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Vacations India.

The Republic of India [ South Asia ]

States and union territories in India: Andaman and Nicobar Islands [UT], Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh [UT], Dadra and Nagar Haveli [UT], Daman and Diu [UT], Delhi [UT], Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachel Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep [UT], Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry [UT], Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.

Cities in India: Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram

India shares its borders with Pakistan, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan.

Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia are nearby island nations in the Indian Ocean.

Capital City of India: Delhi / New Delhi


car rental, hostels, hotels, tour operator, travel guides, transportation / traveling to india

links


Car Rental India

 Avis Car Rental  -  all over Inia
 Europcar  -  Bangalore, Ekattuthangal, Mumbai ,New Delhi, New Delhi airport
 Herz

Hostels India

 Hostelbookers.com  -  Great Hostels, Free booking, Fast & Easy to use
Hostelbookers.com is one of the worlds largest online booking services for hostels. All hostels you see here are offering realtime prices and availability.
 Youth Hostel Association of India

Hotels in India

 Bookings - Hotels in India 
Hotels in New Delhi, Bombay, Chennai, Calcutta, Darjeeling, Kovalam, Jaipur, Bangalore and Madurai; Airport Hotels India: Chhatrapati Shivaji Intl ( BOM ), Indira Gandhi Intl ( DE ), Chennai Intl ( MAA ), Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International ( CCU )

More hotels? See the page Hotels

National Park

 Corbett National Park

Tour Operators / Travel Agents



Travel Guides India / Related books

Lonely Planet India
by Sarina Singh (Author), Joe Bindloss (Author)
Paperback: 1228 pages; Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 12 edition (September 2007); Language: English; ISBN-10: 1741043085; ISBN-13: 978-1741043082
Frommer's India
by Pippa de Bruyn (Author), Niloufer Venkatraman (Author), Keith Bain (Author)
Paperback: 592 pages; Publisher: Frommers; 2 edition (February 27, 2006); Language: English; ISBN-10: 0764598996; ISBN-13: 978-0764598999
 City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi - William Dalrymple
As Dalrymple's first book, "In Xanadu", traversed thousands of miles, now he traverses thousands of years. In the course of 12 months in Delhi, he peels back the successive encrusting layers of history, using both material and human remains of each of the eight cities of Delhi, interlacing innumerable stories with the present and ending with the Delhi creation myth contained in the great Indian epic "The Mahabharata".
Paperback 352 pages (April 11, 1994); Publisher: Flamingo
 India in Slow Motion - by Mark Tully, Gillian Wright
This text travels to 10 different sacred places in India: five are Hindu; the other five represent each of the world's other great religions. Covering subjects such as Hindu extremism, bonded child labour, Sufi mysticism, the crisis in agriculture, political corruption and the problem of Kashmir, the author paints a picture of India that is at once poignant, funny, startling and humane.
Paperback 320 pages (November 27, 2003); Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
 Eco-tourism paradise: Andaman & Nicobar Islands - C. P Oberai
Unknown Binding 218 pages (2000); Publisher: B.R. Pub. Corp.; ISBN: 8176461377

Transport / How do I travel to India

 Amritsar  -  northwest India
 Bangalore Airport [ BLR ]
 Calcutta / Kolkata  -  northeast India
 Chennai [ MAA ]  -  southeast India
 Delhi Airport  -  Indira Ghandi International Airport
20 km from downtown Connaught Place
 Guwahati
 Hyderabad
 Mumbai [ BOM ]  -  west India 
 Thiruvananthapuram  -  south India

 Airports Authority of india

 Emirates US 
Flight tickets Bangalore [ Karnataka ], Flight tickets Delhi, Flight tickets Hyderabad [ Andhra Pradesh ], Flight tickets Kochi / Cochin [ Kerala ], Flight tickets Kolkata [ West Bengal ], Flight tickets Kozhikode / Calicut [ Kerala ], Flight tickets Mumbai [ Maharashtra ], Flight tickets Thiruvananthapuram [ Karala ].

 Air India  -  Flight tickets India

 Airline Tickets / Bargain Flights  -  Flights to India

Delhi is the hub of the Indian Railways network with Express trains to all parts of the country. Shatabdi Express airconditioned fast tourist train operates to Bhopal (via Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi), Lucknow (via Kanpur) and Chandigarh, and provides access to some of the neighboring tourist centres.

