India GOThe Roerich trail in India: where the family lived and where the paintings hang
Nicholas Roerich came to the Himalaya in 1923, settled with his family in the Kullu valley at Naggar and died there in 1947. His younger son Svetoslav lived on in India, much of the time on an estate outside Bengaluru. The trail has four stops: the Naggar estate, two in Bengaluru (Chitrakala Parishath and the Tataguni estate, open only by permission) and Bharat Kala Bhavan in Varanasi.
Nicholas Roerich made India his home and his subject; his son Svetoslav stayed for life. Their trail runs the length of the country (from the Himalayan estate at Naggar down to an estate outside Bengaluru), and most of it can actually be visited.
Every place in the collection on the India GO map.
Open in India GOWho the Roerichs were, and why India
Nicholas Roerich (1874–1947) was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist and theosophist. With his wife Helena he set out the teaching of Agni Yoga, also called the Living Ethics, and he campaigned for the protection of art and monuments in wartime: the Roerich Pact, signed at the White House in April 1935, grew out of that campaign.
By 1919 the couple wanted to reach India as soon as they could. They reached the Himalaya in 1923, stayed first in Darjeeling and, after the long Central Asian expedition, settled in the Kullu valley. In 1928 they founded the Urusvati Institute of Himalayan Studies there. Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi visited the house in 1942. Roerich died in Kullu on 13 December 1947 and was cremated there.
Svetoslav Roerich (1904–1993), also a painter, made India his country: he married the film star Devika Rani in 1945, became an Indian citizen in 1960 and received the Padma Bhushan in 1961.
The four stops
Two are in Bengaluru; the other two are far to the north.
The Roerich estate, Naggar (Himachal Pradesh)
The family house among pines above the Kullu valley, now run by the International Roerich Memorial Trust, which Svetoslav Roerich and Devika Rani set up in 1992–93. The grounds hold the art gallery of Nicholas and Svetoslav, the memorial house, a museum of Svetoslav and Devika Rani, Nicholas Roerich's samadhi (the memorial at the place of cremation) with its plaque to the "great friend of India", the Urusvati building and a Himalayan folk art museum. Entry is ticketed, with a separate price for foreign nationals, and photography is not allowed inside.
Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru
Two permanent halls with 117 works by Nicholas and Svetoslav, given by Svetoslav in 1990 on the condition that they stay on show: the largest Roerich collection in the south of India. Full guide: Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.
Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi
The university museum on the Banaras Hindu University campus, founded in 1920, keeps a room of Roerich's Himalayan canvases among Mughal and Pahari miniatures and Gupta-period sculpture. Closed on Sundays and national holidays.
Tataguni estate, Bengaluru
Svetoslav Roerich and Devika Rani lived on this 456-acre estate on Kanakapura Road, south of the city. It is managed by a state board and has never been open for ordinary visits: access is by permission only. An art museum for about 240 Roerich paintings has been approved on the grounds but not built.
How to fit the trail into a trip
The trail runs the length of the country, so treat it as two trips.
North: Naggar. The usual way in is an evening HRTC Volvo from Delhi, about 12–14 hours up the valley, which drops you at dawn some 6 km below the village. The airport at Bhuntar, 32 km away, has only a few turboprop flights a week, and they are cancelled when the weather closes in. The valley is at its best in April–June and October–November; from July to mid-September flash floods can cut the roads, and December–January bring heavy snow. Varanasi is a separate trip: an overnight train from Delhi takes about 12–14 hours.
South: Bengaluru. Chitrakala Parishath sits in the city and needs only an entry ticket. For Tataguni, apply for permission before the trip rather than on the day. (Transport times as checked on 5 August 2026.)
❓ FAQ
Who was Nicholas Roerich?
A Russian painter, writer, archaeologist and theosophist (1874–1947), author of more than 7,000 paintings and of the Roerich Pact on protecting cultural monuments. He died in the Kullu valley in 1947.
Where did the Roerichs live in India?
From 1923 in Darjeeling, then from the late 1920s at Naggar in the Kullu valley. Svetoslav Roerich later lived with Devika Rani on the Tataguni estate outside Bengaluru.
Where are Roerich's original paintings kept?
Large collections are in Russia (among them the State Museum of Oriental Art and the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg) and at the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York. In India: the Naggar estate, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in Bengaluru, Bharat Kala Bhavan in Varanasi the Sree Chitra Art Gallery in Thiruvananthapuram, the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi and the Allahabad Museum.
Which planet is named after Nicholas Roerich?
The minor planet 4426 Roerich carries the family name, and a crater near the south pole of Mercury is named after him.
What religion did Nicholas Roerich follow?
No single one. He and Helena Roerich were theosophists, read Vedanta, the Bhagavad Gita and Buddhist texts, and together set out their own teaching, Agni Yoga or the Living Ethics, which combines Western and Eastern thought.