AgraAgra’s magnificent white marble Taj Mahal stands like a bulbous beacon, drawing tourists like moths to a wondrous flame. Despite the hype, it’s every bit as good as you’ve heard. While Agra itself is a sprawling, bloated and polluted industrial city that few travellers seem to have a good word for, the Taj is not a stand-alone attraction. Agra is the perfect location for your event.
AhmedabadAhmedabad (also called Amdavad) is Gujarat’s major city, and a startling mini-metropolis. Straddling the Sabarmati River, it’s one half old-world charm, and the other half new-world noise. Yet it’s also remarkably cosmopolitan, with a rich Muslim history, a tangled, beautifully restored old city, stunning museums, fine restaurants and fabulous night markets. Many travellers stop off briefly on route to Rajasthan or Mumbai, sneaking in a visit to Sabarmati Ashram (Gandhi’s former headquarters). However, those able to swallow the smog will discover a pulsating Indian city, with a media that preaches tolerance. Ahmedabad is a sky-scraping step-off point to the rest of Gujarat. Ahmedabad is the perfect location for your event.
AllepeyAlappuzha also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. A town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, it was described as the one of the places known as Venice of the East by Lord Curzon. Though the present town owes its existence to the sagacious Diwan Raja Kesavadas in the second half of 18th century, district of Alappuzha figures in classical Literature. Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala with the unending stretch of paddy fields, small streams and canals with lush green coconut palms, was well known even from the early periods of the Sangam age. Allepey is the perfect location for your event.
AlwarDusty Alwar has a fine palace and some colourful bazaars. It was once an important Rajput state, emerging in the 18th century under Pratap Singh, who pushed back the rulers of Jaipur to the south and the Jats of Bharatpur to the east, and who successfully resisted the Marathas. It was one of the first Rajput states to ally itself with the fledgling British empire, although British interference in Alwar’s internal affairs meant that this partnership was not always amicable. Alwar is the perfect location for your event.
AmritsarFounded in 1577 by the fourth guru Ram Das, Amritsar is home to Sikhism’s holiest shrine the Golden Temple. The gold-plated gurdwara glitters in the middle of its holy pool like a huge bullion bar, a sight that some visitors rate alongside the Taj Mahal – particularly after experiencing the surrounding old city’s frenetic lanes. In contrast to the old city, the internet cafés, hotels and eateries in Amritsar’s modern areas are as slick as the state capital. Amritsar is is the perfect location for your event.
AurangabadThey say that every dog has its day and for dog-eared Aurangabad that day came when the last Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, made the city his capital from 1653 to 1707. Though its claim to fame was only brief, the city retains a number of worthwhile historical relics, including a tempting Taj wannabe and some grandly carved caves, but the real reason for traipsing all the way out here is because the city makes an excellent base from which to explore the World Heritage site of Ellora. Aurangabad is the perfect location for your event.
BangaloreRebranded Bengaluru in November 2006, the city more commonly known as Bangalore is not an obvious charmer. The crazy traffic, associated pollution and creaking infrastructure of this IT boom town will fast drive you demented. However, even though locals rarely sing Bengaluru’s praises as a tourist destination, it’s not a dead loss. There are a handful of interesting sights, the climate is benevolent, the city’s reputation for green spaces is well deserved, and the youthful energy and imagination (not to mention disposable income) of the ITocracy fuels a progressive dining, drinking and shopping scene – one of the best in India, in fact. Bangalore is the perfect location for your event.
BareillyBareilly is a city Bareilly district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Standing on the Ramganga river, it is the capital of the Bareilly division and the geographical region Rohilkhand. It is a center for the manufacture of furniture and for trade in cotton, grain, and sugar. The city's population in 2001 was 699,839. Geographically it forms the outer gateway to enter Uttarakhand State. This fast-growing city is also known as Bans-Bareilly (Bansaldev & Baraldev). The status of the city has been upgraded when its name was included in the 'Counter Magnets' of National Capital Region (NCR), because it is equidistant from New Delhi, the capital of India and Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. Bareilly is the perfect location for your event.
BhubanesarBhubaneswar’s rapid expansion has been tempered by the construction of wide avenues and the green belts - nevertheless a typically hectic, noisy, congested city centre greets the traveller. The old city’s spiritual centre is around Bindu Sagar where, from the thousands that once stood here, 50-odd stone temples remain, survivors from the heyday of Orissan medieval temple architecture. Bhubanesar is the perfect location for your event.
