South India: The Peninsular Land of Dravidian Culture

South India is the Lower Most Peninsular Portion of India. As per the Political Map, South India consists of Four Indian States which are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. All the states of South India are well connected by Air, Road and Rail.

Tirupati Temple [coolphotofunia.blogspot.com ]

Tamil Nadu consists of places like State Capital Chennai, Kanniyakumari and Ooty. Kanniyakumari is situated in the Southern Most tip of Tamil Nadu and is also considered as the last point of Main Land India. Ooty is an attractive Hill Station of Tamil Nadu with Coimbatore as its Base Station. Andhra Pradesh consists of various places like State Capital Hyderabad, Tirupati and Warangal. Hyderabad has its twin city Secunderabad adjacent to it and is a developed IT City. Tirupati is a renowned Pilgrimage Destination and Warangal is an important city known for its ancient structures. Karnataka consists of various places like State Capital Bengaluru, Mangalore and Mysore. Bengaluru is also a developed IT City and is a competitor to Secunderabad. Mysore is also a beautiful and ancient city of Karnataka. Kerala consists of places like State Capital Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kochi.  Kerala is also fondly known as God’s Own Country.

Elephant Washing in Kerala [ Courtesy : yukiba.com ]

All these Four South Indian States are very well connected by the Indian Railways Network. The Rail Network spanning the Coast Line States of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra is known as the Konkan Railways. This Rail Network lies between Roha in Maharashtra and Mangalore in Karnataka via West Indian State of Goa.

Konkan Railway Map [ Courtesy : mapsofindia.com ]

The Road and Aviation Network between these Four South Indian States is also very good. The appropriate time for visiting South India is between November and March when humidity is under control and temperatures are low. Thus, traveling to South India can be a great experience to visit hill stations, beaches and temples all at once in cities like Vishakhapatnam and Chennai.

West India: The Land of Sunset and Konkan Strip in India

West India is a land which witnesses the Sunset in the last in the entire nation. As per the Political Map, West India consists of Three Indian States which are Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa. All the states of West India are well connected by Air and Road and quite well by Rail also.

Neral - Matheran Toy Train [ Courtesy: punediary.com ]

Maharashtra consists of interesting places like its State Capital Mumbai which is also known as the Financial Capital and Bollywood Centre of India, Pune which is a growing city in the field of Information Technology and Nagpur which was earlier the State Capital of Maharashtra and is also famous for its Orange Plantation. Hill Stations like Matheran and Mahabaleshwar are also very prominent holiday destinations in Maharashtra. Gujarat is famous for its prominent Business Centric Cities like State Capital Ahmedabad and Diamond Trade City Surat. It also consists of places like Pilgrimage Destination Dwarka, Saputara which is Gujarat’s only hill station and the famous desert named “The Rann of Kutch”.

The Rann of Kutch, Bhuj [ Courtesy: flickr.com ]

Goa consists of interesting cities like its State Capital Panjim, Vasco and Madgoan. This state is regarded as one of the best Holiday Destinations of India and the state is famous for its beaches. At the moment, Panjim is not connected by Rail and the nearest station to Panjim is situated in Madgaon. Trains from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi Nizamuddin like the Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express travel via Madgoan.

Anjuna Beach in Goa [ Courtesy: indiareign.com ]

The Rail Network in the State of Goa is developing at a good pace. In a few years, Goa will be strongly connected by Rail with the rest of India, especially with its neighboring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Road Network is also developing at a good pace and the Aviation Network has already been established. Many foreigners also visit places in Goa and the rest of West India for Tourism as well as for Business Purposes. Now the beaches of Maharashtra and Gujarat also want to compete with the beaches of Goa for boosting their own State Tourism. Thus, traveling in West India can be a great experience for witnessing various nice beaches and food cuisine like Sea Food which the Arabian Sea has to offer.

East India: The Land of Sunrise in India

East India is a land which meets the rays of the Sunshine before the rest of the nation. As per the Political Map, East India consists of Four Indian States which are West Bengal (Pascim Banga), Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha. Now from Traveling point of view, East India also consists of North Eastern India comprising states like Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and so on. There are a total of around Eight North Eastern States in India. All the states of East and North East India are well connected by Air and Road and quite well by Rail also.

