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Jabalpur

tushar — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:17:07 +0000

Jabalpur (जबलपुर)also known as shanskardhani is a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. Jabalpur is located in the Mahakoshal region in the geographic center of India. Jabalpur was the 27th largest urban conglomeration in India in 2001 (2001 Census). On a global scale, Jabalpur was the 325th largest city or urban area in the world in 2006 and Jabalpur is estimated to be 294th largest city in the world by 2020. Jabalpur stands 121st in term of the fastest growing cities and urban areas in the world in 2006. Jabalpur is the first district in India who has been obtained the comprehensive ISO-9001 certificate. This has come into force from April 1, 2007.

It is also known as Sanskardhani.

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Mount Abu - Highest Peak of Rajasthan

tushar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:53:14 +0000

Mount Abu is the highest peak in the Aravalli Range of Rajasthan state in western India. It is located in Sirohi district.Mount Abu is 58 Km from Palanpur(Gujarat). The mountain forms a distinct rocky plateau 22km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar, at 1722 meters above sea level. It is referred to as ‘an oasis in the desert’, as its heights are home to rivers, lakes, waterfalls and evergreen forests.

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Lansdowne

tushar — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:53:12 +0000

Lansdowne was originally a popular hill station with the British. The Lansdowne was founded by ‘Lord Lasndowne’ in 1887 A.D., thus the place has been named after him. Attracted by its salubrious climate and natural beauty they established a cantonment here. The famous Garhwal rifles of the Indian Army also has its command office here.

Lansdowne is situated at an altitude of 6000 mtrs., Enroute Kotdwar - Pauri road, 45 km. from Kotdwar. Surrounded by thick oak and blue pine forest, it is a very charming place for a quiet holiday as it is devoid of the usual hustle and bustle of hill stations.

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Cochin

tushar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:16:14 +0000

Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി), formerly known as Cochin, is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city is one of the principal seaports of the country and is located in the district of Ernakulam, about 220 kilometres (137 mi) north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. It has an estimated population of 600,000, with an extended metropolitan population of about 1.5 million, making it the largest urban agglomeration and the second largest city in Kerala after the capital.

Since 1102 CE, Kochi was the seat of the Kingdom of Cochin, a princely state which traces its lineage to the Kulasekhara empire. Heralded as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the Arabian Sea coast from the 14th century onwards. Ancient travellers and tradesmen referred to Kochi in their writings, variously alluding to it as Cocym, Cochym, Cochin, and Cochi. Occupied by the Portuguese in 1503, Kochi was the site of the first European colonial settlement in India. It remained the capital of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa became the capital. The city was later occupied by the Dutch, the Mysore and the British. Kochi was the first princely state to willingly join the Indian Union, when India gained independence in 1947.

A growing centre of information technology, tourism and international trade, Kochi is the commercial hub of Kerala, and one of the fastest growing second-tier metros in India. Successive waves of migration over the course of several millennia have made Kochi a cultural melting pot. Despite the risk of overdevelopment, the city retains its distinct colonial heritage and a blend of tradition and modernity.
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Munnar

tushar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:32:51 +0000

Munnar (Malayalam: മൂന്നാര്‍, Tamil: மூணார்) is a town located in Kerala state in the southern Western Ghats in South India. Munnar was a summer resort of British government in South India. It is 1600 m (5400 ft) above sea level. It is pronounced “Moon-aar” meaning “Three rivers” in Tamil and Malayalam. There are in fact three rivers - Madupetti, Nallathanni and Periavaru which flow through this town, but join some distance away from Munnar.

The neelakurinji, a blue flower which blooms only every twelve years, is found in this region. It bloomed last in December 2006. Munnar also has the highest peak in South India, Anamudi, at 2695 m.

The tea plantations and holiday facilities make this a popular hill station in Kerala.

