India received all-time high tourists in 2003. Nearly three million of them visited the “incredible tourist continent” to experience its rich attractions.
The credit partly goes to India Tourism, Dubai, which has been making all efforts to boost tourist traffic to India, in association with Air-India, Indian Airlines, Gulf Air, Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways, and various travel agencies and trade partners. “In fact, by networking and synergizing all efforts, India Tourism has substantially raised tourist traffic to India,” says its Dubai-based Regional Director Prakash Jajoria. There has been a 43 percent increase in outbound tourists from the UAE in 2003 over 2002. International tourists’ arrival to India saw an increase of 20.8 percent from 2002 to 2003.
What’s more, India has been voted among top five destinations, according to an independent travelers survey. The study by Lonely Planet shows India was among top five in the global survey along with Thailand, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand.
“All this augurs well and provides renewed impetus to the Regional India Tourism Office, Dubai to further promote the “India Product” under the unified “Incredible India” campaign,” he said.
Aside from the country’s traditional health resorts and systems like ayurveda, ayurvedic massages and yoga, the country abounds in adventure trails, trekking, water sports, hill stations, jungle and desert safaris, and parks and sanctuaries, Jajoria added.
From the foothills to the higher ranges, mountain trails - many of them unexplored - are a great way to experience the Himalayas. Some of the best trekking routes on the mountainsides are in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttaranchal, Chamba and Manali in Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Zanskar and Spiti in Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and the virtually untouched northeastern states of India. Trekking is one of the best ways to enjoy the panoramic and magnificent sites of the awesome mountains, the rivers, flora and fauna. The best part is that virtually anyone can go on a trek.
Of course, for the more energetic, the Himalayan mountain ranges offer other adventure opportunities like rock climbing, heli-skiing, hang gliding, mountain biking and even paragliding. If you like water sports, again the Himalayas offer you some of the best river runs in the world. The foaming rapids on the Ganges in Rishikesh, Uttaranchal, the Beas in Himachal Pradesh and Teetsa in Sikkim are some of the toughest and most exciting you can find anywhere.
Further south you can enjoy the water adventures along both the west and the east coasts of India. The islands of Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Indian Ocean are virtually untouched and are some of the best spots for scuba diving and snorkeling. The beaches of Goa and Kerala also offer other sporting opportunities like water skiing, wind surfing and sailing.
Also unique are India’s jungle and desert safaris. In fact one of the most magical ways to discover the sands of Rajasthan, especially the unending sand dunes of Jaisalmer and Bikaner, is on camel back. Today, many heritage resorts run by erstwhile royalty also give you the option of enjoying the countryside on horseback, by far the best way to explore the countryside, see its remote forts and palaces, and interact with its people.
Similarly, exploring India’s many wildlife parks and sanctuaries on elephant back is a unique experience. Most tiger and rhino sanctuaries offer this option.
Other adventure activities available in the country are sailing on the west coast in Bombay and Goa and the lakes around Pune, polo in Rajasthan and Delhi, and ballooning, facilities available for amateurs and professionals across the country. Whether you like living life on the edge, or you just want to enjoy the occasional thrill of the unknown, India has something for everyone. Much of the sub-continent’s landscape is dotted by hills and mountain ranges and hill resorts on these ranges are popular getaways with both locals and foreigners.
The British must be given credit for developing most of India’s hill stations. They did so to escape the blistering heat of the long Indian summer.
And with seven principal mountain ranges all over the country available to them they had the opportunity to explore each one of them and create their retreat towns, many of which are well maintained and retain their old-world charm. In the North, the Himalayan ranges stretch 2,500 km across the breadth of the subcontinent, and house some of India’s oldest and most charming hill stations.
The most popular of these is Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, which was the erstwhile summer capital of British India. Also popular are Kasauli —— a cantonment town also developed by the British, Nainital — famous for its beautiful lake, and Mussoorie popularly known as the queen of the hills. Toward the East in the lower Himalayan ranges are hill stations which produce the world’s finest tea - the most famous of them being Darjeeling. Also well known are Shillong, Kurseong and Kalimpong.
A little further south of the Himalayas are one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges, the Aravallis that stretch along the West of the country from Delhi to Gujarat. The most popular hill resort in these ranges is Mount Abu. In Central India the Vindhyas separate the wide Northern plains from the South. Though the ranges aren’t very high, a few small hill stations dot them offering retreat from the heat. The Satpura ranges, which run parallel along to the Vindhyas, have quaint and charming hill resorts like Pachmarhi.
Along the west coast the Sahyadris ranges have many pretty hill stations — many of them near Bombay like Mahabaleshwar and Matheran. In the South the Nilgiris have beautiful hill-towns such as Ooty. Further south are the hill stations of Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu and Munnar in Kerala.