Introducing India ( My Country)

[Times]

With its mind-bending diversity - from snowcapped mountains to sun-washed beaches, crusty old bazaars to chichi designer boutiques, tranquil temples to feisty festivals, ramshackle rural villages to techno-savvy urban hubs - it’s hardly surprising that India has been dubbed the planet’s most multidimensional country.

The subcontinent is home to more than a billion people, and its eclectic melange of ethnic groups translates into an intoxicating cultural cocktail for the traveller. For those on a spiritual quest, India has oodles of sacrosanct sites and stirring philosophies, while history buffs will discover gems from the past almost everywhere - from grand vestiges of the British Raj peering over frenetic city streets, to battle-scarred forts rising from forlorn country fields. Meanwhile, lovers of the great outdoors can paddle in the shimmering waters of the palm-fringed beaches of Goa, scout for tigers on an adrenaline-pumping wildlife safari in Kanha National Park, or simply breathe the fresh air on a rejuvenating trek in Himachal Pradesh. And then there’s the food! From squidgy south Indian idlis (rice dumplings) to zesty north Indian curries, travellers are treated to a positively seductive smorgasbord of subcontinental specialities.

( from Lonely Planet)

[Times]

Now I will go ahead with the Places of tourist importance India.

AGRA

Agra’s magnificent white marble Taj Mahal stands like a bulbous beacon, drawing tourists like moths to a wondrous flame. Despite the hype, it’s every bit as good as you’ve heard. While Agra itself is a sprawling, bloated and polluted industrial city that few travellers seem to have a good word for, the Taj is not a stand-alone attraction. The legacy of the Mughal empire has left a magnificent fort and a sprinkling of fascinating tombs and mausoleums, while the Yamuna River provides a suitably sacred backdrop. The Mughal emperor Babur established his capital here in 1526, and for the next century Agra witnessed a remarkable spate of architectural activity as each emperor tried to outdo the grandiose monuments built by his predecessors.

The city has a lively but chaotic chowk (marketplace) and plenty of places to stay and eat, but the hordes of rickshaw-wallahs, touts, unofficial guides and souvenir vendors can be as persistent as the monsoon rain.

[Times]

Ajmer

Jagged, pale blue hills hide the calm waters of Ana Sagar and the bustling, friendly Muslim pilgrimage city of Ajmer. Due largely to the pull of Pushkar, the fascinating shrine of Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti, is sadly, overlooked by most foreign visitors to Rajasthan.

Sacked by Mohammed of Ghori on one of his periodic forays from Afghanistan, and later favoured by the mighty Mughals, Ajmer once had considerable strategic importance. One of the first contacts between the Mughals and the British occurred in Ajmer, when Sir Thomas Roe met Jehangir here in 1616. Later the Scindias took the city, and in 1818 it was handed over to the British, becoming one of the few places in Rajasthan that they directly controlled.

The British set up Mayo College here in 1875, a prestigious school on sprawling grounds, exclusively for the Indian nobility. Today it’s open to all boys (whose parents can afford the fees).

[Times]

Alappuzha (Alleppey)

A slice of Venice in the heart of Kerala, Alleppey is a mix of shady streets set around a grid of canals spilling into the vast watery highways of the region. The most popular place to organise a foray into the backwaters, this is the base for most of the houseboat-action in Kerala (and even more houseboat agents), and home to the famous Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race. It’s worth stopping in Alleppey to soak in some tropical village life before making a beeline for the backwaters.

[Times]

Amritsar

Founded in 1577 by the fourth guru Ram Das, Amritsar is home to Sikhism’s holiest shrine the Golden Temple. The gold-plated gurdwara glitters in the middle of its holy pool like a huge bullion bar, a sight that some visitors rate alongside the Taj Mahal – particularly after experiencing the surrounding old city’s frenetic lanes. In contrast to the old city, the internet cafés, hotels and eateries in Amritsar’s modern areas are as slick as the state capital.

The original site for the city was granted by the Mughal emperor Akbar, but another Mughal, Ahmad Shah Durani, sacked Amritsar in 1761 and destroyed the temple. It was rebuilt in 1764, and in 1802 was roofed with gilded copper plates by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and become known as the Golden Temple.

[Times]

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Once known as Kalapani – Black Waters – for their role as a feared penal settlement, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are now a relaxed tropical island outpost that belongs to India but is geographically closer to Southeast Asia. Superb, near-deserted beaches, incredible corals and marine life, an intriguing colonial past and the remnants of a Stone Age culture lure travellers to these mysterious islands, 1000km off the east coast of India in the Bay of Bengal.

Until the beginnings of colonial rule, the islands were populated mainly by indigenous peoples, but today the majority of the Andamans’ population are mainland settlers or their descendants who live in and around Port Blair, the capital, on South Andaman. The territory comprises 572 tropical islands (of which 36 are inhabited), with unique wildlife and lush forests, although the Nicobar Islands are off-limits to tourists.

