Qutub or Qutb Minar is India’s most visited site by non Indian travellers and tourists.It is also word’s tallest tower or minaret made of brick and sandstone. Starting from a base diameter of 14.2 meters, it tapers to 2.75 meters at 72.5 meters (238 feet) which is its present height. There are 379 steps, but these days visitors are not allowed to the top for safety and security reasons. Between 2 to 3 million people visit it in any given year, the highest for any monument in India. This is partly because of its attraction and partly because of easy accessibility as it is situated in Delhi, a city which almost every tourist visits.
Cochin is often called as the Vanice of the East. No trip to India can be considered complete without visiting Cochin.
About Cochin: Cochin (now called Kochi) is a very ancient trading port of India, and written records show that it traded in spices, aromatics, ivory, sandalwood, and exotic animals at least from the time of King Solomon (BC 1000). There are several islands close to the mainland, and together the islands and the mainland town of Ernakulam form Kochi.
Nainital Today
In and around Nainital: The Naina Devi Temple was destroyed by the landslip of 1880 and later rebuilt. It is located on the northern shore of Naini Lake. The presiding deity of the temple is Maa Naina Devi represented by two Netras or eyes. Flanking Naina Devi are the deities of Mata Kali and Lord Ganesha.
The church of St. John in the Wilderness was established in 1844 and is located on the north end of town (Mallital), about half a mile north-west of the Naina Devi temple. The church was so named by Daniel Wilson, the Bishop of Calcutta, who, after falling ill during a visit to Nainital in 1844 to lay the foundation of the church, was obliged to sleep in an unfinished house on the edge of the forest. (See excerpt from Josiah Bateman on the Literary references to Nainital page.) A brass plaque on the altar is inscribed with names of the victims of the Landslip of 1880.
Picture: The high Himalayas (Trisul, Nanda Devi) as seen from Snow View, Nainital
Nainital is a town in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and headquarters of Nainital district in the Kumaon foothills of the outer Himalayas. Situated at an altitude of 1,938 metres (6,358 feet) above sea level, Nainital is set in a valley containing a pear-shaped lake, approximately two miles in circumference, and surrounded by mountains, of which the highest are Naina (2,615 m (8,579 ft)) on the north, Deopatha (2,438 m (7,999 ft)) on the west, and Ayarpatha (2,278 m (7,474 ft)) on the south. From the tops of the higher peaks, "magnificent views can be obtained of the vast plain to the south, or of the mass of tangled ridges lying north, bounded by the great snowy range which forms the central axis of the Himalayas."
Mahabalipuram (Tamil) also known as Mamallapuram (Tamil) is a town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has an average elevation of 12 metres (39 feet).
Picture Left: Famous Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram/Mamallapuram
Mahabalipuram was a 7th century port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas around 60 km south from the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It is believed to have been named after the Pallava king Mamalla. It has various historic monuments built largely between the 7th and the 9th century, and has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Mussoorie is a very pleasant hill station, and all roads lead to it during north Indian summer season. If you visit India between April to June, there is no place for relaxation like Mussoorie.
India (Bharat), in Hindi, To know about this country for traveller, let us divide it into 5 regions and throw some insight about each region. If on one side we have snow clad mountains, to the other there is a hot desert and if on one side we have the mountain ranges then we have coastal plains too. Read the rest of this entry