Delhi is serviced by two lines, broad and meter gauge and has three major railway stations, Delhi Main (receives both broad and meter gauge trains), New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin. Delhi Main Railways Station is 6 km from Downtown, New Delhi is about 1 km and Nizamuddin 5 km.

  Indian Railways Online Passenger Reservation Site
Train Schedule, Internet Reservation, Time Schedules, Fares, Trains and more
 Palace on Wheels  -  luxury train
Palace-on-Wheels has been rated amongst the top ten luxury trains of the world. India boasts of other luxury trains too like the Royal Orient and the Fairy Queen. It happens to be one of the finest ways to travel through the intoxicating, incomparable, incredible, impressive, inimitable, inspirational land of India.
 Southern Railways

Delhi is linked by bus services, airconditioned, deluxe and ordinary, to all major destinations in north India. Delhi Transport Corporation and Road Transport Corporations of neighboring States provide frequent bus services.

 Inter State Bus Terminus, the focus of all inter-city bus services
Located at Kashmiri Gate, 7 km from Downtown. Taxis, auto and cycle rickshaws, City Bus Service and Night Bus Services are available at the ISBT for transfers.

 ISBT General Enquiry
 Delhi Trasport Corporation (DTC)
DTC operates an extensive network of city bus service in Delhi covering all areas of the city and suburbs
 Haryana Roadways
 Punjab Roadways
 Himachal Road Transport Corporation
 Rajasthan Roadways
 U.P. Roadways

 Map of India [ Uni Texas - Perry-Castañeda Bibliothek - Map Collection ]


Links 

 Travel Insurance

 Tourism of India

 Government  -  Directory of official web sites of Government of India
A one-point source to know all about Indian Government websites at all levels and from all sectors: Executive,  Legislature, Judiciary, States & UT's, Districts, Institutions / Organizations and more

 Government  -  Prime Minister India

 Government  -  President of India

 New Delhi  -  Government New-Delhi

 Andaman Nicobar Tourism  -  with Capital City Port Blair
Since pre-historic times, these islands have been the home of aboriginal tribes. But the first settlement by the British took place in 1789, which was later abandoned in 1796. The second settlement was basically a penal settlement, taken up in 1858, the year after the First War of Indian Independence, followed by the settlement of convicts, some criminal tribes from Central and United Provinces, refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well as ex-servicemen.
 Andhra Pradesh
 Arunachal Pradesh
 Assam
 Bihar
 Chandigarh [ UT ]
 Dadra en Nagar Haveli [ UT ]
 Daman en Diu [ UT ]
 Delhi [ UT ]
 Goa
 Gujarat
 Haryana
 Himachel Pradesh
 Jammu en Kashmir
 Karnataka
 Kerala, South India  -  God's Own Country  -  Government of Kerala
Occupying a narrow strip of India's southwestern coast. Kerala is divided into three regions: Highland or Mountain region, midland or the rolling hillsand lowland or the coastal plain land.
National Geographic Society described Kerala as one of the 50 must-see destinations of a lifetime. Kochi, the commercial capital of the state is known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea. Alapuzha, the first planned town in Kerala is called the Venice of the East.
 Lakshadweep [ UT ]
 Madhya Pradesh
 Maharashtra
 Manipur
 Meghalaya
 Mizoram
 Nagaland
 Orissa
 Pondicherry [ UT ]
 Punjaab
 Rajasthan
 Sikkim
 Tamil Nadu  -  Government of Tamil Nadu Web Site
 Tamil Nadu Maps  -  Info about Tami Nadu
Districts: Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Kancheepuram, Kanyakumari, Karur, Madurai, Nagapattinam, Namakkal, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Salem, Sivaganga, Thanjavur, Nilgiris, Theni, Thiruvallur, Thiruvannamalai, Thiruvarur, Tirunelveli, Trichirappalli, Tuticorin, Vellore, Villupuram, Virudhunagar
 Tripura
 Uttar Pradesh  -  see the City of Kushinagar
 West Bengal

