Historic monuments

• The Taj Mahal is one of India's best-known sites and one of the best architectural achievements in India, located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. It was built between 1631 and 1653 by Emperor Shah Jahan in honour of his wife, Arjumand Banu, more popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal serves as her tomb.
• Fatehpur Sikri It was the first planned city of the Mughals and also the first one designed in Mughal architecture, an amalgamation of Indian architecture, Persian and Islamic architecture and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986
• Varanasi The ghats of one of the oldest city of the world
• The Mahabodhi Temple is a 2000-year-old temple dedicated to Gautam Buddha in Bodh Gaya, Bihar. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The Nalanda is located in the Indian State of Bihar, was a Buddhist centre of learning from 427 C.E to 1197 C.E partly under the Pala Empire. It has been called "one of the first great universities in recorded history."

According to historical studies the University of Nalanda was established 450 C.E under the patronage of the Gupta emperors, notably Kumaragupta.

The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata is built in memory of Queen Victoria by the British.

• The Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu built by the Cholas. The temple is one of India's most prized architectural sites.

• The Airavateswara temple is located in the town of Darasuram, near Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu

• The Shore Temple, along with the collection of other monuments in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu have been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• The Harmandir Sahib is one of the most respected gurudwara in India and the most sacred place for Sikhs. The gurudwara is located in Amritsar, Punjab, India.
• The Bahá'í temple in Delhi, was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian Subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. (It is also known as the Lotus Temple.)
• The Hawa Mahal in Jaipur also known as Palace of Winds
• The Taj Mahal Palace is an icon of Mumbai
• The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, built during the British Raj
• The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, built for Queen Victoria

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) in Mumbai is a train station built in Gothic architecture in honour of Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

Nature tourism

India has geographical diversity, which resulted in varieties of nature tourism.

• Water falls in Western Ghats & Himalayas including Jog falls (highest in India)
• Western Ghats
• Hill Stations
• Lakes
• Wildlife reserves
• Deserts

 

India has the largest wild population of tigers in the world.

 

Wildlife in India

The wild population of the endangered Asiatic lions is restricted to the Gir Forest National Park in western India.

Fauna of India

India is home to several well-known large mammals including the Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Leopard and Indian Rhinoceros, often engrained culturally and religiously often being associated with deities. Some other well-known large Indian mammals are ungulates such as the domestic Asian Water buffalo, wild Asian Water buffalo, Nilgai, Gaur and several species of deer and antelope. Some members of the dog family such as the Indian Wolf, Bengal Fox, Golden Jackal and the Dhole or Wild Dogs are also widely distributed. It is also home to the Striped Hyaena, Macaques, Langurs and Mongoose species.

India also has a large variety of protected wildlife. The country's protected forest consists of 75 National parks of India and 421 sanctuaries, of which 19 fall under the purview of Project Tiger. Its climatic and geographic diversity makes it the home of over 350 mammals and 1200 bird species, many of which are unique to the subcontinent.

Some well known national wildlife sanctuaries include Bharatpur, Raiganj, Corbett, Kanha, Kaziranga, Periyar, Ranthambore, Manas and Sariska.

The world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans is located in southern West Bengal. The Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Sundarbans and Keoladeo National Park are UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hill stations

A summer view of Khajjiar, a hill station in Himachal Pradesh.

One of the finest hill-stations in India.

List of Indian hill stations

Several hill stations served as summer capitals of Indian provinces, princely states, or, in the case of Shimla, of British India itself. Since Indian Independence, the role of these hill stations as summer capitals has largely ended, but many hill stations remain popular summer resorts. Most famous hill stations are:

• Mount Abu, Rajasthan
• Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh
• Gulmarg, Srinagar and Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir
• Shillong in Meghalaya
• Darjeeling in West Bengal
• Shimla, Kullu in Himachal Pradesh
• Nainital in Uttarakhand
• Gangtok in Sikkim
• Mussoorie in Uttarakhand
• Manali in Himachal Pradesh
• Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh
• Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra
• Haflong in Assam
• Araku, Andhra Pradesh
• Munnar in Kerala
• Ooty, Yercaud and Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu
• Jampui Hills in Tripura
• Khajiyar in Himachal Pradesh
• Coorg in Karnataka

In addition to the bustling hill stations and summer capitals of yore, there are several serene and peaceful nature retreats and places of interest to visit for a nature lover. These range from the stunning moonscapes of Leh and Ladhak, to small, exclusive nature retreats such as Dunagiri, Binsar, Mukteshwar in the Himalayas, to rolling vistas of Western Ghats to numerous private retreats in the rolling hills of Kerala.

