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Welcome to India! This is my birthplace and my homeland, and the country that is closest to my heart, even though I have been voluntarily living away from it for the last several years. Perhaps it is not right to call India a country. Geographically, it is almost a continent by itself (after all Europe is regarded as one even though it is separated from Asia by the low Ural mountains, while the lofty Himalayas separate separate the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia). India has been very richly endowed by Mother Nature. From the Himalayan peaks to the beautiful beaches and from a real hot desert to rainforests, great rivers and little streams, India has it all. The land is strewn with monuments and other evidence of its 5000-year heritage. India is a civilization that has continuously evolved and has imbibed all that the cultures of the people who called it home. Today India has a culture that straddles the eons. All Indians are heir to a culture that led to the establishment of planned cities 5000 years ago, gave the world the Buddha, stopped Alexander's conquering armies by logic and not by force, invented the concept of zero, built universities 2000 years before Oxford and Pisa and caused the launch of an expedition by a certain Genoese sailor that led to the discovery of half of the world. 5000 years of India's heritage exist almost side by side. People who use the internet and are at home at all capitals of the world are also the adherents of traditions that have lived for thousands of years. With all these wonders, it is only natural that India is an important place on the tourist map. Many friends (particularly Charlene & Jon Gross of Clifton, VA) around the world have asked me questions about visiting India and I am always happy to tell them about my favorite places. I thought it would be a good idea to put this information on the web so that everyone can use it. Of course, I need to mention that I do not guarantee the accuracy of anything expressed on this page and that you should use your discretion and verify from official sources before you plan a trip to India. I have a section on facts for the visitor in terms of the paperwork required to visit India and about how to get there, travel around and be healthy. I also have a list of my favorite places and what I like most about them. Lastly, I plan to have a proposed itinerary for anyone planning a leisurely trip to India. |