Sarina SinghLindsay Brown, Mark Elliott, Paul Harding, Abigail HolePatrick Horton, Kate James, Amy Karafin, Adam Karlin,

Anirban Das Mahapatra, Daniel McCrohan, Amelia Thomas, Rafael Wlodarski

India

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CHRIS MELLOR1

Home to one billion people and visited by countless travellers, India is many things. It is bustling and serene, heart-breaking and inspirational, state-of-the-art and timelessly traditional. It offers the traveller an unrivalled diversity of experiences, sights and sensations. We asked the Lonely Planet traveller community to suggest their favourites.

MONUMENT TO LOVE The guide is right: the Taj Mahal ( p404 ) is one sight that surpasses any hype. An elegant, beautiful monument to love that also betrays the megalomania of its owner; a perfect statement of humanity.

coeurdelion, Traveller

India Highlights

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GO ON A CAMEL SAFARI Take an overnight trip by camel into Rajasthan’s Thar Desert ( p246 ) to see gazelle, sleep on a sand dune, make chapati over an open fire, and meet desert-dwelling villagers who are capable of growing watermelons and wheat in sand.

cheryn, Traveller

DALLAS STRIBLEY9

SENSATIONAL SIKKIM This is one place which is sure to remain in my memory forever. Surrounded by the mighty snow-capped Himalaya, on an early morning one can see Khangchendzonga ( p598 ), the second-largest peak in the Himalaya. The sun rays falling on the snowcapped mountains make it golden. A place where nature is at its best!

sharadab, Traveller

LINDSAY BROWN8

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13

India Highlights 4

Destination India 18Getting Started 20Events Calendar 26Itineraries 28History 38The Culture 59Food & Drink 84Environment 95Activities 105Delhi 119History 120Orientation 120Information 120Dangers & Annoyances 125Sights 129Activities 138Courses 138Tours 139Sleeping 139Eating 146Drinking 151Entertainment 153Shopping 153Getting There & Away 156Getting Around 160GREATER DELHI 161Tughlaqabad 161Qutb Minar 163

Rajasthan 165EASTERN RAJASTHAN 168Jaipur 168Around Jaipur 182

Bharatpur 183Keoladeo Ghana National Park 185Deeg 186Alwar 187Sariska Tiger Reserve 188Shekhawati 189Ajmer 192Pushkar 195Ranthambore National Park 201SOUTHERN RAJASTHAN 203Bundi 203Kota 207Around Kota 209Chittorgarh (Chittor) 210Around Chittorgarh 213Udaipur 213Around Udaipur 224Mt Abu 226Around Mt Abu 230WESTERN RAJASTHAN 230Jodhpur 230Around Jodhpur 239Jaisalmer 240Around Jaisalmer 248Bikaner 249Around Bikaner 253

Haryana & Punjab 254Chandigarh 256Around Chandigarh 265HARYANA 265Kurukshetra 265South & West of Delhi 266PUNJAB 266Anandpur Sahib 266Sirhind 267Patiala 267Northern Punjab 268Amritsar 268India–Pakistan Border at Attari/Wagah 275Pathankot 276

Jammu & Kashmir 277JAMMU & THE KASHMIR VALLEY 278Southern Kashmir 282Jammu to Srinagar 286Srinagar 286

Contents

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14 C O N T E N T S

Around Srinagar 294Srinagar to Kargil 294KARGIL & ZANSKAR 295Kargil 295Around Kargil 295Suru Valley 296Zanskar 296Trekking in Zanskar 298LADAKH 299Leh 301Trekking in Ladakh 315Around Leh 317Nubra Valley 323East of Leh 326

Himachal Pradesh 330EASTERN HIMACHAL PRADESH 333Shimla 334Around Shimla 341Kinnaur Valley 343CENTRAL HIMACHAL PRADESH 347Mandi 347Rewalsar Lake 348Mandi to Kullu 349Great Himalayan National Park 349Bhuntar 349Parvati Valley 350Kullu 353Naggar 355Manali 357Around Manali 366WESTERN HIMACHAL PRADESH 368Dharamsala 368McLeod Ganj 369Around McLeod Ganj 380Southwest of Dharamsala 381Dharamsala to Mandi 382Chamba Valley 383LAHAUL & SPITI 389Lahaul 390Spiti 392

Uttar Pradesh 398Agra 399

Delicious India 413Fatehpur Sikri 423Mathura 425Vrindavan 427

Lucknow 428Faizabad & Ayodhya 432Allahabad 434Chitrakut 438Jhansi 439Varanasi 440Sarnath 453Gorakhpur 454Kushinagar 455Sunauli & the Nepal Border 456

Uttarakhand 458Dehra Dun 461Mussoorie 465Around Mussoorie 469Haridwar 469Rajaji National Park 474Rishikesh 475Around Rishikesh 482Uttarkashi 482Garhwal Temple Treks 482Joshimath 484Around Joshimath 485Valley of Flowers & Hem Kund Trek 485Badrinath & Mana Village 486Kuari Pass Trek 486Nanda Devi Sanctuary Trek 487Corbett Tiger Reserve 487Nainital 489Ranikhet 494Almora 495Around Almora 497Kausani 497Around Kausani 498Bageshwar 498Pithoragarh 499Pindari Glacier Trek 499Milam Glacier Trek 499Banbassa 500

