Uttar Pradesh
View allAll Photos Tagged pradesh
Along the dangerous Leh Manali Highway, (where I never thought to travel in my life, but I just did it) it is possible to find several stunning landscape sights, in the middle of the himalayan mountains, like this one. I guess it is a paradise for a geologists, for sure, it is for landscape photographers.
For prints or licenses visit my shop
The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.
Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643, but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around ₹32 million, which in 2020 would be approximately ₹70 billion (about U.S. $1 billion). The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Various types of symbolism have been employed in the Taj to reflect natural beauty and divinity.
The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". It is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India's rich history. The Taj Mahal attracts more than 6 million visitors a year and in 2007, it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World (2000–2007) initiative. (Wikipedia)
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. January 2015.
This is again a shot from our stay in Himachal Pradesh from 2013-16.I took this shot on our way to the remote village of Bharmour in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.See how the tiny hamlet clings precariously to the mountainside and the terraced fields around it.We must have been at an altitude of around 9000 feet when I took this shot.
This area of Himachal is not much frequented by tourists but It is incredibly majestic and beautiful .
Might be worth a look in large.
© Jean Marie Boyer-Toute reproduction sans autorisation est interdite
© "Copyright Jean Marie Boyer " All rights reserved
Kangra valley (average altitude 2000 feet) is my favourite destination in Himachal Pradesh.Thankfully it is not as popular with tourists as Shimla and Kullu- Manali but I think in the springtime few places in India can rival its sublime beauty. With its picturesque villages with their houses of slate covered roofs, wheatfields of soothing green,orchards in blossom,gushing mountain streams and the glistening white peaks of the Dhauladhars as a stunning backdrop it is no less than a paradise on earth
The Dhauladhar range is one of the ranges of the Middle Himalayas,.They lie entirely in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India.They are distinctive in their typical dark granite rocky formations with a remarkably steep rise culminationg in streaks of snow and ice at the top of their crested peaks.The elevation of the Dhauladhars ranges from around 3500 metres to nearly 6000 metres avove sea level.They are best seen from the beautiful Kangra valley from where they appear to shoot up almost vertically.
Source -: Wikipedia
A makeshift bridge made of wooden planks across the River Uhl in remote Barot valley in Mandi district in the state of Himachal Pradesh ,India.You can see the remains of an older bridge probably built by the British during the colonial era.
Barot is a village developed in the 1920s by the British for the Shanan Hydel project on the Uhl River.It is situated in an extremely remote and picturesque little valley about 25 kms off the Mandi-Jogindernagar highway in Himachal Pradesh.The valley is watered by the Uhl River and is famous for trout breeding.There are forests of Deodar,Oak and Rhododendron and pretty little villages surrounded by terraced fields which were golden with ripening wheat when we visited in April 2016..Barot is at a distance of about 40 kms from the town of Jogindernagar but the British had also built a funicular trolley which reduces the distance to 12 kms.However the trolley ,as far as I could gather ,is no londger functional.
Barot is at the moment an off-beat tourist destination and I fervently hope it remains so at least for a few more years.
We were in my favourite place in the world - Himachal Pradesh - for a couple of days recently.
This is a view of the beautiful Kangra valley with the magnificent Dhauladhar Ranges as a backdrop.
Have a wonderful new week dear friends.
The Dhauladhar range is one of the ranges of the Middle Himalayas,.They lie entirely in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India.They are distinctive in their typical dark granite rocky formations with a remarkably steep rise culminationg in streaks of snow and ice at the top of their crested peaks.The elevation of the Dhauladhars ranges from around 3500 metres to nearly 6000 metres avove sea level.They are best seen from the beautiful Kangra valley from where they appear to shoot up almost vertically.
Source -: Wikipedia
Varanasi or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. The city has a syncretic tradition of Islamic artisanship that underpins its religious tourism. Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the southeastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. It is 692 kilometres to the southeast of India's capital New Delhi and 320 kilometres (200 mi) to the southeast of the state capital, Lucknow. It lies 121 kilometres downstream of Prayagraj, where the confluence with the Yamuna river is another major Hindu pilgrimage site.
Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities. Kashi, its ancient name, was associated with a kingdom of the same name of 2,500 years ago. The Lion capital of Ashoka at nearby Sarnath has been interpreted to be a commemoration of the Buddha's first sermon there in the fifth century BCE. In the 8th century, Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. Tulsidas wrote his Awadhi language epic, the Ramcharitmanas, a Bhakti movement reworking of the Sanskrit Ramayana, in Varanasi. Several other major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, including Kabir and Ravidas. In the 16th century, Rajput nobles in the service of the Mughal emperor Akbar, sponsored work on Hindu temples in the city in an empire-wide architectural style. In 1740, Benares Estate, a zamindari estate, was established in the vicinity of the city in the Mughal Empire's semi-autonomous province of Awadh. Under the Treaty of Faizabad, the East India Company acquired Benares city in 1775. The city became a part of the Benares Division of British India's Ceded and Conquered Provinces in 1805, the North-Western Provinces in 1836, United Provinces in 1902, and of the Republic of India's state of Uttar Pradesh in 1950.
