There is about 1000 km of lakes, rivers and canals criss-crossing Kerala providing irrigation, transportation and communication. These stretches of water, just inland from the Arabian Sea, are the backwaters.
Western Ghats
India’s 1,600-km-long Western Ghats, a mountain chain that has forests older than those in the Himalayas, is World Heritage as one of the world’s eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity.
Kochi
Kochi also known as Cochin has been an important spice trading center since the 14th century. The Portuguese founded the first European settlement in India here in 1500. They were followed by the Dutch and then the British.
Jaipur
Jaipur is also known as the Pink City, due to the terracotta-pink old walled-city buildings repainted to impress Prince Albert during his 1876 tour of India. Behind the walls, it’s the most colourful city in India.
Agra
Agra was the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1648. The city was then taken by the Marathas and later fell to the British Raj.
Everybody knows the story of the Taj Mahal. Everybody has seen the pictures. But nothing prepares you for its haunting beauty: white marble floating in the morning mist.
Orchha
Orchha was founded in 1531 and it was the capital of the Bundela kings until 1738. A series of magnificent 16th and 17th century palaces, cenotaphs and temples suddenly appeared as we approached; each one demanding a stop for photos.
Khajuraho
The remote UNESCO World Heritage Site of Khajuraho was built berween 930 and 1050 AD,. The temples are superb examples of north Indian architecture and art with hundereds of stunning stone carvings.
Varanasi
Varanasi – “Older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, And looks twice as old as all of them put together ” – Mark Twain
Delhi
Delhi is a city with the population of Australia but surprisingly it is the greenest capital city in the world. Yes there is noise and chaos in Old Delhi but also tranquility in the extensive parks…