Kolkata (Calcutta) 501History 502Orientation 502Information 503Dangers & Annoyances 508Sights 508Activities 518Tours 518Sleeping 519

Eating 522Drinking 526Entertainment 527Shopping 527Getting There & Away 528Getting Around 531

West Bengal 532SOUTH OF KOLKATA 534Sunderbans Tiger Reserve 534Diamond Harbour 536Sagar Island 536Bakkali 537NORTH OF KOLKATA 537Up the Hooghly 537Bishnupur 537Shantiniketan 538Nabadwip & Mayapur 539Murshidabad & Berhampore 539Malda 540Gaur & Pandua 540WEST BENGAL HILLS 540Siliguri & New Jalpaiguri 540Jaldhapara Wildlife Sanctuary 544Mirik 545Kurseong 546Darjeeling 547Trekking Around Darjeeling 559Kalimpong 560Around Kalimpong 565

Bihar & Jharkhand 566BIHAR 568Patna 568Around Patna 573Raxaul 574Gaya 575Sasaram 576Bodhgaya 576Dungeshwari Cave Temples 580Rajgir 580Around Rajgir 581JHARKHAND 582Ranchi 582Betla (Palamau) National Park 583Parasnath 584

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DELH

I

DELHI

Medieval mayhem, opulent metropolis, stately maiden aunt: give it a chance, and this unruly capital will capture your heart. Yes, it’s crowded, aggravating, polluted, extreme, and hectic, but hey – nobody’s perfect.

This is a city of different worlds. Old Delhi, all fabulous frenzy and crumbling splendour, was once the capital of Islamic India. The British built spacious, gracious New Delhi as their imperial capital. And even-newer Delhi endlessly throws up shops, offices and apartment blocks, chunks of could-be-anywhere modernity.

Recent years have seen impressive developments in preparation for the 2010 Common-wealth Games. Epic new infrastructure includes a 160-acre games village and the gleaming new Metro.

But look past Delhi’s less-loveable elements, and you’ll find it littered with glittering jewels. Like a subcontinental Rome, India’s capital is punctuated by ruins and monuments, vestiges of lost empires. There are magnificent museums, temples and mosques, and a cultural life to satisfy the hungriest vulture. Plus, shopaholics – you are home: all the riches of India twinkle in Delhi’s emporiums, from exquisite Kashmiri shawls to jootis from Jaipur.

That’s by no means the end of Delhi’s sensory extravaganza. Prepare yourself to tuck into some of the subcontinent’s finest food, from piled-high pizzas to sublime South Indian dosas (savoury crepes). And the famous Dilli-ka-chaat (Delhi street food) – which, rather like the city itself – jumbles up every flavour in one bite.

Delhi

HIGHLIGHTS

Let your imagination run riot at the Mughal Red Fort ( p129 )

Revel in tranquillity at splendid Humayun’s tomb ( p135 )

Hear Sufis sing sunset qawwali at Hazrat Nizam-ud-din Dargah ( p136 )

Be awestruck by India’s largest mosque, the mighty Jama Masjid ( p134 )

Be bedazzled and bamboozled in Old Delhi’s bazaars ( p129 )

Shop ( p153 ) like a fool at the capital’s amazing emporiums

Sample Delhi’s famous street food ( p147 ), sup cocktails ( p152 ) and relish ravishing restaurants ( p146 )

Durgah

HazratNizam-ud-din

Old Delhi

Jama Masjid

TombHumayun's

Red Fort

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DEL

HI

D E L H I • • H i s t o r y l o n e l y p l a n e t . c o m

HISTORY Delhi hasn’t always been India’s capital, but, as a gateway city, it has long played a pivotal part in Indian history, built on the plains near a fording point on the Yamuna River, and on the route between western and Central Asia and Southeast Asia. It’s also believed to be the site of the fabled city of Indraprastha, which featured in the Mahabharata over 3000 years ago, but historical evidence suggests that the area has been settled for a mere 2500 years.

At least eight known cities have been founded here, the last of which was the British Raj’s New Delhi. The first four cities of Delhi were to the south, around the area where the Qutb Minar now stands. The fifth Delhi, Firozabad, was at Firoz Shah Kotla in present-day New Delhi, while Emperor Sher Shah created the sixth at Purana Qila, also in New Delhi. The Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, constructed the seventh Delhi in the 17th century, thus shifting the Mughal capi-tal from Agra to Delhi; his Shahjahanabad roughly corresponds to Old Delhi today and is largely preserved. The Chauhans seized control in the 12th century and made Delhi the most significant Hindu centre in northern India, but when Qutb-ud-din occupied the city in 1193, he ushered in more than six centuries of Islamic rule. In 1803, the British captured Delhi and promptly installed a British administrator. Delhi wasn’t the capi-tal of India at the time, but it was a critical commercial centre.

