Destinations Menu
India
Destinations
Miniature (circa 1590) from the Mughal period, India
India Travel Guide
India, officially the Republic of India (Bharat Ganarajya in Hindi), is clearly a land of superlatives. It is the largest democracy and second most populous nation in the world. It is the fourth largest and among the fastest growing economies in the world. It is among the oldest countries with one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. It is also easily the most culturally diverse country in the world, with a pluralistic, multiethnic, multilingual society, where four of the world's major religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism - originated.
Geographically, India is a subcontinent and the principal country in South Asia. It is bounded on its south, west and east by the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal respectively, and bordered to the west by Pakistan, to the east by Bangladesh and Myanmar, and to the north by China, Nepal and Bhutan. It is the seventh largest in land mass in the world, and includes, besides its mainland, the islands of Andaman and Nicobar and the union territory of the Lakshadweep Islands.
India is a federal constitutional republic with a parliamentary democracy. It consists of 28 states and nine union territories. Originally fashioned on the British parliamentary system, it has a lower house (Lok Sabha) and an upper house (Rajya Sabha). And like the House of Commons, the Lok Sabha is comprised of democratically elected members of parliament and is the principal legislative body. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, elected by and from the majority party. The head of state is the President, with nominal powers.
Tourism looms large on the Indian landscape, and is both a bargain for Westerners and just as diverse as the country itself - from ancient temples to wildlife preserves, from colorful, crowded bazaars to five-stars hotels and restaurants. Each of India's states is distinctly different and a veritable discovery. And now, besides recreational tourism, India is emerging at the forefront of a new genre of tourism: medical tourism.
India
What's New?
New and Updated Travel Guides
-
Cuzco is the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, and the epicenter of the Andean Quechua culture. It has a monumental... Read More
-
Thimphu is the seat of the last of the Himalayan kingdoms. It sits in splendid isolation in a long, high valley in the... Read More
-
Mostar is where Christians converted to Islam, and where moussaka – consisting of sliced eggplants sautéed in... Read More
-
Santiago is Chile's capital of cool. It's mostly a modern metropolis, but with more than 500 years of history and relics... Read More
-
Tampere is a city of rock. In fact, Tampere, Finland, like Manchester, England, evolved from a market town into a major... Read More
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More
