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Lamayuru Gompa Monastery, Ladakh
Photograph by Robert Harding/Masterfile The Ladakh region, culturally Tibetan, is home to Buddhist temples and //gompas//, or monasteries, including Lamayuru. This arid Himalaya land was closed to visitors until the 1970s, and it remains sparsely populated.



Sacred Cows, Varanasi
Photograph by Mark Henley/photolibrary.com Cows, such as these two in Varanasi, are a common sight on India’s congested streets. Hindus revere cows, believing that they offer sustenance and ask nothing in return.



Golden Quadrilateral
Photograph by Ed Kashi A cow lies in the middle of the Golden Quadrilateral, a superhighway that opened in 1998 linking India's four main cities: Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata (Calcutta), and Delhi. It’s part of a $30 billion-plus National Highways Development Project—the most ambitious building spree in India since Britain created the railway system in the 1800s



Brigade Road, Bangalore
Photograph by Walter Bibikow/photolibrary.com Bangalore’s Brigade Road hums, a reflection of how quickly India’s industries have grown in response to globalization. Along with Commercial Street and the MG Road, Brigade Road appeals to young, savvy shoppers



Jain Wedding, Mumbai
Photograph by Kris Pannecoucke/Aurora Photos In Mumbai, a bride feeds the groom at a Jain wedding, which requires a series of rituals thanking deities. Some tenets of Jainism are similar to those of Hinduism, but the religion hasn’t spread far beyond India.



Henna Hands
Photograph by Petra Warner, [|My Shot] The hands of a woman in Jaipur are covered with //mehndi// patterns painted with henna. Trendy in recent years, the lacework decorations are part of a 5,000-year-old tradition of creating designs to ward off evil or declare one’s happiness.



Karni Mata Temple, Deshnoke
Photograph by [|Rachael Williams], My Shot A woman in Deshnoke, Rajasthan, stands outside the Karni Mata Temple, a monument to the rat goddess. More than 20,000 rats live in the temple, including a handful of white ones, which are thought to be direct descendents of Karni Mata and therefore considered especially sacred



Baha’i House of Worship, New Delhi
Photograph by Ed Freeman/Getty Images The Baha’i House of Worship in New Delhi is better known as the Lotus Temple, thanks to its lotus-shaped concrete petals. The complex covers 26 acres (nearly 11 hectares).



Taj Mahal at Sunrise
Photograph by Adrian Pope/Getty Images The Taj Mahal, one of the most enduring symbols of India, is popular with tourists, drawing more than two million each year. Cricket is the most popular sport in India.