Built on the passing rail trade, you might be forgiven for thinking of Jalgaon as nothing more than a dreary transit town – which, in fact, it is. However, it’s not all bad news because the town keeps a couple of alluring aces stuffed up its sleeve. Firstly, despite a population of some half a [...]
This rarely visited sanctuary (262239; Indian/foreigner Rs 25/100; mid-Sep–mid-Jul) protects 114 sq km of forests and grasslands along the Torsa River and is a refuge for over 50 Indian one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis).
Jaisalmer is a giant sandcastle with a town attached, an emblem of honour in a land of rough and tumble. The fort is a living monument to long-lost desert might, a Golden City of dreams that exceeds expectations of the most travel-sick tourist or hardened history buff. Rising high from Trikuta hill, 99 enormous bastions [...]
Jaipur, the City of Victory, is chaotic and congested, though it still has a habit of tickling travellers pink. Stunning hilltop forts and glorious palaces fit like footprints from a rich royal past, candyfloss-bright turbans blaze a trail through brilliant bargain-filled bazaars, and fluttering saris catch the eye like butterflies.
Fifty years ago, the maharaja would stand atop Jagdalpur palace shooting at animals in the surrounding jungle. Since then, Bastar’s amiable capital has claimed a patch of forest and the palace has been joined by imposing statues of Hanuman and a Bison Horn Maria tribesperson. Jagdalpur is a good base for meeting the tribes and [...]
A military and industrial centre, the capital of eastern Madhya Pradesh is a grimy city of chowks and working men’s taverns, which will likely give you a dose of culture shock if you’re emerging from the surrounding bush. The High Court is one of the buildings left by the British, for whom Jabalpur was capital [...]
Indore is Madhya Pradesh’s business powerhouse – nearby Pithampur is known as the Detroit of India for its car factories. Check your emails, and perhaps imagine the days when the city reached its cultural peak under the Holkar dynasty, before fleeing the traffic, flyovers and crooked smiles.
One of three wildlife sanctuaries in the Western Ghats along the Tamil Nadu–Kerala border, this cool, misty mountain park covers almost 1000 sq km of mostly teak forest and evergreen jungle. It’s home to elephants, gaurs, tigers, panthers, spotted deer, wild boars, bears, porcupines and civet cats, and the Nilgiri tahr – commonly known as [...]
Hyderabad and Secunderabad, City of Pearls, was once the seat of the powerful Qutb Shahi and Asaf Jahi dynasties. Today Hyderabad’s west side is, with Bengaluru (Bangalore), the seat of India’s mighty software dynasty; ‘Cyberabad’ generates jobs, wealth and posh lounges like she was born to do it. Opulence, it would seem, is in this [...]
The busy, prosperous city of Hubli is a hub for rail routes from Mumbai to Bengaluru, Goa and northern Karnataka. Several hotels and restaurants sit close to the train station; others surround the old bus stand, a 15-minute walk from the train station. Long-distance buses usually stop here before heading to the new bus stand [...]