 Agra Fort
Within a radius of 3 kilometres, on the banks of the river Yamuna, rises the crescent-like Agra Fort. Designed and built by Akbar in 1565 A.D., the fort is surrounded by a 70 foot high wall. It houses the beautiful Pearl Mosque and numerous palaces including the Jahangiri Mahal, Diwan-i-khas, Diwan-i-Am and Moti Masjid.
 Ajmer
 Amritsar
 Bangalore  -  Garden City of India  -  Capital City Of Karnataka State
Fifth largest city in India and popular due to the wonderful mild, healthy climate and warm cosmopolitans who make the city what it is. The city offers itself as an ideal base to explore the fascinating and culturally rich state of Karnataka. Visitors will find the ruins of the once powerful Vijayanagar empire, the sculpted wonders of Belur and Halebid, the awesome mausoleum of Bijapur and much more within easy reach.
Bangalore is also known as the silicon valley of India due to its wide acceptance of the fast growing cyber world.
Popular Tourist Spots:VidhanaSoudha, Lalbagh, Cubbon Park, General Post Office,  Banarghatta National Park, M.G Road, Commercial Street, Brigade Road, Shoppers Stop, Planetarium, Musical Fountain, Temples and many more
Popular Tourist Spots Outside Bangalore city limits: Nandhi hills , Pearl Valley, Mysore, Ranganthittu, Srirangapatna, Nagarahole, Bandipur National Park, Big Banyan Tree
 Bharatpur 
 Bhopal 
 Calcutta
Fort William, Victoria Memorial, Raj Bhavan, Palladian villas and the Botanical Gardens, the busy streets of Shyambazar, College Street and Kalighat, bookshops, art galleries, coffee houses  all are part of Calcutta's varied and vibrant shades, the birthplace of Rabindranath Tagore and cradle of the Indian Renaissance
 Chandigarh 
 Chennai  -  Capital City Tamil Nadu  -  Gateway of South India
Chennai, the largest city in southern India located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, developed after 1639 when the British East India Company established a fort and trading post at the small fishing village of Chennai.
 Delhi/New Delhi - Delhi is the main gateway city for northern India
 Gwalior 
 Jaipur
 Jammu
 Jodhpur
 Kota
 Lucknow
 Madras / Chennai  -  Capital City Tamil Nadu  - Gateway of South India
The largest city in southern India located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, developed after 1639 when the British East India Company established a fort and trading post at the small fishing village of Chennai.
 Mumbai
Mumbai a cluster of seven islands, derives its name from Mumbadevi, the patron goddess of the Koli fisher folk, its oldest inhabitants. 
Once a Portuguese princess' dowry and later an adornment of neo-gothic British architecture, Mumbai today, is more than just a metropolis. It is infact an enigma of mud huts & sky- scrapers, age old traditions & high fashions, the industrialists' heaven & movie makers' hollywood.
 Pathankot
 Shimla
 Srinagar
 Thiruvananthapuram  -  City of the Holy Serpent
The city of the thousand-headed Anantha, the holy serpent on which Lord Vishnu reclines, Thiruvananthapuram is one of the most beautiful cities of India. Perched on undulating terrain of low coastal hills near the southern edge of the Indian mainland, clean and green, Thiruvananthapuram, which was previously called Trivandrum, is an ancient city with trading tradition dating back to 1000 BC.
It is an excellent base to explore the interiors of Kerala, the southernmost region of India, and from Kochi, the Lakshadweep Islands. The city offers all modern facilities needed by a visitor and is a centre for cultural activities.
 Udaipur
 Varanasi

 Bollywood Music
 Hindi MP3  -  Hindi music
 Hindunet
 Hindiwood
 India Today  -  magazine
 PBS  -  Living Edens  -  mountain range Anamalai
Rising from the hot, dusty plains of Southern India is a mountain range called Anamalai, which means "The Elephant Mountain." This intimate portrait of life in Anamalai begins with the birth of a baby elephant, following it through its first year of life under the ever-watchful eye of its mother and its large extended family. The program also tells the story of the other animals that share this mountain sanctuary and the role of the elephant in creating and maintaining this unique Eden
 Societeit 'India International' in New Delhi
 Times of India  -  Indian daily

