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India Travel Information

Almost all of the major airlines in the world have flights to the four major cities in India : Delhi , Mumbai ( Bombay ), Chennai ( Madras ) and Bangalore . There are several companies offering month long or week long tours that take visitors through the Golden Triangle ( Delhi , Agra and Jaipur), the bustling cities in the north, the exquisite temples of the south and into the houseboats anchored in the breathtaking backwaters of Kerala.

The world famous Taj Mahal in the city of Agra known for its beautiful architecture and romantic atmosphere can be reached via Delhi , the capital of India . Jaipur, also called the pink city is the capital of the state of Rajasthan. This city entertains tourists with its ornate palaces and exquisite jewelry, elephant rides and gemstone shops where shopaholics can get rubies, emeralds and sapphires at bargain prices. Mumbai, the ancient port of India with its gateway of India monument, Elephanta caves, Crawford market and Chor Bazaar is another favorite. Goa , a coastal city known for its sun, sand, food and drinks is also a haven for nude beachgoers.

For those visitors who wish to see examples of Indo-Aryan architecture, the Khajuraho temples with its erotic sculptures depicting scenes similar to those in the Kamasutra, the manual of love written around 2000 years ago. Going south, you can see the coastal paradise of Kerala, where lush coconut palms sway over houseboats lazing on breathtaking backwaters and the lure of Ayurveda and other ancient health remedies beckon the visitor to relax and rejuvenate away from all worries. The cuisine in each area is also very different and must be sampled. India was the country that taught the rest of the world the benefits of using spices in cooking. Most of the dishes have a combination of turmeric, cloves, cardamom, chillies, tamarind, black pepper, etc. Stay away from the roadside food stalls unless you have a strong constitution.

It has to offers places having rainfall maxima to dry deserts, snowy hills to scorching lands, markets selling all major international brands to cramped medieval-styled markets.

Its more than a billion people strong cultural cocktail is highly ‘spirited'.

Its not just sheet quantity of people but the quality of experience one can find here is mind boggling too. The number of languages, religions, festivals, gods, sub-cultures, food-habits, etc. that are practiced are not even known completely to a typical national. East, West, North and South states differ in lifestyles, languages, cultures as much as different countries differ! It all brews such a cocktail, on which a person once drunk, never loses her high, all through the life!

Add to all this a very rich bio-diversity, scientific advances from invention of zero to being a space and nuclear power now, a very rich mythology and the religious experience it has to offer, and one starts realizing that the possibilities are endless. Forget about exploring it all as a tourist, even people who live here all their lives are not able to live all the different life-experiences it has to offer.

And besides the amazingly beautiful things there are people—more than a billion of them! Sheer abundance of people and traditions and lack of resources at times, bogs you down. It makes living a challenging thing. Simplest of the things appear daunting to accomplish. Neither can it be described in words, nor are these write-ups an attempt towards the same. Such real-life experiences can only be lived and experienced in-person. Without these hassles it would lose its trademark uniqueness.

Welcome to India —the land of riches!

Delhi
Goa

Wildlife Activities

Natural areas

Food

Shopping

Adventure Activities
| For the more adventuresome, India has a wide variety of adventure sports to offer. The number and types of activities listed here are only indicative and not exhaustive. Less popular options of para-sailing (at Kalsi), para-gliding (at Manali), archery (at Kalsi), rappelling and mountain-biking (both at Sattal) are also available, besides the popular ones listed here.

Trekking

Skiing and Snowboarding

Rafting

Mountaineering

It is extremely difficult to provide the right perspective about India to non-Asians. This is because there is no single perspective. Every 50 km you travel in any direction will lead you to an ethnic and culturally different zone. What will remain common is that whichever direction you look, you will notice an unending sea of humanity.
Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. Colonised by the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century, India became an independent nation in 1947.
India is a republic consisting of 28 states and seven union territories with a parliamentary system of democracy. India has more than two thousand ethnic groups, and every major religion is represented. India measures 3,214 km from north to south and 2,993 km from east to west, with a population of close to 1.2 billion. Her population is 4 times as much as the US, living on an area about a third of its size. Let me put it in another form:

The population of Mumbai is more than that of Sweden and Denmark combined.
The number of people who travel by train daily is more than the population of Norway.
The number of people who eat just one meal a day is more than the population of Germany and the UK put together.
More people die every year in road accidents than 3 times the population of Monaco.
The Indian Railways employs more people than the population of Estonia.
You will often see a Hindu temple, a church and a mosque within an area of 1 km2.
Contrary to what you might have heard, Indians are very friendly and helpful people.