Altitude : 1600 Mts to 1800 Mts above sea level. Temperature : Min. 0c - Max. 25c. Clothing : Warm Clothes and Rain Gear. Tourist Season : August to March
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Kaziranga National Park

tushar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:24:56 +0000

Kaziranga National Park (Assamese: কাজিৰঙা ৰাষ্ট্ৰীয় উদ্যান, Kazirônga Rastriyô Uddan, ) is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. A World Heritage Site, the park hosts two-thirds of the world’s Great One-horned Rhinoceroses. Kaziranga boasts the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.

Kaziranga is recognised as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International for conservation of avifaunal species. Compared to other protected areas in India, Kaziranga has achieved notable success in wildlife conservation. Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park combines high species diversity and visibility.Kaziranga is a vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests, crisscrossed by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, and the park includes numerous small bodies of water. Kaziranga has been the theme of several books, songs, and documentaries. The park celebrated its centennial in 2005 after its establishment in 1905 as a reserve forest.
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Goa

tushar — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:12:48 +0000

Goa pronunciation (Konkani: गोंय /ɡɔ̃j/) is India’s smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population. Located on the west coast of India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast.

Panaji (also referred to as Panjim) is the state’s capital. Vasco da Gama (sometimes shortened to Vasco) is the largest city. The historic city of Margao still exhibits the influence of Portuguese culture. Portuguese first landed in Goa as merchants, in the early 16th century, and conquered it soon after. The Portuguese overseas territory existed for about 450 years, until it was annexed by India in 1961.

Renowned for its beaches, places of worship and world heritage architecture, Goa is visited by hundreds of thousands of international and domestic tourists each year. It also has rich flora and fauna, owing to its location on the Western Ghats range, which is classified as a biodiversity hotspot.

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Agra - City of the Taj

tushar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:40:56 +0000

Agra (Hindi: आगरा, Urdu: آگرا) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna River in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It finds mention in the epic Mahabharata when it was called Agrabana, or Paradise. Ptolemy, the famous 2nd century geographer, marked it on his map of the world as Agra. Tradition and legend ascribe the present city of Raja Badal Singh (around 1475) whose Fort, Badalgarh, Stood on or near the site of the present Fort. However, the 12th century Persian poet Salman writes of a desperate assault on the fortress of Agra, then held by one King Jaipal, by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni^. It was ruled by Sultan Sikandar Lodi in the year 1506. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658 and remains a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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Shimla - Queen of the Hills

tushar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:19:07 +0000

Shimla pronunciation (Hindi: शिमला), originally called Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the erstwhile British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the “Queen of Hills” (a term coined by the British). Located in north-west Himalayas at an altitude of 2,130 metres (6,988 ft), the city of Shimla, draped in forests of pine, rhododendron, and oak, experiences pleasant summers and cold, snowy winters. The city is famous for its buildings styled in tudorbethan and neo-gothic architecture reminiscent of the colonial era. Shimla is connected to the city of Kalka by one of the longest narrow gauge railway routes still operating in India. Shimla is approximately 115 km (71.4 miles) from Chandigarh, the nearest major city, and 365 km (226.8 miles) from New Delhi, the national capital. The city is named after the goddess Shyamala Devi, an incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Kali.

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Konark - The City of the Sun Temple

tushar — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:56:21 +0000

Konark or Konarak is a temple town near Puri in the state of Orissa, south of Kolkata in India. It is most famous for its Sun temple.

The magnificent Sun Temple at Konark is the culmination of Orissan temple architecture, and one of the most stunning monuments of religious architecture in the world. The massive structure, now in ruins, sits in solitary splendour surrounded by drifting sand. Today it is located two kilometers from the sea, but originally the ocean came almost up to its base. Until fairly recent times, in fact, the temple was close enough to the shore to be used as a navigational point by European sailors, who referred to it as the ‘Black Pagoda’.

Built by King Narasimhadeva in the thirteenth century, the entire temple was designed in the shape of a colossal chariot, carrying the sun god, Surya, across the heavens. Surya has been a popular deity in India since the Vedic period.
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