[Times]

Badami

Looking at the scuffy village today, it’s difficult to believe that Badami was once the capital of the Chalukya empire, which covered much of the central Deccan between the 4th and 8th centuries AD. However, climb up into the red sandstone ridge and explore the magnificent rock-cut cave temples surrounding the village, and you’ll find ample evidence of Badami’s former status.

Nearby Aihole hosted the earliest Chalukya capital; later the site was moved to Badami, with a secondary capital in Pattadakal. The result of this relocation is that the whole area around Badami is liberally scattered with ancient temples. Badami is the best base for taking in all these sites; a day or two should cover it.

[Times]

Bandipur National Park

About 80km south of Mysore on the Ooty road, the Bandipur National Park (Indian/foreigner Rs 50/150) covers 880 sq km and is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which includes the sanctuaries of Nagarhole, Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu and Wayanad in Kerala. It was once the Mysore maharajas’ private wildlife reserve and is home to over 5000 Asiatic elephants – a fifth of the world’s population.

Bandipur is also noted for herds of gaurs (Indian bison), chitals (spotted deer), sambars, panthers, sloth bears and langurs. More than 80 tigers reportedly roam here, but they’re rarely seen. The vegetation is a hodgepodge of deciduous and evergreen forest and scrubland. The best time to see wildlife is March to April, but November to February has the most temperate climate.

[Times]

Bengaluru (Bangalore)

Rebranded Bengaluru in November 2006, the city more commonly known as Bangalore is not an obvious charmer. The crazy traffic, associated pollution and creaking infrastructure of this IT boom town will fast drive you demented. However, even though locals rarely sing Bengaluru’s praises as a tourist destination, it’s not a dead loss. There are a handful of interesting sights, the climate is benevolent, the city’s reputation for green spaces is well deserved, and the youthful energy and imagination (not to mention disposable income) of the ITocracy fuels a progressive dining, drinking and shopping scene – one of the best in India, in fact.

[Times]

Bikaner

Bikaner is a vibrant, dust-swirling desert town with a fabulous fort, a refreshing outpost feel and a burgeoning tourist trade. Close to the fort lies the rickety old walled city, a medieval maze of narrow, dark and uneven streets decorated with rubbish heaps, medicine men, gambling dens, dark-red sand*stone havelis and some exquisitely painted Jain temples.

Bikaner was founded in 1488 by Rao Bika, a descendant of Jodha, Jodhpur’s founder, and was another important staging post on the great caravan trade routes. When the British arrived centuries later, the state of Bikaner exchanged its finest camels for its freedom.

[davidchimwaza]

mumbai is india.

[shubhranshu]

Nice efort. India has so many places of tourists interest that it seems almost impossible to list all without missing any. Selection of these spots depends upon specific personal interest and season.

[Times]

Bodhgaya

Buddhist pilgrims from around the world are drawn to Bodhgaya. It was here, 26 centuries ago, that Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment beneath a bodhi tree and so became the Buddha. A beautifully serene temple marks the spot and a descendent of that original Bodhi Tree remains, its roots happily clutching the same soil as its celebrated ancestor.

Monasteries and temples, built by international Buddhist communities, are peppered around and attract pilgrims to study, meditate and absorb the ambience. Bodhgaya is not so much a town as a true Buddhist working centre surrounded by farmland and rural villages, but it has the best range of accommodation and eating in Bihar and the attendant accumulation of tourist paraphernalia and souvenir stalls.

[Times]

Calangute & Baga

Calangute and Baga were the first beaches to attract hippies travelling overland in the ’60s, then the first to secure the rampant package- and charter-tourist market in the ’90s. Today they are India’s ‘kiss me quick’ hat capital and the most popular beach resorts in the country with holidaying Indians. For many people it’s just a busy, noisy and tacky Indian Costa del Sol and the thought of spending a single night here is enough to make them shudder. For others, the very fact that it is so alien to anything else in India is an attraction in itself, there’s certainly no denying that the town has a certain character to it and, if you’re searching for a glimpse of how the much-hyped ‘New India’ holidays, then here she is in all her glory.

Calangute is more of a bucket-and-spade family holiday destination while Baga, up near the mouth of the river, is popular with those wanting to drink, dance and get rowdy. For something a bit more chilled out take a room at the southern end of Calangute, towards Candolim, or among the last remaining patches of greenery on the north side of the Baga River.

[Times]

Chennai (Madras)

Chennai has neither the cosmopolitan, prosperous air of Mumbai (Bombay), the optimistic buzz of Bengaluru (Bangalore) or the historical drama of Delhi. It’s muggy, polluted, hot as hell and difficult to get around. Traditional tourist attractions are few. Even the movie stars are, as one Chennaiker put it, ‘not that hot’.

But the locals are a little friendlier than average here, the streets a little wider and, in spite of its booming IT, business-outsourcing and auto industries, the pace much slower than in most Indian cities half its size. Chennai is so modest you wouldn’t even know it’s an economic powerhouse, much less a queen of showbiz: India’s fourth-largest city is also its most humble.