oberoihotels.com. Cost: from $200 (off-peak), from $455 (peak); tea $20. BEST TIMES: Nov–Feb for nicest weather; late Jan–Feb for world’s largest public book fair; Sep–Oct for the city’s biggest festival, Durga Puja, honoring the Hindu goddess Durga.
A Former Capital’s Rich Legacy
IMAM SQUARE
Isfahan, Iran
In its heyday of the 16th and 17th centuries during the Safavid dynasty, Isfahan was the capital of the vast Persian Empire—as sophisticated as Paris or London, with some of the best schools, shops, and libraries and the most beautiful parks in the world. Half a million people lived among 163 mosques and 263 public baths in this lush oasis, surrounded by the arid deserts of the central Iranian plateau at the foot of the Zagros Mountains. Isfahan’s decline began after Afghan raids in 1722, when the capital was moved to Tehran. Still, today this city of 1.6 million remains one of Iran’s most cultured and striking, with sculpted gardens, wide avenues, historic bridges, and thrumming bazaars, plus the finest concentration of Islamic monuments in the country.
The most exquisite examples of architecture can be found in the city’s showstopping Imam Square (known as Shah Square prior to 1979). One of the largest public spaces in the world, it’s ringed by 17th-century buildings and a two-story galleried arcade that contains gardens, shops, and teahouses. You’ll get the best view from the elevated terrace of the Alī Qapū palace, a formal royal residence that shows off the elegance of the Safavid Royal Court. To the south is the crown jewel of Isfahan, the stunning Masjid-i-Imam mosque. Built over a period of 18 years and completed in 1629, the structure features seven-colored arabesque tile work (dominated by pale blue and yellow, an Isfahan trademark) covering almost every inch of its vaulted halls. On the western side of the square is the Sheikh Lotf-Allah Mosque—an extraordinary showcase of Islamic architecture, with an elaborately decorated interior and a blue and yellow tiled dome that seems to change color in different light.
To the north
is the entrance to Bazar-e-Bozorg, one of the largest and oldest markets in Asia. It’s an explosion of color and aromas, packed with shops where you can watch craftsmen hammer copper pots or artists paint exquisite miniatures. Another bazaar, located on the eastern side of the square, is geared more to the national tourists who come here from all over the country. Shop for dazzling Persian carpets here or in the shops along the square or sip tea, chat with the locals, and soak up the atmosphere at the indoor Azadegan teahouse.
For a taste of Isfahan’s glory days, book a room or sumptuous suite at the Abbasi Hotel, built on the site of a 300-year-old caravansary and now one of the most evocative hotels in the region. Rooms are restrained, but they surround a tranquil courtyard and gardens of persimmon trees and rose bushes that remind you of where you are. It’s a lovely place to come for tea or to dine on eggplant-rich khoresh bademjan and an orange-crusted saffron rice called tahdig—just two delicate specialties of Iran’s rich cuisine.
Thousands of tiles adorn the entranceway to the Masjid-i-Imam mosque, Isfahan’s most beautiful.
WHERE: 208 miles/335 km south of Tehran. VISITOR INFO: www.isfahan.ir. ABBASI HOTEL: Tel 98/311-222-6011; www.abbasihotel.ir. Cost: from $180. HOW: U.S.-based MIR leads small-group tours to Iran sites including Isfahan, Tehran, and Shiraz with a guest scholar. Tel 800-424-7289 or 206-624-7289; www.mircorp.com. Cost: 18-day trip, $5,495, includes internal flights, most meals. Originates in Tehran. When: Apr and Sep. BEST TIMES: Mar–May and Sep–Nov for nicest weather; sunset in Imam Square for the changing light and social buzz.
1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page 88