Taj Mahal, Golden temple among top 25 landmarks in world

Symbol of love and eternal beauty- The Taj Mahal in Agra and the one of the most revered religious places in India- The Golden Temple in Amritsar are among the top most recognized 25 landmarks in the world. This list has been compiled by the popular travel review site- TripAdvisor based on feedback from millions of its users around the world. Taj has been considered as one of the seven man-made wonders in the world. It is often referred also as greatest architectural achievement on earth, not to mention a testament to love. This list reaffirms its position as one of the most popular tourist destinations around the globe. Similarly, Golden temple in Amritsar, built by the fifth Guru Arjan Sahib in 1604 A.D. is the centre of faith for all the Sikhs around the world. The sparkling Harmandir Sahib (or Darbar Sahib) in the middle of the Sarovar (pond) is an iconic image popular alike among sikhs and non-sikhs.

Machu Picchu in Peru was rated numero uno in the list as the most popular landmark in the world. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center at Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates stood second in the list.  Taj is third and following it is Great Cathedral and Mosque at Cordoba in Spain. Among the holiest places for all the christians in the world St. Peter’s Basilica at Vatican City stands fifth. Next two positions go to two iconic temples in Siam Reap in Cambodia- Angkor Wat and Bayon Temple. One of the most amazing structures of our times Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, Russia is the next. Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania and Ancient City Walls at Dubrovnik in Croatia complete the top ten.

Awesome and overwhelming structures of Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar are eleventh. At no 12 is Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool at Washington DC, District of Columbia. Surprisingly two bigger landmarks are ranked lowly- Petra World Heritage Site at Petra – Wadi Musa, Jordan at 13th and Great wall of China at 14th. Ancient City of Ephesus, Selcuk, Turkey is 15th and 16th is The Alhambra at Granada in Spain. Australian War Memorial at Canberra in Australia is 17th and Siena Cathedral at Siena in Italy is 18th. Completing the top 20 are Milan Cathedral (Duomo) at Milan, Italy and Basilica of the Sagrada Familia at Barcelona in Spain.

We all have seen images of Golden gate bridge at San Francisco, California shrouded with with clouds. That iconic bridge is at number 21. And, 22nd in the list is Cristo Redentor (Statue of Christ the Redeemer) at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which again is surprisingly ranked very low. Teotihuacan World Heritage Site at San Juan Teotihuacan in Mexico is 23rd, just before the Golden temple in Amritsar. While last in the list is Sydney Opera House in Australia. One may say that there are many misses from this list, just as Pyramids of Giza, Hanging Minar of Pisa, Colosseum of Rome and Acropolis & Parthenon of Greece. Still lists are ever-evolving and this world has much more to see than we presume.