India
Our Top Picks For India
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1 Darjeeling
Wrap your chilly hands around a hot cuppa in this quintessential Indian hill station
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2 Varanasi
Take a soul-soothing dawn boat ride along the ghat-lined Ganges River in this sacred city
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3 Khajuraho
Blush at the erotic sculptures embellishing these exquisitely carved temples, a Kama Sutra in stone
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4 Agra
Imbibe the legendary beauty of the milky white Taj Mahal, the ultimate monument to love
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5 Leh
Get lost in the old town's alleyways, nuzzled amid the soaring moonscape of the Himalaya
Fast Facts about India
- Literacy rate
53.7% (women) and 75.3% (men)
- India’s percentage of world population
16.7%
- Inflation
5.2%
- Unemployment rate
8.6%
- GDP growth rate
8.5% (2006)
- Population
1.027 billion (2001 census)
- Population growth rate
1.4%
- Life expectancy
65.6 years (women) and 63.9 years (men)
- Proportion of females to males
933:1000 (2001 census)
- Families living in one-room homes
41%
Related Groups
Our favourite India Blogs (beta)
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Rescued on horseback from an Indian blizzard
Blog: 501 Places - 6 July 2009
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The Masjid-e-Ala in Srirangapatna
Blog: Windy Skies - 6 June 2009
I could’ve passed by the open door oblivious to its significance if not for the two towering minarets that rose from behind the high walls along a path hewn from the earth not far from where the Bangalore Gate of Tipu Sultan’s fort in Srirangapatna lay.From the street the door parted on young children in kurta pajamas, mostly white, and skull caps moving about the open courtyard fronting a
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Manali
Blog: Ketchup With Aubs - 4 June 2009
Claude didn't make it onto the bus for Manali and so far there has been no sign of The Man.
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Introducing India
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.
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Tips & articles
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India with children
23 June 2009
Sound daunting? It needn’t be - with these tips, you’ll be whisking them round temples before...
Latest headlines for India
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Builder 'murdered wife in India'
10 July 2009 2:18PM
A builder from west London appears in court charged with murdering his wife in India.
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Mayawati statue spree to continue
10 July 2009 1:44PM
India's Supreme Court declines to stop the building of statues of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh state, Mayawati, and leaders of her caste.
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India toxic alcohol toll tops 100
10 July 2009 11:22AM
More than 100 people die after consuming toxic illegal alcohol in the Indian state of Gujarat as police warn the toll could rise.
