The Most Colourful Places You Need To Visit In India

Through flora and fauna, architecture, bazaars and even entire cities, India’s culture is synonymous with colour, and some sites are downright kaleidoscopic. Here are the most colourful sites in India you need to visit and experience.

Dashashwamedh Ghat

Considered the holiest place in India, Varanasi has been a centre for religious customs and rituals for thousands of years. One of the most popular and grandest traditions is the evening prayer (aarti) at Dashashwamedh Ghat. This brightly colourful site attracts people from all over the world to witness minutely choreographed fire shows, dances and prayers.
Dashashwamedh Ghat, Dashashwamedh Ghat Rd, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Valley of Flowers

The National Park is a UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves

Choodi Bazaar

Choodis – bangles made of various colourful material like glass, plastic or stones – can be found at Choodi Bazaar, an area of the famous Laad Bazaar in Hyderabad. The several choodi shops (on the west exit of Charminar, the mosque built during the Qutb Shahi dynasty in 1591) gives the marketplace an unforgettable, dazzling look.
Laad Bazaar, Char Kaman, Ghansi Bazaar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Meenakshi Temple

The entire city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu was built around Meenakshi – a temple consisting of 14 gopurams (towers) – around the 16th century. Each temple and tower is intricately carved and painted in multitudes of colours, and the campus has about 33,000 sculptures total.
Meenakshi Temple, Madurai Main, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, +91 452 234 4360

Holi in Vrindavan

Holi is a major Hindu festival, celebrated all over India with friends, families and neighbours gathering to smear colour on and soak each other in water. But Holi is best in Vrindavan, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, where clouds of vivid pigment, water fights and bhang are unique and blindingly colourful sights.

Tawang Monastery

One of India’s most underrated beauties is Arunachal Pradesh, home to Tawang Monastery, the second-largest monastery in the world. Its remarkable architecture and superbly colourful interiors feature Buddhist imagery and countless intricate murals.
Tawang Monastery, Cona, Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, India

Jodhpur

Jodhpur is one of the most beautiful cities in the desert state of Rajasthan. The old part of the city was painted blue on Rah Jodha’s orders in the 15th century, and while no one really knows why, it’s still fascinating to walk the winding, narrow blue lanes near Mehrangarh Fort.

Kutch

Kutch, another desert in Gujarat, is home to tribal communities in which women wear the most gorgeously embroidered, colourful skirts and blouses with long stoles covering their head. Plus, both men and women wear tradition heavy jewellery.

Munnar

Munnar’s hills in Kerala are carpeted with lush green tea fields, and every 12 summers the valleys turn lavender when the Neelakurinji flower blooms abundantly. Visiting Eravikulam National Park is the best way to see the beautiful purple landscape.
Eravikulam National Park, Munnar, Kerala, India, +91 48 65 20 82 55

The lavender carpet during full bloom of Neelakurinji flower is magnificent

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.