Browse listings of B&B, Home Exchange, Vacation Rentals (furnished apartments, villas, cottages, condos, farmhouses and other types of accommodations) of India:
Last Minute Tips Before you Travel to India
- Time Zone: GMT/UTC +5.5
- Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz (bring an adapter/transformer for your hair drier, laptop, cellullar phone etc.)
- Currency: Indian Rupee (Rs)
- Country Dialing Code: 91
Must See - Properties on UNESCO World Heritage List by
- Agra Fort
- Ajanta Caves
- Ellora Caves
- Taj Mahal
- Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram
- Sun Temple, Konârak
- Kaziranga National Park
- Keoladeo National Park
- Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
- Churches and Convents of Goa
- Fatehpur Sikri
- Group of Monuments at Hampi
- Khajuraho Group of Monuments
- Elephanta Caves
- Great Living Chola Temples
- Group of Monuments at Pattadakal
- Sundarbans National Park (
- Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks
- Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi
- Humayun's Tomb, Delhi
- Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi
- Mountain Railways of India
- Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya
- Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka
- Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus)
India
Location
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Capital
New Delhi
Population
1,080,264,388 (July 2005 est.)
Regions
28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
Climate
varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Ethnic groups
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions
Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
Languages
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language
Government type
federal republic
Background
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.
Visitor's Impressions
If you would like to share your experiences of traveling to India or to other countries, please send us your article and we will gladly post it at this site.
India: Thoughts Before Arriving by Mark Moxon
Calcutta, India by Mark Moxon
Delhi, India by Mark Moxon
