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Frommer's India, 4th Edition Table of Contents Chapter 1: The Best of India 1 Experiencing Spiritual India 2 The Best Temples, Monuments & Lost Cities 3 Unique Places to Stay 4 Most Memorable Moments 5 Exploring Natural India 6 The Best Eating & Drinking Experiences 7 The Best Ayurvedic Pampering 8 The Best Savvy Traveler Tips Chapter 2: India in Depth 1 India Today 2 India Past to Present 3 The Lay of the Land 4 The Religions of India 5 Indian Cuisine 6 Reading India 7 Bollywood & Beyond: India on the Big Screen Chapter 3: Planning Your Trip to India 1 When to Go India s Weather Month By Month The Himalayas Maharashtra South India Delhi, Rajasthan & Central India East India 2 Entry Requirements Passports 3
Visas Customs Medical Requirements 3 Getting There & Getting Around Getting To India Getting Around 4 Money & Costs Currency Atms (Automated Teller Machines) Credit Cards Traveler s Checks 5 Health Staying Healthy Common Ailments What To Do If You Get Sick Away From Home 6 Safety Discrimination 7 Specialized Travel Resources Gay & Lesbian Travelers Travelers with Disabilities Women Travelers Multicultural travelers 8 Sustainable & Responsible Tourism Customs & Etiquette 9 Special-Interest Trips & Escorted Tours Academic Trips & Language Classes Adventure & Wellness Trips Food & Wine Trips Volunteer & Working Trips Escorted General-Interest Tours 10 Discovering Spiritual India 11 Tips on Accommodations 4
Surfing for Hotels Landing the Best Room Chapter 4: Suggested India Itineraries 1 North India Highlights in 16 Days 2 The Golden Triangle & Rajasthan Highlights 3 South India: Temples & Tea, Beaches & Backwaters 4 A Leisurely Southern Sojourn Chapter 5: City of Dreamers: Mumbai & Maharashtra Side Trips 1 Arrival & Orientation When To Go Arriving City Layout Colaba & Nariman Point Fort Marine Drive to Malabar Hill Central Mumbai North Mumbai: Bandra, Juhu & Beyond Visitor Information 2 Getting Around Public Transportation Organized Tours & Trips 3 What to See & Do Exploring Colaba & Fort Top Attractions Markets Cricket 4 Marine Drive Colaba Churchgate Central Mumbai: Worli, Bandra & Juhu 5
Near The Airports 5 South Mumbai: Colaba, Fort, Churchgate & Marine Drive Central Mumbai: Worli, Tardeo & Chowpatty Beach The Northern Suburbs: Bandra & Juhu 6 Indian Handicrafts & Traditonal Souvenirs Homeware & Beautiful objects Fashion & Fabrics Jewelry Art, Antiques & Furniture 7 Mumbai After Dark Theater & Live Music Bars, Lounges & Other Watering Holes Nightclubs 8 Pune & the Osho International Meditation Resort What to See & Do in Pune The Osho International Meditation Resort 9 Aurangabad & the Ellora & Ajanta Caves Aurangabad The Buddhist Caves Of Ajanta The Buddhist, Hindu & Jain Caves of Ellora Chapter 6: Goa: Party in Paradise 1 Arrival & Orientation Tour Operators & Travel Agents 6
Goa s Best Beaches 2 North Goa 3 Panjim & Old Goa Exploring Old Goa WHere to Dine 4 The Central Coast Majorda, Utorda & Betalbatim 5 The Far South: Goa s Best Beaches Chapter 7: God s Own Country: Kerala & Lakshadweep 1 Kochi (Cochin) What To See & Do Kochi After Dark 2 Lakshadweep Diving the Reefs 3 The Backwaters Cruising the Backwaters 7
4 Trivandrum & Varkala What to See & Do in Trivandrum Arts & Entertainment & Dine North of Trivandrum: The Red Cliffs of Varkala 5 Kovalam & Kerala s Southernmost Coast & Dine 6 The Cardamom Hills & Periyar Tiger Reserve En Route to Kerala s Highlands The Periyar Tiger Reserve Munnar: Home of Tea & Tahrs 7 Northern Kerala Kozhikode & The Wyanad Rainforest Kannur & Kerala s Northernmost Coast Chapter 8: Tamil Nadu: The Temple Tour 1 Chennai What To See & Do Day Trip To The Sacred City Of Kanchipuram Chennai After Dark World s Wealthiest Temple: Tirupati 2 Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) Exploring The Shrines & Temples & Dine 8
3 Puducherry (Pondicherry) What To See & Do 4 Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Thanjavur & Chettinad Region What To See & Do & Dine 5 Madurai What To See & Do & Dine Chapter 9: Karnataka & Hyderabad: Kingdoms of the South 1 Bengaluru (Bangalore) What To See & Do Cultural Activities 2 Mysore What To See & Do Visiting Rajiv Gandhi National Park Of Coorg & Coffee 3 Exploring the Hoysala Heartland Belur 9
