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Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly

In 1968, the Beatles ventured to the foothills of the Himalaya for a spiritual retreat.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

How the Indian City of Rishikesh Influenced the Beatles’ White Album

A meditation retreat in 1968 offered the British rock group heightened awareness and peace of mind

Trains link the greatest of Indian cities to the humblest of rice-farmer hamlets.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Want to See More of India? Take the Indian Railway

A window on the world from a four-bunk sleeper car

A modern baptismal rite takes place in the same Paravur pond in which the Apostle Thomas reputedly baptized Indian nobility in the first century.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

The Surprisingly Early History of Christianity in India

Modern Syrian Christians of Kerala believe that the Apostle Thomas visited in A.D. 52 to baptize their ancestors

Tulsi Yadav teaches Shoba Narayan about the application and design of mehndi, or henna, at the Dera Mandawa haveli in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Formerly a private mansion, the Dera Mandawa is now a hotel.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

A Quest to Master the Art of Henna

In anticipation of her daugher’s wedding, Shoba Narayan set out to hone her mendhi craft

A man stretches into a west-facing extension known as paschimattanasana with his son perched on his back in padmasana, or lotus pose | Varanasi

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Mind (and Body) Bending Photos Pay Homage to Yoga’s Classical Lineage

Photographer Michael O’Neill spent a decade documenting the practice that saved his life

Prayer flags in North Sikkim, where the author traveled in search of clues about his grandfather

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

One Man’s Epic Rail Journey to the Darjeeling Himalaya

A grandson retraces adventurer Francis K.I. Baird’s mysterious trek to a remote village near the India-Tibet border

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Nine Unique Gifts You Should Buy in Delhi

The embellished cave temples of Badami are among the earliest examples of rock-cut caves in southern India. The Chalukyas, who ruled over Deccan between the sixth and eighth centuries, oversaw the transition from rock-cut to freestanding, structural architecture.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

The Remarkable Cave Temples of Southern India

Deccan’s intricate monuments, many of which are carved into cliffs, date back to the sixth century

Cows graze near a huge replica of a dinosaur at the Balasinor fossil park. The area is littered with hundreds of dinosaur bones, teeth, skulls and eggs tens of millions of years old.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Meet India’s Dinosaur Princess

Aaliya Sultana Babi is doing everything in her power to protect and promote India’s most significant fossil park

The city of Jodhpur spills out below Mehrangarh Fort, once the residence of the royal family.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

The Fall and Rise of a Modern Maharaja

Born to a palace but stripped of his livelihood in the 1970s, Gaj Singh II created a new life dedicated to preserving royal Rajasthan

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Explore India’s vibrant history, picturesque locales and delicious eats

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Local Lens: Life on the Streets of Old Delhi

Instagram photographer Arjun Chhabra captures raw moments in the city’s alleyways and courtyards

Brightly colored trucks are parked near the village of Murthal, a popular stopping place for weary travelers in search of a good meal.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Looking for Delicious, Authentic Cooking in India? Head to a Truck Stop

Known as dhabas, these roadside eateries serving classic meals offer a glimpse into India’s culture and customs

Youngsters play soccer near a fort at the port of Korčula, which once served as the arsenal of the Venetian Empire in the Adriatic.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

The Old-World Charm of Venice’s Windy Sister City

On the Adriatic island of Korčula, where Venice once ruled, ancient habits and attitudes persist—including a tendency toward blissful indolence

A Byzantine-style motif is woven on 18th-century looms by the weavers of Bevilacqua. A winged lion is the symbol of St. Mark, the city’s patron saint, and of the city. Mario e Paola Bevilacqua, 337/b, San Marco, Fondamenta della Canonica.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

Nine Luxury Gifts You Can Only Find in Venice

Five hundred years ago, officials welcomed foreign Jews to Venice, but confined them to a seven-acre section of the Cannaregio district, a quarter soon known as the Ghetto after the Venetian word for copper foundry, the site’s previous tenant.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

The Centuries-Old History of Venice’s Jewish Ghetto

A look back on the 500-year history and intellectual life of one of the world’s oldest Jewish quarters

A 17th-century engraving of the revolutionary printer

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

The Man Who Changed Reading Forever

The Venetian roots of revolutionary modern book printer Aldus Manutius shaped books as we know them today

Scores of different spices, including these colorful peppercorns, are available at the Drogheria Mascari, a family-owned store that opened on the Ruga dei Spezieri (“street of the spice merchants”) in Venice in 1948.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

The Spice That Built Venice

The story of an import so prized, royals were literally rolling in it

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

The Beauty of Venice’s Everyday

Instagram photographer Alvise Giovannini discovers Venice beyond its iconic symbols and places

Friuli-Venezia Giulia’s vineyards benefit from the breezy, sunny microclimate created by their equidistance from the Austrian Alps to the north and the Adriatic Sea to the south.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

The Best Italian Wine Region You’ve Never Heard Of

The world does not yet come to the Friuli region, and so much the better

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