Introducing India ( My Country)

[Times]

Coonoor

Coonoor is one of the three Nilgiri hill stations – Ooty, Kotagiri and Coonoor – that lie above the southern plains.

Climbing up out of the busy market area and looking down over the sea of red tile rooftops to the slopes behind, there’s a strong sense of what hill stations were originally all about: peace, cool climate and some beautiful scenery. Although smaller than Ooty, Coonoor’s centre doesn’t come across as being any less busy, especially the area around the train station, bus stand and market, which is a bustling, choking mess with tenacious touts. Thankfully you leave all this behind at your accommodation, most of which is in quieter Upper Coonoor, 1km to 2km above the town centre.

[Times]

Corbett Tiger Reserve

This famous reserve (15 Nov-15 Jun) was established in 1936 as India’s first national park. Originally called Hailey National Park, then Ramganga National Park, it was renamed in 1957 after the legendary tiger hunter, Jim Corbett (1875–1955), who put Kumaon on the map with his book The Man-Eaters of Kumaon. The British hunter was greatly revered by local people for shooting tigers that had developed a taste for human flesh, but he eventually shot more wildlife with his camera than with his gun.

The reserve Jim Corbett established inspired the India-wide Project Tiger programme which started in 1973 and saw the creation of 22 other reserves. However, sightings are down to chance as the 130 or so tigers in the reserve are neither baited nor tracked. Your best chance of spotting a tiger is late in the season (April to mid-June) when the forest cover is low and animals come out in search of water.

[Times]

Dalhousie

Dalhousie is another of those ‘little pieces of England’ that the British left behind after Independence. Since Independence, the colonial mansions have been joined by the posh Dalhousie Public School and numerous modern hotels catering to honeymooners from the plains. There isn’t much to do but stroll and admire the views, which is rather the point of coming here.

Quite a few Tibetan refugees have made a home in Dalhousie and there are painted rock carvings of Buddhist deities along the south side of the ridge. You can also visit the British-*era churches of St John and St Francis, set amongst the pines at opposite ends of the ridge. Pony rides can be arranged for about Rs 100 per hour.

[Times]

Daman

The ex-Portuguese enclave of Daman is like Diu’s feral cousin – a wild-eyed resort town on a grey, soupy sea that ain’t no tropical paradise. There is the piquancy of old Portugal here though, in the fine forts and churches (the evening services are spiritually charming), and a booze-soaked whimsy (to be sure, to be sure) that attracts exiles from Mumbai and feni-filled Gujarati thrill-seekers swaying harder than the palms on nearby Devka Beach.

Along with Diu and Goa, Daman was taken in 1961 from the Portuguese, who had seized in 1531. The Portuguese had been officially ceded the region by Bahadur Shah, the last major Gujarati sultan, in 1559. For a time Daman and Diu were governed from Goa but both now constitute the Union Territory of Daman and Diu, overseen by Delhi.

[Times]

Darjeeling

Draped over a steep mountain ridge, surrounded by tea plantations and backed by a splendid Himalayan panorama, the archetypal hill station of Darjeeling is rightly West Bengal’s premier drawcard. When you aren’t gazing at Khangchendzonga (8598m), you can explore colonial mansions and churches, Buddhist and Hindu temples, botanical gardens and a zoo for Himalayan fauna. The steep narrow streets are crowded with colourful souvenir and handicraft shops, and a good steaming brew and excellent Indian and Tibetan fare are never far away. For the adventurous there are superb treks which trace ancient trade routes and provide magnificent viewpoints.

Most tourists visit after the monsoon (October and November) and during spring (mid-March to the end of May) when skies are dry, panoramas are clear and temperatures are pleasant.

[Times]

Dehra Dun

Blessed with a moderate climate, the capital of Uttarakhand is best known for the institutions the British left behind – the huge Forest Research Institute Museum, the Indian Military Academy, the Wildlife Institute of India and the Survey of India.

What was once a green and pleasant town of rice and tea gardens has morphed into a hectic, congested city, and considering Rishikesh and Mussoorie are both only an hour away, most travellers merely pass through. But Dehra Dun is worth a stop for its lively Paltan bazaar, vibrant Tibetan community and energetic vibe.

[Times]

Delhi

Delhi – with its tenacious touts and crush of mechanical and human traffic – can be downright confronting and confounding for the first-time visitor. But don’t let petulant first impressions muddy the plus points of this truly multidimensional metropolis. Scratch beyond the gritty surface and you’ll swiftly discover that India’s capital is sprinkled with glittering gems: captivating ancient monuments, magnificent museums, a vivacious performing-arts scene and some of the subcontinent’s yummiest places to eat.

A vibrant melting pot, you’ll hear a jumble of vernaculars spoken in Delhi, the most common being Hindi, English, Punjabi and Urdu. In terms of its layout, Delhi encapsulates two very different worlds, the ‘old’ and the ‘new’, each presenting deliciously different experiences. Spacious New Delhi was built as the imperial capital of India by the British; rambunctious Old Delhi served as the capital of Islamic India. Visitors can easily dip into both, spending half the day immersing themselves in history at the dramatic Red Fort, Jama Masjid and medieval-flavoured bazaars of Old Delhi, and the other half reviving themselves over frothy cappuccinos or frosty cocktails at one of New Delhi’s swanky cafés and bars. Furthermore, Delhi’s recent global cuisine revolution means that hungry travellers can now feast on everything from meaty Mughlai curries and plump South Indian idlis (rice cakes), to crispy wood-fired pizzas and squishy sashimi.