CalcuttaSimultaneously noble and squalid, cultured and desperate, Kolkata is a daily festival of human existence. And it’s all played out before your very eyes on teeming streets where not an inch of space is wasted. By its old spelling, Calcutta, India’s second-biggest city conjures up images of human suffering to most Westerners. But Bengalis have long been infuriated by one-sided depictions of their vibrant capital. Kolkata is locally regarded as the intellectual and cultural capital of the nation. Several of India’s great 19th- and 20th-century heroes were Kolkatans, including guru-philosopher Ramakrishna, Nobel Prize–winning poet Rabindranath Tagore and celebrated film director Satyajit Ray. Dozens of venues showcase Bengali dance, poetry, art, music, film and theatre. And while poverty certainly remains in-your-face, the dapper Bengali gentry continue to frequent grand old gentlemen’s clubs, back horses at the Calcutta Racetrack and play soothing rounds of golf at some of India’s finest courses. Calcutta is the perfect location for your event.
CalicutAlways a prosperous trading town, Calicut was once the capital of the formidable Zamorin dynasty. Vasco da Gama first landed near Calicut in 1498, on his way to snatch a share of the subcontinent for king and country (Portugal that is). These days, trade depends mostly on exporting Indian labour to the Middle East. There’s not a lot for tourists to see, though it’s a good break in the journey and is the jumping-off point for Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Calicut is the perfect location for your event.
Chennai - MadrasNo matter how determined you are, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find much to gush about when it comes to Chennai. The streets are clogged with traffic, the weather oppressively hot, the air heavy with smog, and sights of any interest are uncooperatively thin on the ground. Even the movie stars, as one Chennaiite put it, are 'not that hot'. While it may not boast the money of Mumbai (Bombay) or the buzz of Bengaluru (Bangalore), Chennai does feel friendlier than most cities its size. Chennai is so modest you wouldn't even know it’s an economic powerhouse, much less a queen of showbiz: India's fourth-largest city is its most humble. Chennai is the perfect location for your event.
CoorgThe mountainous Kodagu (or Coorg) region is home to the Kodava people and refugee Tibetans. The geography and cool climate make it a fantastic area for trekking, bird-watching and generally refreshing the soul. Winding roads ramble over forested hills and past spice and coffee plantations, which burst into fragrant white blossoms in March and April. Coorg is the perfect location for your event.
CorbettThis famous reserve (15 Nov-15 Jun) was established in 1936 as India’s first national park. Originally called Hailey National Park, then Ramganga National Park, it was renamed in 1957 after the legendary tiger hunter, Jim Corbett (1875–1955), who put Kumaon on the map with his book The Man-Eaters of Kumaon. The British hunter was greatly revered by local people for shooting tigers that had developed a taste for human flesh, but he eventually shot more wildlife with his camera than with his gun. Corbett is the perfect location for your event.
DalhousieDalhousie is another of those ‘little pieces of England’ that the British left behind after Independence. Since Independence, the colonial mansions have been joined by the posh Dalhousie Public School and numerous modern hotels catering to honeymooners from the plains. There isn’t much to do but stroll and admire the views, which is rather the point of coming here. Dalhousie is the perfect location for your event.
DarjeelingDraped over a steep mountain ridge, surrounded by tea plantations and backed by a splendid Himalayan panorama, the archetypal hill station of Darjeeling is rightly West Bengal’s premier drawcard. When you aren’t gazing at Khangchendzonga (8598m), you can explore colonial mansions and churches, Buddhist and Hindu temples, botanical gardens and a zoo for Himalayan fauna. The steep narrow streets are crowded with colourful souvenir and handicraft shops, and a good steaming brew and excellent Indian and Tibetan fare are never far away. For the adventurous there are superb treks which trace ancient trade routes and provide magnificent viewpoints. Darjeeling is the perfect location for your event.
DehradunDehradun, also sometimes spelled Dehra Doon, is the provisional capital city of the Uttarakhand state (earlier called Uttaranchal) in India, and the headquarters of Dehradun District. It is located in the Doon valley, 230 kilometres north of India's capital New Delhi and the Delhi metropolitan area. The district is surrounded by the Himalayas in the north, Sivalik Hills in the south, the river Ganga in the east, and the river Yamuna in the west. The water divide of Ganga and Yamuna passes through the city. It is also located on the northwestern side of the fertile Gangetic plains of India. Before the creation of Uttarakhand on November 9, 2000, Dehradun was a part of Uttar Pradesh. Neighbouring cities and towns include Haridwar, Rishikesh, Roorkee, Mussoorie and Saharanpur. Dehradun is the perfect location for your event.