Cuisine - Indian Foods / Recipes

 A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food  -  K.T. Achaya
Outside India Indian food is popular the world over, from Tokyo to Telford and from Canberra to California. For centuries India has produced an unusually diverse cuisine. The food of the 17 states that make up India is as varied as the food of the countries of Europe. It was in India that the Aryan cultural ethos flowered, bringing to every area of human activity, including food and dietetics, a spiritual and moral dimension. It was on Indian soil that immigrants from many different cultures and traditions came together - Persians, Muslims, and Europeans - creating a food culture which, enlivened by distinctive regional nuances, is among the greatest in the world. This Dictionary provides, in A-Z format, a huge amount of information on the food, the food culture, recipes, and cuisine of India. It covers areas such as history, literature, botany, genetics, and archaeology and places Indian food in time and context. The country's oldest accounts in Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil, and Kannada , have been drawn upon extensively, as have the writings of visitors to India. Details covered include migration of food plants from the New World to India through European influences and their rapid integration into Indian cuisine. The text is extensively cross-referenced allowing readers to browse entries. In addition to the A-Z text the book contains extra material such as an index of authors, literary works, and historical people, indexes of Indian words and Latin names, and a list of headwords with page numbers.
Paperback 364 pages (January 9, 2003); Publisher: OUP India; Language: English; ISBN: 019565868X
 The Classic 1000 Indian Recipes  -  C. Humphries
The grand tour of Indian cuisine - all in one top-value cookbook. With enough range to prepare any variety of Indian meal, this comprehensive cookery collection now boasts high-quality, full-colour photographs. From classic favourites to exotic regional specialities, this is handy for everything from salads and snacks to special dinner parties, and includes all the most popular favourites. Offering this kind of quality, style and value, it's a must-have for your cookery shelves.
Paperback 464 pages (March 14, 2002); Publisher: Foulsham; Language: English; ISBN: 0572028075
 Indian Food Guide  -  recipes
 Cuisine of India [ Wikipedia ]
Regional Indian cuisines; Staple ingredients and spices, Regional specialties [ Other famous Indian dishes & Some sweets and desserts ], Indian food abroad
 Savoring the Spice Coast of India: Fresh Flavors from Kerala - Maya Kaimal
Hardcover 240 pages (August 2000); Publisher: Morrow Cookbooks; Language: English; ISBN: 0060192577

History of India

India is home to some of the most ancient civilizations and has given birth to four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago and developed into the Indus Valley Civilization, which peaked between 2600 BC and 1900 BC.

The country was a part of the British Empire before gaining independence in 1947.

 Indias History  -  Wikipedia
Prehistory, Indus Valley Civilisation and the coming of Aryans, Shishunaga Dynasty, Rise of Jainism and Buddhism, Mauryan Period, Shunga Period, Classical Age, Pallavas, Chalukya Empire, Chola Empire, Vijayanagar Empire, Islamic rule, Mughal Dynasty, Colonial India [ British, Portuguese, French, The Dutch, The Danes ], British India, 1947 Onwards
 The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity - Amartya Sen
India is a large and very diverse country with many distinct pursuits, vastly different convictions, widely divergent customs, and a veritable feast of viewpoints. The Argumentative Indian brings together an illuminating selection of writings from Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen that outline the need to understand contemporary India in the light of its long argumentative tradition. The understanding and use of this rich argumentative tradition are critically important, Sen argues, for the success of India's democracy, the defence of its secular politics, the removal of inequalities related to class, caste, gender and community, and the pursuit of sub-continental peace.
Hardcover 256 pages (June 2, 2005); Publisher: Allen Lane; Language: English; ISBN: 0713996870
 Timeline India  -  Wikipedia
 Pepper Trail  -  The trail of history, tradition and cuisine of Kerala.
Please come through this Peppertrail to the corner of the pepper country, the old kingdom of Kochi, in central Kerala. Black pepper, the most widely used spice in the world, is native to my home state of Kerala, located at the southwestern tip of India. Centuries ago black pepper attracted many foreign traders to our shores. This long history of foreign trade had considerable impact on our agriculture, cuisine and to a certain extent even on our language. Both the Nayars (hereditary warriors) and the Royalty of Kerala still continue to observe the ceremonial aspects of the ancient matrilineal system. Let me introduce you through this web site to our ancient cultural traditions, fascinating food history and our delicious and simple cuisine.
 Kerala & Travancore
The Dutch did not have a major presence in India. The towns of Travancore were ruled by the Dutch. They trained the military of the princely state of Kerala.
 Tranquebar
Tranquebar was a Danish colony in India, from 1620-1845, founded by the Danish East India Company. It is spelled Trankebar or Trangebar in Danish, which came from the native Tamil, Tarangambadi. It was sold to Britain in 1845.
 Tranquebar: A Season in South India  -  Georgina Harding
Now a fishing village on the Coromandel Coast of India, Tranquebar was once the chief Danish colony in Asia . Intrigued by its dual identity, the author spent a winter there with her baby son, and describes it today - a village reclaimed by an India that appears careless of its legacy, its history, its decaying colonial buildings now occupied by rich Muslims and rival Christian missions, and even of the Hindu temple that is slipping into the sea.
Paperback 224 pages (March 3, 1994); Publisher: Sceptre; Language: English; ISBN: 0340597801

