India has a rich historical and cultural history, and was once the home of great empires and the famous the Indus Valley civilization, India was once a major trade route, this was mainly due to the fact the Indian Subcontinent has a great cultural and commercial wealth. India is the birth place of four major world religions which are Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, and Jainism; however these are not the only religions you will find in India other religions which arrived in the first millennium such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Zoroastrianism are also present and have played a big role in shaping India’s culture. India was colonized by the United Kingdom and it gained its independence in 1947 to become a parliamentary republic and is a member of the commonwealth. The country has seven union territories and twenty states, is has a rapidly growing economy which is ranged twelfth largest in the world, and has a large purchasing power the forth largest in the world. Despite having such a prosperous economy India still has many problems for example it has high levels of illiteracy, poverty, and malnutrition.

If you are traveling to India there are many places to visit, there are many modern cities in India for example the capital Delhi is the heart of India and a great place to visit, other cities of interest include Bangalore, Jaipur, Mumbai, Chennai, Shimla, Kolkata, and Varanassi. In terms of geography India has it all it is bounded by deserts, jungles, mountains and beaches. Travelers to India would like to visit the Himalayas which are a snow capped mountain range in the north and north east of the country, the Himalayas happen to be the worlds tallest mountain range, and from the Himalayas flow the Ganga, Sindhu, Brahmaputra and Yamuna rivers. In the western part of the country you will find the Thar Desert.

For any traveler the climate is one of the most important aspects, because you wouldn’t want to visit the beach on a rainy day. In India it only rains at certain times of the year, India is famous for the monsoon that occurs every year; there are two monsoon seasons one in the northeast and one in the southwest. There are three seasons in India the winter, Monsoon, and summer season.

If you are a nature enthusiast then India is the place to visit because the country has a diverse variety of flora and fauna, this diversity in flora and fauna is mainly due to the fact India lies within the Indomalaya ecozone. India is the home of 6.2% of all reptilian, 7.6% of all mammalian, 11.7% of all fish, 4.4% of all amphibians, and 6.0% of all flowering species of plant, this diverse makes India one of the eighteen mega diverse countries in the world. India has tropical rainforests, coniferous forests, forests dominated by teak.

India has a diverse culture due to the different traditions, ideas, customs, that were absorbed by the locals from immigrants, the colonists and from invaders, one of the most obvious signs of the wide cultural diversity can be seen in their architecture, such as the Taj Mahal. The music is also very diverse as there is classical Hindustani, and Carnatic music, there is also regional folk music.

If you are traveling to India you have to stop in Mumbai to visit the Indian film industry (Bollywood) which is based there, Bollywood makes Hindi films and is one of the largest film industries in the world.

What would a visit to India be if you didn’t try out the world famous Indian cuisine, with its wide variety of styles from across the region and its use of sophisticated and traditional herbs. Rice is the staple food in India. Traveling to India would be especially interesting if you were to visit during one of the many festivals that take place throughout the year, some of the most popular include the Holi, Diwali, Onam, Durga Puja, Vijayadasami, Christmas, Vaisakhi, Buddha Jaqyanti and Bakr-Id. Independence day, Gandhi Day, and Republic Day are the three national holidays held each year

Although field hockey is the national sport in India, cricket is the most popular sport in the country in fact India is a country obsessed with cricket, and a drive around the streets of any of the cities will show you that cricket is the mainstay of most Indians, you will find young kids playing cricket on the streets with makeshift equipment. There many cricket stadiums in the country and more than six with a capacity of over 45.000 spectators.

There are many destinations that tourists can visit when they come to India, for example the Bodh Gaya, Goa, Hampi, Lake Palace, Tag Mahal, Golden Temple, Khajuraho, Ellora/Ajanta, and the Meenakshi Temple. Traveling in India is not a problem as there are many entry points around the country, if you are an international traveler there are many airports such as the Calicut, Cochin, Jaipur, Pune, and Varanasi airports just to mention a few. Once you are in the country you can travel by bus, boat, car, auto rickshaw, and motor cycle, train or air to get to you local destinations.