Lakes

View of Lake Tsongmo, Sikkim

List of lakes in India

• Avalanche Lake
• Dal Lake
• Emerald Lake
• Chandra Taal
• Nainital Lake
• Sheshnag Lake
• Suraj Tal
• Tso Moriri
• Tsongmo Lake
• Pangong Tso
• Prashar lake
• Rewalsar lake
• Bhojtal
• Loktak lake

Beaches

List of beaches in India

Elephants and camel rides are common on Indian beaches. Shown here is Havelock Island, part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

India offers a wide range of tropical beaches with silver/golden sand to coral beaches of Lakshadweep. States like Kerala and Goa have exploited the potential of beaches to the fullest. However, there are a lot many unexploited beaches in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharastra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. These states have very high potential to develop them as future destinations for prospective tourists. Some of the famous tourist beaches are:

• Beaches of Vizag, Andhra Pradesh
• Beaches of Puri, Odisha
• Beaches of Digha, West Bengal
• Beaches of Goa
• Kovalam Beach, Kerala
• Marina Beach, Chennai
• Elliot's Beach, Chennai
• City Beach, Pondicherry
• Beaches of Mahabalipuram
• Beaches in Mumbai
• Beaches of Diu
• Beaches of Midnapore, West Bengal
• Beaches of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Beaches of Lakshadweep Islands

Adventure tourism

Skiing in Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Due to its diverse geography and a myriad of cultures, coupled with the popularity of adventure sports adventure tourism in India has become quite popular. Backpacking, or light travel, is a popular way to explore India. Many of those who have previously visit will describe the visit as not having been a holiday but an adventure.

• River rafting and kayaking in Himalayas
• Mountain climbing in Himalayas
• Rock climbing in Madhya Pradesh
• Skiing in Auli and Gulmarg
• Boat racing in Bhopal
• Paragliding in Maharashtra

Hill stations

Ooty, Kodaikanal and yercaud are known for the hill stations. These places are attracted by lots of tourists due to its climate, lakes, botanical gardens, flora and fauna etc. Mettupalyam=Ooty hill train is an UNESCO heritage site.

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site provides a scenic view of hills throughout its 41 km journey between Mettupalayam and Ooty (7500 FT above ground level).

Ooty hill station

Ooty, Tamilnadu, India

Medical Tourism

^{This state is also known for Medical tourism and houses some of Asia's largest hospitals. Super speciality hosptials gives treatments to millions of people worldwide.Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of India provides scenic view of sunset and sunshine over the Indian ocean. Mathur Totti Palam one of the biggest aqueducts, both in height and length, in Asia. Thiruvalluvar statue of the St Tamil poet, tallest statue of Asia[citation needed] and ancient wooden palace of Marthandavarma (known as Padmanabapuram palace), Hill stations like Yercaud, Kodaikanal, Ooty, Valparai, Yelagiri are widely visited. Water Falls like Hogenakkal Falls and Wildlife sanctuaries are located across the state. Pichavaram the world's second largest mangrove forest is located in the state. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a railway in Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908, and was initially operated by the Madras Railway. The railway still relies on its fleet of steam locomotives. NMR comes under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Salem Division. In July 2005, UNESCO added the Nilgiri Mountain Railway as an extension to the World Heritage Site of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the site then became known as "Mountain Railways of India." After it satisfied the necessary criteria, thus forcing abandonment of the modernisation plans. For the past several years diesel locomotives have taken over from steam on the section between Coonoor and Udhagamandalam. Local people and tourists have led a demand for steam locos to once again haul this section.}

Temples in India

The state also holds the credit of having maximum number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (5) in India which includes Great Living Chola Temples and Mahabalipuram. Archaeological sites with civilisation dating back to 3800 years are found in Tamil Nadu.

Mahabalipuram, tamilnadu, India.

Mahabalipuram sea shore temples were built by rulers of pallava dynasty and depicts remarkable art and architecture. The carvings depicts rathas, mandapas and the lord Shiva. The temple is made of monolithic marvels and carved from rocks. The Big temple at thanjavur was a classical example chola art and architecture. The temple tower is made of a single stone of granite which was a great piece of work done almost 1000 years ago without the use of modern technology. Thanjavur is also very famous for its painting and Veena. Sri Meenakshi temple at Madurai is in the top list of New seven Wonders of the world. Sri Meenakshi temple has a 1000 pillar hall made of granite and nine temple towers that depicts the various organs of Human in ancient Hindu mythology. Some more temples of art and cultural significance were

Kamatchi temple - Kanchipram Arunachaleeswarar temple - Thiruvannamalai Sri Ranganathaswamy temple - Srirangam Sri Andal temple- Srivilliputhur Bridhadeeswarar temple- Gangaikindacholapuram

A view of Big temple (also known as brihadeeswarar temple) at Thanjavur, tamilnadu, India.

With more than 34000 temples, Tamil Nadu has some great temples like Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, Brihadeeswarar Temple, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and Srilakshmi Golden Temple. All these temples showcase the art and architecture prevailed during the ancient period. 1000 pillars hall was a main attraction in both Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, Srirangam and in Sri Meenakshi temple, Madurai. Atleast 15,000 visitors visit these temple regularly which include both Indians and Foreigners. Other than this Rameswaram temple, Chidambaram temple, Kumbakonam temple were famous for its art, architecture and glory.

Panorama of the temple

Nandhi in Gangai Konda  Cholapuram Temple

Abodes of Lord Murugan (Subramanyaswamy)

The six abodes of lord subramanyaswamy were situated in tamilnadu. They were Tirupparamkunram, Thiruchendur, Thiruavinankudi, Swamimalai, Thiruthani, and Pazhamudircholai.