DelhiDelhi – with its tenacious touts and crush of mechanical and human traffic – can be downright confronting and confounding for the first-time visitor. But don’t let petulant first impressions muddy the plus points of this truly multidimensional metropolis. Scratch beyond the gritty surface and you’ll swiftly discover that India’s capital is sprinkled with glittering gems: captivating ancient monuments, magnificent museums, a vivacious performing-arts scene and some of the subcontinent’s yummiest places to eat. Delhi is the perfect location for your event.
GhaziabadGhaziabad is a well planned industrial city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is 19 km east of Delhi and 46 km southwest of Meerut. The city houses the headquarters of the Ghaziabad district. The city gets its name from the founder Ghazi-ud-din, who called it Ghaziuddinnagar after himself. Later the name was shortened to Ghaziabad. It is a large industrial city well-connected by roads and railways. It has industries that manufacture railway coaches, diesel engines, bicycles, tapestries, glassware, pottery, paint and varnish, heavy chains, etc. Also It has ordinance factory at Muradnagar & Bharat Electronics Limited for manufacturing defense products.
The city is regarded by City Mayors and and Newsweek as the 2nd and 6th fastest developing city in the world,respectively.The city has well planned roads,malls,flyovers and metro connectivity. Ghaziabad is the perfect location for your event.
GoaSwaying palms, white sands and sparkling waters: the three essential elements that attract 2 million visitors annually to Goa’s balmy shores are plentiful in this tiny, glorious slice of India hugging the country’s western coastline and bounded by the Arabian Sea. A solitary Portuguese outpost in India for almost 500 years, the influence of colonial rule can still be seen everywhere: in the exquisite, crumbling architecture - in the East-meets-West cuisine which combines coconut milk, palm vinegar and chillies with the refined flavours of Lisbon - in the melancholy strains of fado that still waft occasionally on the bougainvillea-scented breeze - and in the siesta-saturated joie de vivre that Goans themselves call susegad. Goa is the perfect location for your event.
GurgaonGurgaon is the sixth largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. An important town in ancient Hindu mythology, Gurgaon is one of Delhi's four major satellite cities and is part of the National Capital Region of India. Over the past 10 years the city has undergone rapid development and construction. A wave of multinational companies choose to locate their operations in Gurgaon after GE did so in 1997 which has made Gurgaon the call centre capital of the world. Multinational companies also chose to put their regional headquarters in Gurgaon instead of Mumbai or Delhi. Today, Gurgaon is regarded as the best city in India to work and the best city in India to live, according to a survey by Business Today magazine . Yet, Gurgaon ranks a distant 11 on the 'Life after Work ' index of Business Today. Gurgaon has the 3rd highest per capita income in India after Chandigarh and Mumbai. Gurgaon is the perfect location for your event.
HampiThe fascinating ruins of the 15th-century city of Vijayanagar, near the village of Hampi, are set in an extraordinary landscape of giant granite boulders, lush paddies and banana plantations. The clock seems to have stopped at this World Heritage site, and you can spend a surprisingly large amount of time gazing at the weirdly balanced rocks, wondering how millions of years of erosion could achieve such formations. Hampi is the perfect location for your event.
Hublihe 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 2km away, where there are few amenities. Hubli is the perfect location for your event.
HyderabadHyderabad 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 city’s genes. Across town from all this sheen is Cyberabad’s gorgeous and aged grandmother, the old Muslim quarter, with centuries-old Islamic monuments and even older charms. In fact, the whole city is laced with architectural gems (just like the garments of Asaf Jahi princesses threaded with gold) : ornate tombs, mosques, palaces and homes from the past are tucked away, faded and enchanting, in corners all over town. Keep your eyes open. Hyderabad is the perfect location for your event.
IndoreIndore 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. Indore is the perfect location for your event.
JabalpurA 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 of the Central Provinces. Jabalpur is the perfect location for your event.
JaipurJaipur, 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. As the gateway to the desert state of Rajasthan, however, it’s also a city permanently under siege. Package tourists are captivated by (and offloaded on) the bustling bazaars, world-class hotels and clammy sophistication, while camel carts and cows waddle through diesel-soaked streets, rampaging rickshaw drivers hustle and burn past businessmen and tourists, and scores of street children beg outside huge jewellery shops and palatial hotels. Jaipur is the perfect location for your event.