Music, Art & Culture, Events & Entertainment

 La Rythme de la Parole - Musical conversations between Iran, South India and Mali
Accords Croisés ac 112 - 113 [ 2 CDd & 1 DVD ]  -  see Accords Croisés
 India - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette  -  Nicki Grihault
Culture Smart! India offers illuminating insights into Indian culture and society. It will help you turn your visit - whether on business or for pleasure - into a memorable and enriching experience.
Paperback 168 pages (March 27, 2003); Publisher: Kuperard; Language: English; ISBN: 1857333055
 Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema  -  Tejaswini Ganti
'Bollywood' - once a tongue-in-cheek word used by the English-language media in India - has become the dominant global term to refer to the prolific Hindi language film industry located in Bombay (renamed Mumbai in 1995). Characterised by music, dance routines, melodrama, lavish production values and an emphasis on stars and spectacle, Bollywood films have met with box-office success and enthusiastic audiences from Bombay to West Africa to Russia, and throughout the English-speaking world. In Bollywood , filmmaker and film scholar Tejaswini Ganti provides a guide to the cultural, social and political significance of Hindi cinema, outlining the history and structure of the Bombay film industry, and its impact on global popular culture. Providing information and commentry on the key players in Bollywood, from composers and lyracists to directors and stars, as well as material from current filmmakers themselves, areas covered in Bollywood include: Chronology Main Themes in Hindi Cinema Key Characteristics of Popular Hindi Cinema Significant Filmmakers Significant Films Scholarship about Hindi Cinema Filmmakers Point of View.
Paperback 264 pages (June 24, 2004)
Publisher: Routledge, an imprint of Taylor & Francis Books Ltd.; Language: English; ISBN: 0415288541
 A Tale of Four Dervishes 
Mir Amman
The Panchatantra is one of the earliest books of fables and its influence can be seen in The Arabian Nights, the Decameron, the Canterbury Tales and most notably in The Fables of La Fontaine...Tradition ascribes this fabulous work to Visnu Sarma whose existence has not been conclusively established. Faced with the challenge of educating three unlettered princes, to awaken their intelligence, Visnu Sarma evolved a unique pedagogy--for his aim was to teach the princes how to think, not what to think--and it was thus that these entertaining and edifying stories came to be composed. The Panchatantra started travelling from the land of its origin before AD 570, as a version in Pehelvi. Since then more than 200 versions have been executed in more than fifty languages. Chandra Rajan, a noted Sanskrit scholar, has based her translation on the Purnabhadra recension (AD 1199). While remaining faithful to the original, she breathes new life into the stories, skilfully combining prose and verse to give us an eminently readable translation.
Paperback 158 pages (April 15, 2003); Publisher: Penguin Books Australia Ltd.; Language: English; ISBN: 0140245731
 India  -  the Raga Guide 
These four CDs tucked into a meaty, comprehensive book portray and explain the different histories, tonalities , and rhythms of 74 of Hindu's most common ragas. The raga, a musical form of ancient Hindustani prayer and poetry, has been the cornerstone of Indian music for centuries, evolving into a complex set of expressions inviting improvisation and varying according to purpose, mood, story, and ritual. Stately in their sounds, ragas are most often created with sitar, sarod, tabla, tamboura (or drone), and voice with each note functioning as an evocation of the world's sanctity. The Raga Guide offers five hours and 15 minutes of stunningly beautiful music, played by masters of the instrument and accompanied by informative description, music transcriptions, and (where applicable) texts with English translations. Lovingly recorded, carefully authored, simply laid out, this wonderful package is the essence of perfection, topped off by exquisite color plates of ragamalas, or paintings depicting the stories of the ragas. A sublime tribute to Indian classical music [ Karen Karleski from Amazon.com ]

Web Portals / Search Engines / Directories

 India Image  -  Gateway to Government of India Info over the web
Official Government of India Portal developed with an aim to provide comprehensive, accurate , reliable and one stop source of information about India and its various facets including its Government, heritage, economy, news, online citizen services etc. Links at various places have been provided to other official Indian Government Portals/websites.
 Indian Airports  - unofficial website

 Andaman & Nicobar Islands
 Searchindia.com  -  search engine
 Travel India
Links to Andaman Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bengalen, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu en Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep Islands, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura en Uttar Pradesh


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