Bird Sancturaies

The wetland attract numerous migratory birds from Europe and America. The state government has established 13 bird sanctuaries to protect the birds from poaching and hunting. The state also has various bird sanctuaries including 13 established bird sanctuary among others maintained by the state government. They include vedanthangal, pulicate lake, vettangudi, kanjirankulam, uthayamarthandapuram, point calimere among others

This photograph shows the Welcome message to the visitors.

The huge group of birds seen swimming and playing in the irrigation tank.

The state also has squirrel sanctuary, protected areas for tiger, elephant, deer etc. Arignar Anna Zoological park is the first public zoo in India which attracts millions of tourists worldwide.

Tourism in India

Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, Every year more than three million tourists visit it.

The Taj Mahal from Persian and Arabic, "crown of palaces", pronounced also "the Taj is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.

City Palace in Udaipur (also known as the Venice of the East).

City Palace, Udaipur, is a palace complex in Udaipur, in the Indian state Rajasthan. It was built over a period of nearly 400 years being contributed by several kings of the dynasty, starting by the Maharana Udai Singh as the capital of the Sisodia Rajput clan in 1559, after he moved from Chittor. It is located on the east bank of the Lake Pichola and has several palaces built within its complex. Udaipur was the historic capital of the former kingdom of Mewar in the Rajputana Agency and its last capital.

The City Palace in Udaipur was built in a flamboyant style and is considered the largest of its type in Rajasthan, a fusion of the Rajasthani and Mughal architectural styles, and was built on a hill top that gives a panoramic view of the city and its surrounding, including several historic monuments such as the Lake Palace in Lake Pichola, the Jag Mandir on another island in the lake, the Jagdish Temple close to the palace, the Monsoon Palace on top of an overlooking hillock nearby and the Neemach Mata temple. These structures are linked to the filming of the James Bond movie Octopussy, which features the Lake Palace and the Monsoon Palace. The subsequent publicity has resulted in the epithet of Udaipur as "Venice of the East". In 2009, Udaipur was rated the top city in the World's Best Awards by Travel + Leisure.

The Howrah Bridge in Kolkata illuminated.

The Howrah Bridge is a cantilever bridge with a suspended span over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a pontoon bridge at the same location linking the two cities of Howrah and Kolkata (Calcutta). On 14 June 1965 it was renamed Rabindra Setu, after the great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, who was the first Indian and Asian Nobel laureate. It is still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge.

The bridge is one of two on the Hooghly River and is a famous symbol of Kolkata and West Bengal. The other bridges are the Vidyasagar Setu (popularly called the Second Hooghly Bridge), the Vivekananda Setu, and the newly built Nivedita Setu. It weathers the storms of the Bay of Bengal region, carrying a daily traffic of approximately 100,000 vehicles and possibly more than 150,000 pedestrians, easily making it the busiest cantilever bridge in the world. The third-longest cantilever bridge at the time of its construction, the Howrah Bridge is the sixth-longest bridge of its type in the world.

The tourism industry of India is economically important and grows rapidly. The World Travel & Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated INR6.4 trillion or 6.6% of the nation's GDP in 2012. It supported 39.5 million jobs, 7.7% of its total employment. The sector is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.9% from 2013 to 2023. This gives India the third rank among countries with the fastest growing tourism industries over the next decade. India has a large medical tourism sector which is expected to grow at an estimated rate of 30% annually to reach about ₹ 95 billion by 2015.

According to provisional statistics 6.29 million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2011, an increase of 8.9% from 5.78 million in 2010. This ranks India as the 38th country in the world in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. Domestic tourist visits to all states and Union Territories numbered 1,036.35 million in 2012, an increase of 16.5% from 2011. The most represented countries are the United States (16%) and the United Kingdom (12.6%). In 2011 Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi were the most popular states for foreign tourists. Domestic tourists visited the states Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu most frequently. Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Agra have been the four most visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2011. Worldwide, Chennai is ranked 41 by the number of foreign tourists, while Delhi is ranked at 50, Mumbai at 57 and Agra at 65 and Kolkata at 99.

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 ranks India 65th out of 144 countries overall. The report ranks the price competitiveness of India's tourism sector 20th out of 144 countries. It mentions that India has quite good air transport (ranked 39th), particularly given the country’s stage of development, and reasonable ground transport infrastructure (ranked 42nd). Some other aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain somewhat underdeveloped however. The nation has very few hotel rooms per capita by international comparison and low ATM penetration.[6] The World Tourism Organization reported that India's receipts from tourism during 2012 ranked 16th in the world, and 7th among Asian and Pacific countries.

The Ministry of Tourism designs national policies for the development and promotion of tourism. In the process, the Ministry consults and collaborates with other stakeholders in the sector including various Central Ministries/agencies, state governments, Union Territories and the representatives of the private sector. Concerted efforts are being made to promote new forms of tourism such as rural, cruise, medical and eco-tourism. The Ministry also maintains the Incredible India campaign.

India's rich history and its cultural and geographical diversity make its international tourism appeal large and diverse. It presents heritage and cultural tourism along with medical, business, educational and sports tourism.