Top 10 Cities To Visit In India

INDIA

Let me start off by saying India is a massive country. I was somewhat aware of this already before travelling to India. The long overnight buses and trains can take a toll on you over time if you've been travelling in the country for several months.

That being said, creating a list such as a top 10, or even top 20 places to visit I feel is still not enough to highlight the amazing places the country has to offer. My point is, India has a ton of beautiful cities/small town to see and many hidden gems to be found. I guess what I'm trying to say is take what I just said into consideration and don't think that that's all there is worth seeing in the country when you're looking at this list. India is loaded with many beautiful places worth visiting but if you want to be selective, or you don't have much time on your trip, or if you already have a list of places you'd like to see and ensure you don't miss out on anything, then this is the list. To see my complete travel guide to India, click HERE to check it out.

I spent two months in India and that was not enough in terms of time exploring the country. Within the span of 2 moths, I did manage to explore the majority of the popular sites as well as places that are off the beaten path, or places where there were minimal tourist presence. Each city/village offers a different experience from the other. Without further a do, here are the top 10 cities to visit in India.

10) GOA

Let's kick it off along the coast with Goa. One of the most well known tourist spots in the country for quite some time now. Goa is known for its chilled atmosphere during the day and all out parties at night. If you're a party goer, this is for you but if you'd like to still be by the water with less tourists and also budget friendly, Gokarna would be a better option. Personally, I prefer Gokarna more as it's quieter. It's also more reasonable in terms of food and accommodation prices.

9) JAISALMER

The main tourist attraction here is the Jaisalmer Desert. You have the option of camping out in the desert for several days or a even a week. Ride camels, catch the sunrise and watch the stars light up at night. My recommendation is to do it for a couple of days, a week may be overdoing it as it is a desert after all. There's only so much you can do here. Other places worth visiting in the city are Jaisalmer Fort and Gadisar Lake. Both worth taking a stroll and watching the sun go down.

8) ALLEPPEY

Here runs the famous Kerala Backwaters. A network of 5 large lakes all connected by canals. You need to hop on a public boat and hop off at any stop you wish if you want to have a closer look at the little villages and interact with the locals in the area. It's a unique experience recommended for the adventurous ones out there. For anyone wanting their own space, you can also rent a private boat, which I do not recommend. I feel that the the public boat is a much reasonable option in terms of carbon footprint and budget. I've seen many foreigners renting a massive boat for 2-3 people as they take the same boat route as the public boat.

7) MUMBAI

Formerly known as Bombay, Mumbai gave me the impression of it being a more developed city compared to the other cities in India. Perhaps it's also because it's the heart of the Bollywood Film industry. There are a couple of things you can do here such as visiting the Gateway of India and taking a boat ride to Elephanta Caves, both can be done in a day.

6) JAIPUR

Located in the state of Rajasthan, Jaipur is also known as the "Pink City", home to many forts and palaces. There are other cities in Rajasthan just as beautiful as Jaipur such as Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Pushkar. As mentioned there are many forts and palaces here. I'll quickly run through some of the most common sites to visit in the city. Hawa Mahal, The Palace of Winds has 953 small windows designed to allow breeze in. If you're going to take photos in Jaipur, this is it. Next is The City Palace - a luxurious palace built in the 1700's with a museum. Galta Ji is a beautiful temple surrounded by a mountain backdrop with a ton of monkeys inside. With regards to the forts, Amber and Jaigarh fort would be my recommendations.

5) AGRA

You're probably wondering why the city where Taj Mahal is located is not on the top 3? This is a list for the top cities in India, not the top sites to see. Though Agra is home to the ever so popular Taj Mahal, that's all there is to it. Some may argue that there's also Agra Fort. Even if we include Agra Fort, that's about it. The Taj Mahal is a beautiful thing to see and many come to Agra just for that instead of seeing Agra Fort. It's rare to have someone come to Agra mainly for Agra Fort. The Taj Mahal is one of the most world renown sites, one of the NEW 7 Wonders of the World. I have nothing against Agra Fort, just stating the obvious.

4) RISHIKESH

The cleaner end of the Ganges River is here. I've always wanted to take a dip in the Ganges River. My first attempt was in Varanasi, though locals were going in the water and using it for practically everything, I was advised to not go in for sanitary reasons. Many locals advised that Rishikesh would be a better spot as it is much cleaner. For many wanting to take up on yoga and meditation, Rishikesh is also known for these types of activities. As well as river rafting. Also, Lakshman Jhula is a famous bridge that you can see from a far and walk on.

3) DHARAMSHALA

If you're into trekking, the outdoors, or if you're very spiritual, this is the place for you. I personally enjoyed this place because of its natural beauty. I also saw the Dalai Lama here. I was lucky to have been in Dharamshala during an event that took place at the time. Though this is the home of the Dalai Lama, it was a great experience to hear the Dalai Lama speak at this event. Unfortunately, there are no photos as cameras were not allowed inside the event.

2) HAMPI

Stepping into Hampi is like entering the stone age. I mean that in a good way. Hampi is an ancient village filled with many temples from the Vijayanagara Empire and amazing viewpoints to catch the sunrise or sunset. You can easily spend several days here. Some of the temples I recommend seeing are Virupaksha Temple, Shiva Temple, Sri Krishna Temple, Ranganatha Temple, Achyutarya Temple, Underground Siva Temple, Hazara Rama Temple and Hemakuta Hill Temple. For the viewpoints, check out the Sunset Viewpoint which overlooks the entire village of Hampi. It will take you no more than 30 minutes to get up here. The last viewpoint would be Monkey Temple that involves 600 steps to get up to the viewpoint.

1) VARANASI

And taking the number one spot, it's Varanasi. This is probably one of the dirtiest places in India yet its the most serene and one of the most majestic places that one needs to experience. For foreigners, this is a major attraction for the many visiting India. For any Hindus and the people who live in India, for them to spend their last days and die in Varanasi as well as get cremated to have their remains thrown in the Holy Ganges is the ultimate dream.

There are many things to do here and here are my recommendations. You can take a stroll and see some of the ghats along the river. You'll witness a lot of prayers and rituals happening left and right. So be mindful of that. There are about 87 ghats here but the one that you must see is the Manikarnika Ghat. This is the most iconic ghat in India where traditional Hindu cremations are performed.

You also want to wake up early to witness an epic sunrise on a boat. It will give you a different perspective of the ghats as you cruise down the Ganges River.

Whatever you do in Varanasi, make sure you don't miss out seeing an Aarti. A ritual of worship performed by the Ganges. Aarti is performed in many of the ghats during sunrise and sunset. I recommend going to the Dashashwamedh Ghat for sunset as it is much bigger and more decorative compared to the other ghats. It is an uplifting experience, one I definitely won't forget.