Princep Ghat beside Vidyasagar Setu, Kolkata [ Courtesy : flickr.com ]

West Bengal consists of interesting places like its State Capital Kolkata, Shantiniketan, Digha and Darjeeling. Kolkata, the City of Joy is also known as the Cultural Capital of India, Shantiniketan is famous as a Tourist Spot as the Legendary Indian Poet Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore lived over there, Digha is known for its beaches and Darjeeling is a famous hill station of East India, with New Jalpaiguri and Siliguri as the nearest Broad Gauge Base railway stations. Jharkhand consists of important Industrial Cities like its State Capital Ranchi, Jamshedpur (Tata Nagar), Dhanbad and Bokaro. Odisha is famous for its cities like State Capital Bhubaneswar and Puri which is a famous Holiday Spot as well as Pilgrimage Destination. Bihar is famous for its cities like State Capital Patna, Gaya which is a Pilgrimage Destination for Buddhist Tourism and the remains of Nalanda University.  All these Four States in East India are very well connected by the Indian Railways.

One - Horn Indian Rhino [ Courtesy : journeymart.com ]

In North East India, Assam is famous for places like State Capital Guwahati, Kaziranga National Park and Kamakhya Devi Temple. Cherrapunji is a city in Meghalaya which is said to have received the Highest World’s Highest Amount of Rainfall. Arunachal Pradesh who’s State Capital is Itanagar, is considered to be the First State in entire India to witness Sunrise. All these North East Indian States are well connected by Air as all their State Capitals have got good National Airports.

Nohsngithiang Falls, Cherrapunji [ Courtesy : indiatravelblog.net ]

The Rail Network in North East India is still under development. The Broad Gauge Network of Indian Railways is present uptil far flung places like Dibrugarh and Tinsukia. A Meter Gauge Rail Network has been launched few years back in the North Eastern State of Tripura between Kumarghat and Agartala. Thus, traveling in East India can surely be a magical experience for any person in the World.

North India: The Land of Aryan Culture and Hill Stations

North India is a land known for its age old culture and civilization over the past several centuries. In the Ancient Times, North India consisted of the existing North Indian States & the regions of today’s Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Indus Valley Civilization was set up over a stretch of these regions, which was later replaced by the people of the Aryan Community which had entered from the North Western Province of India. Today, post India’s Partition and then Independence in 1947, North India consists of about Eight Indian States which are Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. All these states of North India can be seen in India’s Political Map and are also well connected by Rail, Road and Air.

A Collage Map of North India [ Courtesy : rrindia.com ]

Jammu & Kashmir consists of interesting places for Traveling be it Pilgrimage Destinations like Vaisnodevi & Amarnath Shrines or Hill Stations like Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Punjab consists of cities citing Historical Importance like Amritsar where locations like the Golden Temple and Jallianwala Bagh Memorial are situated. Himachal Pradesh is famous for its Hill Stations like Shimla(Or Simla) and Manali. On the other hand, Uttrakhand is famous for its own Hill Stations like Mussoorie and also for its Pilgrimage Destinations like Haridwar. Haryana consists of important Industrial Cities like Ambala and Chandigarh which is also the Joint State Capital of Punjab and Haryana. Delhi State consists of places like National Capital New Delhi, Old Delhi & Tughlakabad. Uttar Pradesh consists of destinations famous for Industrial Importance as well as for Pilgrimage like Varanasi, Allahabad and Agra. Rajasthan is famous for its Deserts and Holiday Destinations of Historical Importance like Jaipur, Ajmer and Udaipur.

Grand Trunk Road of India which connects Kolkata and Amritsar [ Courtesy : calcuttanow.blogspot.com ]

Various cities of North India including the State Capitals are well connected with Flights. The Civil Aviation gives good focus on cities making a good travel destination in North India, be it a Holiday Spot or Pilgrimage Destination or both. Even the Road Network in North India has developed over the years. World Class Indian National Highways like the Grand Trunk Road and Yamuna Expressway are a delight to look out for.

Shimla - Kalka Toy Train [ Courtesy : gaatours.com ]

 The Railway Network in North India is also well connected spanning all the Eight North Indian States. Northern Railways, North Western Railway and North Central Railway are the Three Zonal Railways which span the entire of North India. The Kalka - Shimla Narrow Gauge Train and the Palace on Wheels Train are two such interesting trains run by the Indian Railways for Tourism Purpose in North India. The Jammu – Udhampur Section and the Qazigund – Baramulla Section will be joined to each other in a few years time, completing the Kashmir Rail Link Project of India. Now starting with New Delhi, other places of North India can also be visited by help of various reputed Travel Agencies. North India is surely here to offer the colors of its culture and history.