Write an article for 'Travel India', a travel and tourism magazine. describe a place you have visited
Answers
Places of tourist interest are so numerous and of varied nature that it is not easy to describe these places comprehensively. These include places of archaeological and historical importance, pilgrimage centres, sanctuaries and national parks, hill resorts, sea beaches, etc. (Fig. 30.4). They are distributed throughout the length and breadth of the country.
clip_image002
1. The Himalayan Region:
The Himalayan is at present, one of the main tourist destinations, not only in India but in the whole of South Asia. Its lofty peaks, snow clad ranges, lush green valleys, turbulent rivers and varied fauna and flora offer a large variety of tourist attractions, games and for hiking and trekking. The entire length of the Himalayas starting from Jammu and Kashmir in the west to Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in the east is dotted with different types of tourist centres.
Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Patnitop, Jammu, Sonamarg, Amamath, Vaishno Devi and Leh are the important tourist centres of Jammu and Kashmir. In Himachal Pradesh, there are places like Shimla, Dalhousie, Kangra, Kullu-Manali, Chamba, Kasauli, etc. which attract tourists from far and wide.
In the adjoining Himalayan region of Uttaranchal are located famous religious places like Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kedamath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamnotri, Gomukh, etc. Mussoone, Almora and Nainital are hill stations. The Valley of Flowers presents a unique site in the higher Himalayas. Corbett has the world famous national park.
Towards the east are the famous hill resorts of Darjeeling, Mirik and Kalimpong in West Bengal, Gangtok in Sikkim and Shillong in Meghalaya. Some other places of tourist interest are Kohima in Nagaland, Imphal in Manipur, Aizawl in Mizoram and Agartala in Tripura. At the foothills in Assam are Mannas sanctuary, Soni-Rupa sancturary and Pabha sanctuary for protection of animals like one homed rhinoceros, wild buffaloes, etc.
2. The Great Plain of North India:
Although monotonous from the view point of relief, this vast plain extends from the sandy stretches of Rajasthan in the west to the Sundarbans in the east and possesses a large number of tourist places. These places are of historical, archaeological, religious and industrial importance. It includes large parts of Rajasthan, Punjab. Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, besides the union territories of Delhi and Chandigarh.
The whole of Rajasthan is famous for its palaces, forts, religious places and above all the vast stretches of sand dunes. More than half of the state to the west of the Aravali Range forms part of the Great Plain of North India. Here, Jaisalmer has become very popular during the recent years.
Along with Jodhpur and Bikaner, it forms the famous desert triangle. In Punjab, Amritsar is an important seat of sikh religion. Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bhatinda and Sirhind are other tourist centres of Punjab. Haryana Tourism has developed several places as tourist centres.
They include Ambala, Kurukshetra, and Kamal. Panipat, Pinjour, Momi, Pehowa and Faridabad. Surajkund near Faridabad has become famous all over India due to its annual crafts mela. Delhi is the capital of the country and represents India in miniature.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
It has almost all sorts of tourist attractions including historical and administrative buildings, religious places, museums, parks and gardens, art galleries, etc. Chandigarh, the city beautiful, is one of the few planned cities of India. It is well known for its world famous rock garden, rose garden and Sukhna Lake.
The plains of Uttar Pradesh present a grand mixture of Hindu and Islamic cultures. Mathura, Vrindaban, Allahabad, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Samath are the sacred cities of Hindu religion. Lucknow, Agra and Aligarh represent Islamic religion, culture and history.
Samath is an important Buddhist religious centre. Agra is known for its world famous Taj Mahal. Any foreign tourist who visits Delhi makes it a definite point to visit the Taj at Agra. As a matter of fact, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur form the world famous Golden Triangle. In the Bihar Plain are located Patna, Nalanda, Vaisali, Munger and Sitamarhi.