JalandharJalandhar, is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. In Hindu mythology, Jalandhara was the eponymous kingdom of a devil in Satyuga. It was also known as Prasthala at the time of Mahabharta and it was also known as Jullundur in British times. Jalandhar is the perfect location for your event.
JodhpurGlorious Meherangarh Fort mushrooms from beneath a huge rocky cliff to dominate the once indomitable Blue City. At dusk you feel a part of a real-life movie, as the camera-shy palace peeks over awesome stone walls, and citizens mill about in the hemmed-in chaos below. Jodhpur proper stretches beyond the 16th-century border, but it’s the immediacy and grandeur of the old city, once a stop on a vital trade route, that has more and more travellers raving. Jodhpur is the perfect location for your event.
KarwarKarwar is the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, India. It is a seaside town situated on the banks of the Kali river which is on the west coast of the Indian peninsula. The town lies about 15 kilometres south of the Karnataka-Goa border and 519 km north-west of Bangalore. 'Karwar' also refers to the encompassing Taluk which includes the surrounding villages. A city with parallel and perpendicular concrete roads and with four lanes. Karwar is the perfect location for your event.
KatraKatra or Katra Vaishno Devi, as it is popularly known, is a small town in Jammu and Kashmir, India, situated in the foothills of the Trikuta Mountains, where the holy shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi is located. It is part of the Reasi District and is located 42 km from the city of Jammu. Katra is the perfect location for your event.
KochiIf you listen closely, you can hear the collective sigh breathed by travellers upon setting foot in laid-back Fort Cochin. Kochi has been luring wanderers and traders for over 600 years and remains a living homage to its varied colonial past: giant fishing nets influenced by Chinese merchants, a 16th-century synagogue, ancient mosques, Portuguese houses built half a millennia ago and the crumbling residuum of the British Raj. The result is an unlikely blend of medieval Portugal, Holland and an English country village grafted on to the tropical Malabar Coast. It’s a delightful place to spend some time, soak in the history, peruse art galleries and nap in some of the finest heritage accommodation in India. Kochi is the perfect location for your event.
KodaikanalKodaikanal is a stunningly situated and easy-going hill station on the southern crest of the Palani knolls, some 120km northwest of Madurai. It’s surrounded by wooded slopes, waterfalls and precipitous rocky outcrops and the winding route up and down is breathtaking. Kodaikanal, is the perfect location for your event.
KottayamSandwiched between the Western Ghats and the backwaters, Kottayam is more renowned for being Kerala’s centre of the spice and rubber trade than for its aesthetic appeal. It’s a good place to make a connection between these two regions, or to pop into the pretty backwater village of Kumarakom. Kottayam is the perfect location for your event.
Kullu Running north towards Lahaul, the Kullu and Parvati Valleys are popular with hippies, honeymooners and adrenaline junkies. Many people continue north over Rohtang La (3978m) to Lahaul, Spiti and Ladakh. Kullu is the perfect location for your event.
KumarakomSandwiched between the Western Ghats and the backwaters, Kottayam is more renowned for being Kerala’s centre of the spice and rubber trade than for its aesthetic appeal. It’s a good place to make a connection between these two regions, or to pop into the pretty backwater village of Kumarakom. Kumarakom is the perfect location for your event.
KumilyKumily is a town in the Cardamom Hills near Thekkady and the Periyar Tiger Reserve, in the Idukki District of Kerala State in South India. It is a major tourist destination and a spices trading center. With nearby Periyar Tiger Reserve and Thekkady lake, Kumily also has attracted tourist traffic. Kumily is a busy town throughout the year. May it be Sabarimala devotees (Oct to Jan) or Tourists (Feb to Sep) or Workers from TN (any time) Kumily welcomes & attracts everyone with its charm and warmth. The nearest Airport is Madurai (125 km) and Railway Station is Kottayam (105 km). The famous pilgrim Centre Sabarimala is 150 km from Kumily (by NH proper route). The people from Tamilnadu reaches Kumily to reach Vandanmedu, the famous Cardamom city (famous for Cardamom auction) and the areas like Chakkupallam, Anakkara, Sulthankada, Chittampara which are famous for the lushy & rich Cardamom Plantations. Kumily is the perfect location for your event. Kundapur is the perfect location for your event.
KundapurKundapura is a city in Udupi district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarter of the Kundapura taluk and is about 36 kilometres from Udupi. Kundapura is noted for its 95,000 solar lighting installations by Selco Solar, a Bangalore-based social enterprise.