Silk weaving, carpets, crafts and tourism employ a significant number of the local population, as do the Banaras Locomotive Works and Bharat Heavy Electricals. The city is known worldwide for its many ghats—steps leading down the steep river bank to the water—where pilgrims perform rituals. Of particular note are the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat, and the Harishchandra Ghat, the last two being where Hindus cremate their dead. The Hindu genealogy registers at Varanasi are kept here. Among the notable temples in Varanasi are the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Shiva, the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, and the Durga Temple.
The city has long been an educational and musical centre: many prominent Indian philosophers, poets, writers, and musicians live or have lived in the city, and it was the place where the Benares gharana form of Hindustani classical music was developed. In the 20th-century, the Hindi-Urdu writer Premchand and the shehnai player Bismillah Khan were associated with the city. India's oldest Sanskrit college, the Benares Sanskrit College, was founded by Jonathan Duncan, the resident of the East India Company in 1791. Later, education in Benares was greatly influenced by the rise of Indian nationalism in the late 19th-century. Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College in 1898. In 1916, she and Madan Mohan Malviya founded the Banaras Hindu University, India's first modern residential university. Kashi Vidyapith was established in 1921, a response to Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.
Varanasi or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. The city has a syncretic tradition of Islamic artisanship that underpins its religious tourism. Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the southeastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. It is 692 kilometres to the southeast of India's capital New Delhi and 320 kilometres (200 mi) to the southeast of the state capital, Lucknow. It lies 121 kilometres downstream of Prayagraj, where the confluence with the Yamuna river is another major Hindu pilgrimage site.
Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities. Kashi, its ancient name, was associated with a kingdom of the same name of 2,500 years ago. The Lion capital of Ashoka at nearby Sarnath has been interpreted to be a commemoration of the Buddha's first sermon there in the fifth century BCE. In the 8th century, Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. Tulsidas wrote his Awadhi language epic, the Ramcharitmanas, a Bhakti movement reworking of the Sanskrit Ramayana, in Varanasi. Several other major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, including Kabir and Ravidas. In the 16th century, Rajput nobles in the service of the Mughal emperor Akbar, sponsored work on Hindu temples in the city in an empire-wide architectural style. In 1740, Benares Estate, a zamindari estate, was established in the vicinity of the city in the Mughal Empire's semi-autonomous province of Awadh. Under the Treaty of Faizabad, the East India Company acquired Benares city in 1775. The city became a part of the Benares Division of British India's Ceded and Conquered Provinces in 1805, the North-Western Provinces in 1836, United Provinces in 1902, and of the Republic of India's state of Uttar Pradesh in 1950.
Silk weaving, carpets, crafts and tourism employ a significant number of the local population, as do the Banaras Locomotive Works and Bharat Heavy Electricals. The city is known worldwide for its many ghats—steps leading down the steep river bank to the water—where pilgrims perform rituals. Of particular note are the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat, and the Harishchandra Ghat, the last two being where Hindus cremate their dead. The Hindu genealogy registers at Varanasi are kept here. Among the notable temples in Varanasi are the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Shiva, the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, and the Durga Temple.
The city has long been an educational and musical centre: many prominent Indian philosophers, poets, writers, and musicians live or have lived in the city, and it was the place where the Benares gharana form of Hindustani classical music was developed. In the 20th-century, the Hindi-Urdu writer Premchand and the shehnai player Bismillah Khan were associated with the city. India's oldest Sanskrit college, the Benares Sanskrit College, was founded by Jonathan Duncan, the resident of the East India Company in 1791. Later, education in Benares was greatly influenced by the rise of Indian nationalism in the late 19th-century. Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College in 1898. In 1916, she and Madan Mohan Malviya founded the Banaras Hindu University, India's first modern residential university. Kashi Vidyapith was established in 1921, a response to Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.
Akbar's tomb is the mausoleum of the third and greatest Mughal emperor Akbar. The tomb was built in 1605–1613 by his son, Jahangir and is situated on 119 acres of grounds in Sikandra, a suburb of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The buildings are constructed mainly from a deep red sandstone, enriched with features in white marble. The tomb was plundered and largely desecrated in 1688 by Hindu Jat forces.