Halebid Sravanabelagola & Dine 4 Hampi & the Ruined City of Vijayanagar Exploring The Ruined City Of Vijayanagara 5 Side Trip to Northern Karnataka Badami, Aihole & Pattadakal Bijapur 6 Hyderabad What To See & Do Chapter 10: The Heart of India: Delhi, the Taj, Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh 1 Delhi The Top Attractions Delhi After Dark 2 Agra What To See & Do 3 Varanasi (Benaras) 10
What To See & Do 4 Khajuraho Exploring Khajuraho s Temples An Excursion To Panna National Park 5 Bandhavgarh National Park Organizing Your Bandhavgarh Safari 6 Kanha National Park Organizing Your Safari 7 Orchha Exploring Orchha s Forgotten Monuments 8 Bhopal & Sanchi What To See & Do In Bhopal Exploring The Buddhist Complex At Sanchi & Dine 9 The Fortress City of Mandu Exploring Mandu 11
& Dine Chapter 11: Rajasthan: Land of Princes 1 Planning Your Trip to Rajasthan & Dine En Route To or From Delhi 2 Jaipur What to See & Do Top Attractions 3 The National Parks Bharatpur & The Keoladeo Ghana National Park Ranthambhore National Park 4 Bundi & Dine 5 Shekhawati & Dine 6 Pushkar 7 Udaipur What to See & Do Top Attractions Top Excursions In & Around Udaipur 12
8 Jodhpur What to See & Do & Dine 9 Jaisalmer What to See & Do Chapter 12: Gujarat: India s Eclectic Wild West 1 Ahmedabad What to See & Do in the City Excursions Further Afield 2 Kutch / Kuchchh / Kachchh Bhuj & Environs & Dine Chapter 13: Higher Altitudes, Higher Powers: Amritsar, Himachal Pradesh & Ladakh 1 Staying Active 2 Amritsar & The Golden Temple The Top Attractions 13
3 Shimla What to See & Do Excursions Around Shimla 4 Kinnaur, Spiti & Lahaul The Journey: Kinnaur & Spiti In 7 Days 5 Manali & the Valley of the Gods Manali 6 Dharamsala & the Kangra Valley The Top Attractions The Kangra Valley 7 Ladakh What to See & Do in Leh In & Around Leh in Leh in Leh Exploring Ladakh Chapter 14: Uttarakhand: Sacred Source of the Ganges 1 Garhwal Mussoorie 14
Rishikesh 2 Kumaon A Road Trip Through Kumaon & Dine 3 Corbett National Park Visiting the Park & Dine Chapter 15: Kolkata (Calcutta) & East India 1 Kolkata Orientation What to See & Do Kolkata After Dark 2 Orissa s Golden Temple Triangle Bhubaneswar Exploring Puri & The Sun Temple at Konark 3 Darjeeling 4 Sikkim Gangtok & Environs Pelling & Environs Treks Through Western Sikkim Exploring the Wilds of Assam Chapter 16: Fast Facts 15
Fast Facts: India 16
India 4th Edition Pippa de Bruyn, Dr. Keith Bain, David Allardice & Shonar Joshi Published by: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 Copyright 2010 Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978/750-8400, fax 978/646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201/748-6011, fax 201/748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Wiley and the Wiley Publishing logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Frommer s is a trademark or registered trademark of Arthur Frommer. Used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. ISBN 978-0-470-55610-8 Editor: Stephen Bassman Production Editor: Jana M. Stefanciosa Cartographer: Tim Lohnes Photo Editor: Richard Fox Production by Wiley Indianapolis Composition Services Front Cover Photo: Women in conversation in Rajasthan, Mandawa Luciano Mortula / Alamy Images Back Cover Photo: The Temple elephant gives a blessing at the Arunachaleswara Temple in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu David Pearson / Alamy Images For information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877/762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317/572-3993 or fax 317/572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. Manufactured in the United States of America 5 4 3 2 1 List of Maps India North India Highlights in 16 Days The Golden Triangle & Rajasthan Highlights South India: Temples & Tea, Beaches & Backwaters A Leisurely Southern Sojourn 17
Note About Maps Greater Mumbai Colaba, Fort & Churchgate South Mumbai Goa Kerala Kochi (Cochin), Willingdon Island & Ernakulam Tamil Nadu Puducherry (Pondicherry) Karnataka The Heart of India: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh Delhi Agra Fatehpur Sikri Varanasi Khajuraho Rajasthan Jaipur Pushkar Udaipur Gujarat Himachal Pradesh Kinnaur, Spiti & Lahaul Uttarakhand East India Kolkata (Calcutta) This guide contains dozens of maps of varying sizes and complexity. If you find it hard to read a map on your device, use the zoom function to enlarge. You can also download and/or printout PDFs of all of the maps in this guide. Go to www.frommers.com/go/ebookmaps and click on the title of your guide. 18