[Times]

Dharamsala

Dharamsala (pronounced Dharamsala) is best known as the home of the Dalai Lama. In fact, the Tibetan government in exile is based just uphill in Gangchen Kyishong, and most travellers stay uphill in the busy little traveller town of McLeod Ganj. Dharamsala itself has a good museum and a busy bazaar, but most people only come here to catch a bus.

The State Bank of India (10am-4pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat) accepts travellers cheques and changes cash and there’s an ATM in the main bazaar. The Himachal Emporium (224185; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat) on the main road sells Kullu shawls and Tibetan carpets for Rs 3500 upwards.

[Times]

Diu

What is Diu? For better or worse, this tiny ex-Portuguese island is the reason most travellers come to Gujarat. And while it might not quite be the tropical paradise they imagined, it has a quirky charm that will tame you from asking too many questions.

Diu also has fine beaches, whitewashed churches, an imposing fort, colourful Lisboa streets, a gorgeous climate, lush seafood and giggly Gujarati weekenders who flock for the cheap booze and sunshine. Plus it’s the safest place to ride a scooter in all of India, with minimum traffic and excellent roads.

[Times]

Dwarka

Dwarka literally feels like the end of the earth. This remote pilgrimage town at the extreme western tip of the Kathiawar peninsula is one of the four most holy Hindu sites in India – Krishna is said to have set up his capital here after fleeing from Mathura. It’s a well-organised town, busy with pilgrims and farmers. Men wear white clothes and red turbans, and both men and women are weighed down with gold nugget-like jewellery. It gets packed with pilgrims at festival times. Archaeological excavations have revealed five earlier cities lying just off the coast – submerged as the sea encroached.

The town swells to breaking point for Janma*stami in August/September in celebration of Krishna’s birthday.

[travelgeek]

If I'm coming from Malaysia by flight, where should I land at to visit these places ?

[seoitc]

Lovely introduction of your country and impressed me alot. There are dozens beautiful cities and good place for travelers.

[Times]

Elephanta Island

In the middle of Mumbai Harbour, 9km northeast of the Gateway of India, the rock-cut temples on Elephanta Island (Indian/foreigner Rs 10/250; caves 9am-5.30pm Tue-Sun) are a spectacle worth crossing the waters for. Home to a labyrinth of cave-temples carved into the basalt rock of the island, the artwork represents some of the most impressive temple carving in all India. The main Shiva-dedicated temple is an intriguing latticework of courtyards, halls, pillars and shrines, with the magnum opus a 6m tall statue of Sadhashiva – depicting a three-faced Shiva as the destroyer, creator and preserver of the universe. The enormous central bust of Shiva, its eyes closed in eternal contemplation, may be the most serene sight you witness in India.

The temples are thought to have been created between AD 450 and 750, when the island was known as Gharapuri (Place of Caves). The Portuguese renamed it Elephanta because of a large stone elephant near the shore, which collapsed in 1814 and was moved by the British to Mumbai’s Victoria Gardens.

[Times]

Ellora

The World Heritage–listed Ellora cave temples (244440; Kailasa Temple; Indian/foreigner Rs 10/US$5; dawn-dusk Wed-Mon), about 30km from Aurangabad, are the pinnacle of Deccan rock-cut architecture.

Over five centuries, generations of monks (Buddhist, Hindu and Jain) carved monasteries, chapels and temples from a 2km-long escarpment and decorated them with a profusion of remarkably detailed sculptures. Because of the escarpment’s gentle slope, in contrast with the sheer drop at Ajanta, many of the caves have elaborate courtyards in front of the main shrines. The masterpiece is the breathtaking Kailasa Temple (Cave 16). Dedicated to Shiva, it is the world’s largest monolithic sculpture, hewn from the rock by 7000 labourers over a 150-year period.

[Times]

Introducing Faizabad & Ayodhya

The chaotic central UP town of Faizabad, once the capital of Avadh, is primarily a base and jumping-off point for the auspicious Hindu and Jain religious centre of Ayodhya, 7km to the east. Being the birthplace of Rama, Ayodhya is one of Hinduism’s seven holy cities, but it is also where five Jain tirthankars (holy men) were born. The Atharvaveda described Ayodhya as ‘a city built by gods and being as prosperous as paradise itself’, but today it’s just a dusty pilgrimage town full of temples and monkeys.

Ayodhya became tragically synonymous with Hindu extremism when in 1992 rioting Hindus tore down the Babri Masjid, a mosque built by the Mughals in the 15th century, which they claimed stood on the site of an earlier Rama temple. They put up Ram Janam Bhumi in its place. Following tit-for-tat reprisals, the problem has not been resolved and the Supreme Court has ordered archaeological investigations at the site to verify whether the Hindu claims are correct.