India is a land of diversity – whether it’s culture, food, terrain, languages, architecture and a lot of diversity comes from her rich historical past. Different rulers, dynasties and empires controlled different parts of the Indian subcontinent and left behind their legacy in the form of grand monuments and buildings. All these monuments tell the fascinating stories of India’s distant past and take you back into history.They have stood the vagaries of time to tell the story of their inception, beauty, grace, love, passion, art and architecture.
1. The Taj Mahal - 
Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, in the memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, this architectural masterpiece is right on the banks of the river Yamuna standing on a raised platform surrounded by four minarets. It’s actually a tomb that contains the body of Mumtaz Mahal and emperor Shah Jahan.
Taj Mahal’s construction began in 1631 and went on for the next 22 years. The emperor employed around 22,000 people to complete this remarkable building of pure white marble. It was originally studded with precious stones like nephrite, jade, amber sapphire, garnets, topaz, diamonds, lapiz lazuli and corals.
Its main entrance gate is 151 × 117 feet and has a height of 100 feet.
One of the most captivating things about it is the way its color appears to gradually alter in the changing light of the day.
Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.”
Poet Rabindranath Tagore describes the monument as rising above the banks of the river “like a solitary tear suspended on the cheek of time.”
2. Hampi - 
Dating back to the 14th century, dotted around about 10 miles in the hills and valleys the 500 plus group of Monuments at Hampi represent the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara empire. This was a South Indian empire, dating from 1336 to 1646. The buildings in the city are mostly built in the original native traditions of southern India, associated with the Hindu religion. Some of them show a certain amount of Islamic influence due the interaction with Islamic kingdoms. Among them are beautiful temples, basement of palaces, remains of aquatic structures, ancient market streets, royal pavilions, bastions, royal platforms, treasury buildings.., the list is practically endless.
3. Khajuraho Temples – 
A UNESCO Heritage site, Khajuraho is known the world over for its temples, sex, architecture and sculpture. The construction of these Temples are thousand-year old took a little over two centuries. Eroticism, dance, music, passion and other aspects of creative arts depicted in sculpture and images. Most of the monuments are built with sandstone of various colors. The colors signify various sects. The Temples of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh are marked with some special features, which are unique to them. These monuments comprise entrance, hall, vestibule and a sanctum. For fresh air and proper light, huge windows are carved on the temples.
4. Ajanta and Ellora Caves -
The Ajanta Ellora caves are fine specimens of ancient rock-cut cave temples.
There are 34 caves at Ellora dating from between the 6th and 11th centuries AD, and 29 caves at Ajanta dating back to between the 2nd century BC and 6th century AD.
Ajanta Ellora caves are UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites. Even though Ajanta and Elora are often mentioned in the same breath, the cave temple clusters in these locations are different from each other in many aspects.
While the caves in Ajanta are primarily Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhist caves, the Ellora cave temples belong to Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions. There are variations in the architectural and sculptural dimensions as well. Ajanta caves are rich in paintings and sculpture, while Ellora caves are renowned for their extraordinary architecture.They are engraved into the sides of a basaltic mount. The facades and finely decorated interiors show some of the excellent examples of cave – temple architecture The most incredible thing about these caves is that they were crafted by hand, with only a hammer and chisel.
5. Fatehpur Sikri -
A masterpiece of Muslim architecture, it is unique for being a nearly intact Mughal city. Fathepur Sikri was constructed by Mughal emperor Akbar beginning in 1570 and served as the empire’s capital from 1571 until 1585. But it was abandoned after only 14 years because the water supply was unable to sustain the growing population. The surviving palace and mosque are a tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site itself is a ghost town. Constructed out of red sandstone, Fatehpur Sikri is full of regal palaces and courtyards. You can almost feel yourself being transported back to the mughal era here.
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