How to contact Us In researching this book, we discovered many wonderful places hotels, restaurants, shops, and more. We re sure you ll find others. Please tell us about them, so we can share the information with your fellow travelers in upcoming editions. If you were disappointed with a recommendation, we d love to know that, too. Please write to: Frommer s India, 4th Edition Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 An Additional Note Please be advised that travel information is subject to change at any time and this is especially true of prices. We therefore suggest that you write or call ahead for confirmation when making your travel plans. The authors, editors, and publisher cannot be held responsible for the experiences of readers while traveling. Your safety is important to us, however, so we encourage you to stay alert and be aware of your surroundings. Keep a close eye on cameras, purses, and wallets, all favorite targets of thieves and pickpockets. About the Authors Pippa de Bruyn is an award-winning journalist, travel writer (author of Frommer s South Africa), and freelance editor. Dr. Keith Bain has a doctoral degree in cinema. When he s not traveling the world in search of fantastic experiences, he spends his time writing and lecturing about film, media, theater, and contemporary culture. David Allardice is a lawyer with a degree in History as well as a freelance writer and editor. He was born in Durban, South Africa, and also contributes to Frommer s South Africa. When he s not backpacking through Asia, he lives in Cape Town. Shonar Joshi is a writer by profession and explorer by heart. She has dabbled with environmental television reporting, filmmaking, script writing, farming, and traveling mostly in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Her book Of Past Dawns and Future Noons is a testament to the passion with which she regards India and its rich ancient past, present, and future. Acknowledgments Sincerest thanks to several individuals who assisted and contributed to updating sections of this book; they are: Abhishek Madhukar (Kerala, Rajasthan, and Varanasi), Munira Rampurawala (Mumbai, Goa, and Kumaon), Jayati Vora (dining and nightlife in Mumbai), Yasmin Menon (Chennai and Bangalore), and André Morris (Amritsar and Dharamsala); we d also like to give a special mention to Abishek Madhukar and John Thomas. Frommer s Star Ratings, Icons & Abbreviations Every hotel, restaurant, and attraction listing in this guide has been ranked for quality, value, service, amenities, and special features using a star-rating system. In country, state, and regional guides, we also rate towns and regions to help you narrow down your choices and budget your time accordingly. Hotels and restaurants are rated on a scale of zero (recommended) to three stars (exceptional). Attractions, shopping, nightlife, towns, and regions are rated according to the following scale: zero stars (recommended), one star (highly recommended), two stars (very highly recommended), and three stars (must-see). In addition to the star-rating system, we also use eight feature icons that point you to the great deals, in-theknow advice, and unique experiences that separate travelers from tourists. Throughout the book, look for: Special finds those places only insiders know about Fun facts details that make travelers more informed and their trips more fun Best bets for kids, and advice for the whole family Special moments those experiences that memories are made of Places or experiences not worth your time or money Insider tips great ways to save time and money 19
Great values where to get the best deals Warning traveler s advisories are usually in effect The following abbreviations are used for credit cards: AE American Express DISC Discover V Visa DC Diners Club MC MasterCard Travel Resources at Frommers.com Frommer s travel resources don t end with this guide. Frommer s website, www.frommers.com, has travel information on more than 4,000 destinations. We update features regularly, giving you access to the most current trip-planning information and the best airfare, lodging, and car-rental bargains. You can also listen to podcasts, connect with other Frommers.com members through our active-reader forums, share your travel photos, read blogs from guidebook editors and fellow travelers, and much more. 20