Top 10 Oldest Living Cities of India – Ancient Cities

India is very well known in the world as an oldest civilization. One of the oldest city in the world is Kashi or Varanasi- most importantly it is continuously inhabited up till now.
Every oldest city in India is situated on the bank of sacred rivers and famous for religious or spiritual activities. I have put together a list of the Top 10 oldest cities in India from Ancient Time.

Kashi – Banaras – Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Varanasi known as Banaras and Kashi, Is the oldest city in India, situated on the bank of holiest river of India “Ganges”. Kashi “The city of lights” is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in India and among the best cities for education and spirituality.

Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh

Ayodhya, situated on the banks of the Sarayu river and the first of the seven most important pilgrimage sites for Hindus – Sapta Puri. India’s religious leaders Gautama Buddha and Mahavira visited and lived in the city for many years.

Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

Ujjain is the modern name for Ujjayini, also known as Avanti is an ancient city of India, situated on the banks of holy river Kshipra. Ujjain stands glamorously among many other sacred and holy Indian cities with a Kumbh Mela destination and Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple.

Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Madurai is the second largest city of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest cities in India. The Temple City is famous for Meenakshi Temple, Koodal Azhagar Temple.
The temple complex houses 14 gopurams (gateway towers), tallest Vimana and one of the most prominent landmarks of the city.

Patna, Bihar

Pataliputra – Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, known as known as Pataliputra during ancient time and was the capital of the Magadha Empire.

The modern city Patna is situated on the bank of river Ganges and near by cities like Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodhgaya are also known to be the oldest and ancient cities of India.

Dwarka, Gujarat

Dwarka has the Dwarkadhish Temple dedicated to Krishna, one of the seven most ancient religious cities (Sapta Puri) in India. Dwarka has several notable temples, including Rukmini Devi Temple, Gomti Ghat, and Bet Dwarka.

Pushkar, Rajasthan

Pushkar is smallest but one of the oldest city in India, lies on the Shore of Pushkar Lake. City of Pushkar is famous as religious center and also known for oldest Brahma Temple and annual Camel Fair, India’s most popular Mela.

Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu

Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art, and architecture and was built by the Chola emperor. The Great Living Chola Temples is a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation for a group of Chola dynasty era Hindu temples.

Hampi, Karnataka

Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

Kanchipuram is city’s historical monuments include the Kailasanathar Temple and the Vaikunta Perumal Temple. Kanchipuram is one of the seven Tirtha (pilgrimage) sites, for spiritual release.