Tourist sites
Delhi: Capital of India and third city of the country. It is split into two parts. The first one, the Old Delhi, retains the testimony of the Muslim time. The second, New Delhi, the English city, spacious and airy city, is the administrative centre. The Paharganj's district, very active, is overflown with workshops, hotels and cheap restaurants. New Delhi extends around the famous Connaught place. From there, Janpath begins. Janparth is an avenue lined with stores, emporium of various States and where the luxurious Imperial Hotel stands. In the Eastern part of Rajpath, there is the India Gate Memorial. Delhi is one of the main points of access of the subcontinent and the communications hub in the North of India. It is also close to Agra and to the Taj Mahal (a 2 hours train journey) and at 5 hours bus journey of Jaipur, door of Rajasthan. Please also note that Delhi is considered as the most polluted city in the world after Mexico City. Agra: in the Moghols times, Agra, in the southwest of the Uttar Pradesh's state and at 204 km away from the South of Delhi, was the capital of India and most of the buildings, including the Taj Mahal and the fort of Agra, date from this period. The Taj Mahal, the most fabulous mausoleum ever built by love (the emperor Shah Jahan had it built for his second wife, who died while giving birth), became the tourist symbol of India. At 40 km West of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, a fortified ghost-city built by the emperor Akbar in the XVI th century, and is definitely worth seing. Varanasi (formerly Benares): the holiest of the holy cities extends from the West bank of the Ganges, on the East of the Uttar Pradesh's state (577 km East of Agra). Highly respected for its pilgrimage, it is also a centre of education for civilisations. The Indian pilgrims come to bath in the waters of the Ganges, supposed to wash all the sins. To die there interrupts the cycle of reincarnations. More than 100 ghats (stairs or landings by the river) can be used to bath and cremate. The most sacred is the Manikarnika Ghat; you will be able to attend cremations, but leave your cameras in your hotel. Go sit down in Dasawamedh Ghat to observe ablutions, sadhu, yogi and intense life animating the city. Udaipur: the most romantic city of Rajasthan, Udaipur, has been founded in 1568 with the maharana Udai Singh II. Except from the Lake Palace, one of the last jewels of the rajpoute fine arts, the city abounds in palaces, temples and haveli, from the most modest to the most extravagant ones. Famous to be the centre of theater, dance, painting and art craft activities, Udaipur can be proud of its cultural inheritance. The lake Pichola, in the heart of the city, contains two palace-islands, Jagniwas and Jagmandir, the first one having been turned into a luxury hotel. The Gigantic City Palace, by the lake, is the biggest palatine complex of Rajasthan. Jagdish's beautiful indo-Aryan temple dates from the middle of the XVII-th century. Udaipur is located at 663 km away from Delhi. Mumbai (Bombay): capital of Maharashtra, it is an extremely lively city , filled up with determination and dreams. It is also the financial centre of the nation and the industrial (textile industry and petrochemistry) and commercial (50 % of international exchanges transit there) capital. It also attracts the down-and-outs of the rural world, who go alongside with businessmen's new generations. Goa: Former Portuguese enclave on the Western coast, Goa gained its tourist reputation in the 60s, at the height of the hippy period. But Goa has much more to offer than the magnificent beaches with coconut palm. Although it has been released for more than 30 years from the Lusitanian custody, the catholic religion remains very present; the population shows a quite tropical nonchalance. Furthermore, Goa's educational standards are among the highest of the country.
 We also suggest you to buy road or city maps of the places you would
For more information about tourism
in India
, check out the following web site(s) :
India.org
Indian Ministry of Tourism
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