In 1911, the British announced the shifting of their capital from Kolkata (Calcutta; Bengal was ardently championing independence) and proceeded to build New Delhi as though the sun would never set on the Raj. Construction wasn’t completed and the city officially inau-gurated, until 1931. However, only 16 years later, the British were booted out, and Delhi became the capital of an independent India.

Since Independence, Delhi has prospered as the capital of modern India, with its population spiralling upwards due to rapid

economic expansion and increased job oppor-tunities. The city is also looking smarter than it has for centuries, with the urban overhaul in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games (www.cwgdelhi2010.org). The downside of this boom – apart from growing pressure on the city’s groaning infrastructure – is chronic overcrowding, traffic congestion, housing shortages, pollution, and ever more extreme contrasts between rich and poor.

ORIENTATION Delhi is a sprawling city, but the areas of in-terest to travellers are easy to navigate. To the north of Old Delhi there’s the main Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) and, to the south, the New Delhi train station. Near this station, between the old and new cities, is Paharganj, jam-packed with cheap accommodation.

New Delhi contains the business and resi-dential areas around Connaught Place (the city’s core) and the government areas around Rajpath to the south. Running south from Connaught Place is Janpath, which has the tourist office, some hotels and a shopping strip. Urban sprawl – consisting of both posh residential enclaves and ramshackle shacks – goes on for kilometres; the prosperous satellite city of Gurgaon, around 25km south of the centre, is characterised by ultramodern office blocks and snazzy shopping malls.

The domestic terminals of the Indira Gandhi International Airport are 15km south-west of the centre, and the international ter-minal is a farther 8km away.

Maps India Tourism Delhi ( p125 ) has a free folda-way Delhi map, though the free AA City Map (www.delhimapindia.com) available at the office and in many hotels is better. For accu-rate detail, most newsstands sell the excellent 245-page Eicher City Map (Rs290); Eicher also produces a Delhi Road Map (Rs75).

INFORMATION Bookshops Delhi’s many brilliant bookshops sell a great array of fiction, nonfiction, travel, magazines and maps at prices usually much lower than you’ll find back home.

CONNAUGHT PLACE AREA New Book Depot (Map p130 ;%23320020; 18 B-Block, Inner Circle; h11am-8pm Mon-Sat)

FAST FACTS

Population 12.8 millionArea 1483 sq kmTelephone code %011Main languages Hindi and EnglishWhen to go November to March

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1244

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Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd ABN 36 005 607 983

© Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 2009

© photographers as indicated 2009

Cover photograph: Vivid pink turbans dot the landscape at the Kithalai Fair, Narlai, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Keren Su/Lonely Planet Images. Many of the images in this guide are available for licensing from Lonely Planet Images: www.lonelyplanetimages.com.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, and no part of this publication may be sold or hired, without the written permission of the publisher.

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LighthouseLookout

Mountain, VolcanoNational ParkPass, Canyon

WaterfallRiver Flow

Geographic

InformationBank, ATM

Embassy/ConsulateHospital, Medical

InformationInternet Facilities

Police StationPost Office, GPO

TelephoneToilets

Point of Interest TransportAirport, AirfieldBorder Crossing

Bus StationGeneral Transport

Taxi Rank

SleepingSleepingCamping

ShoppingShopping

EntertainmentEntertainment

DrinkingDrinking

Café

EatingEatingBeach

BuddhistCastle, Fortress

ChristianHindu

Islamic

JewishMonument

Museum, Gallery

PoolRuinSikh

Skiing

Zoo, Bird Sanctuary

Jain

Trail Head

Sights/ActivitiesSYMBOLS

Petrol StationParking Area

CAPITAL (NATIONAL) Large City

Small City

CAPITAL (STATE) Medium City Town, Village

POPULATION

Rocks

Building

Land

MarketArea of Interest

Campus Reservation

Cemetery, Other

Park

SportsUrban

Mall

Forest

Cemetery, Christian

Airport

Beach, Desert

AREA FEATURES

DisputedAncient Wall

Cliff

Regional, SuburbState, Provincial

InternationalBOUNDARIES

Swamp

ReefMangrove

Lake (Dry)Lake (Salt)

WaterCanal

Intermittent RiverRiver, Creek

Mudflats

HYDROGRAPHY

TramBus RouteMetro

FerryRail (Underground)

RailTRANSPORT

Walking Tour DetourWalking Tour

Walking Trail

Tunnel

LaneTertiary

Walking PathTrack

TollwayFreewayPrimary

Mall/Steps

Pedestrian OverpassSecondary

Unsealed RoadOne-Way Street

Under Construction

ROUTESMAP LEGEND

Although the authors and Lonely Planet have taken all reasonable care in preparing this book, we make no warranty about the accuracy or completeness of its content and, to the maximum extent permitted, disclaim all liability arising from its use.

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