LucknowLiberally sprinkled with British Raj-era buildings, the ruins of the historic Residency and boasting two superb mausoleums, Lucknow oozes historical interest, although you have to go looking for it in the sprawling congestion that characterises the capital of Uttar Pradesh. The city rose to prominence as the home of the nawabs of Avadh (Oudh). They controlled a region of northern-central India for about a century after the decline of the Mughal empire and most of the city’s monuments date from this period. Lucknow is the perfect location for your event.
MaduraiFamous for the awe-inspiring Sri Meenakshi Temple complex, Madurai is an animated city packed with pilgrims, beggars, business-people, bullock carts and underemployed rickshaw drivers. It’s one of South India’s oldest cities and has been a centre of learning and pilgrimage for centuries. A textile centre from way back, the city was also the setting for Mahatma Gandhi’s decision, in 1921, to wear nothing but khadi (homespun cloth), and tailors’ shops are everywhere in town. Madurai is the perfect location for your event.
MaldaMalda, is a city and a municipality in Malda district in the state of West Bengal, India. It serves as the district headquarters. Situated in between the ancient historical cities of Gaur and Pandua. The city, however, came up much later, around mid 18th century. It was once known as Engelzavad established by the British rulers. In 1813 a Joint Magistrate and Deputy Collector was appointed and in 1832 a treasury was opened. Malda is the perfect location for your event.
MangaloreSituated at the point where the Netravati and Gurupur Rivers flow into the Arabian Sea, Managlore has been a pit stop on international trade routes since the 6th century AD. It was the major port of Hyder Ali’s kingdom, and today the region’s coffee and cashew crops are still shipped out from the modern port, which is 10km north of the city. Mangalore is the perfect location for your event.
MatheranMatheran (Jungle Topped), resting atop the Sahyadris Mountains amid a shady forest crisscrossed with walking tracks and breathtaking lookouts, is easily the most gorgeous of Maharashtra’s hill stations. Matheran is the perfect location for your event.
MirikNestled near the Nepal border, halfway between Siliguri and Darjeeling, is this low-profile hill station and honeymoon destination. Mirik is surrounded by an undulating carpet of tea estates, orange orchards, cardamom plantations and forests of tall, dark Japanese cedars. It is a quiet retreat that remains off most visitors’ radars. Some of Mirik’s higher hilltops offer wonderful views of morning’s first light striking Khangchendzonga (8598m). Mirik is the perfect location for your event.
Mount AbuMount 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 22 km 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. Ancient Name of Mount Abu is 'Arbudaanchal'. Mount Abu is the perfect location for your event.
Mumbai (Bombay)This mass of humanity is a frantic melange of India’s extremes. It is the country’s financial powerhouse and its vogue centre of fashion, film and after-dark frolics. Glistening skyscrapers and malls mushroom amid slums and grinding poverty, and Mumbai slowly marches towards a brave new (air-conditioned) world. But not everyone made the guest list: more than half of the population lives in slums, and religious-based social unrest tugs at the skirt of Mumbai’s financial excess. Mumbai is the perfect location for your event.
MussorieMussoorie is a city and a municipal board, about 34 km from Dehradun and in Dehradun district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. This hill station, situated in the foothills of the Himalaya ranges, is also known as the Queen of the Hills. The adjoining town of Landour, which includes a military cantonment, is considered part of 'greater Mussoorie', as are the townships of Barlowganj and Jharipani. Being at an average altitude of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), Mussoorie, with its green hills and varied flora and fauna, is a fascinating hill resort. Commanding snow ranges to the north-east, and glittering views of the Doon Valley and Shiwalik ranges in the south, the town was once said to present a 'fairyland' atmosphere to tourists. The highest point is Lal Tibba with a height of over 2,290 metres (7,510 ft). Mussorie is the perfect location for your event. Mussorie is the perfect location for your event.
MysoreIt’s not difficult to divine Mysore’s charismatic appeal. The historic seat of the Wodeyar maharajas is easy to get around, has a good climate and works hard to promotes its regal heritage. Famous for its traditional painting and its silk, sandalwood and incense production, Mysore is now promoting itself as an international centre for Ashtanga yoga. Whether you choose to stretch your body in a traditional yoga pose or take more gentle exercise strolling through the city’s magnificent palace and colourful market, Mysore is one Indian city that rewards a slower pace. Mysore is the perfect location for your event.
NagpurNagpur, the geographic centre and orange-growing capital of India, is a clean and affluent city which makes a good jumping-off point for a series of trips into the far eastern corner of Maharashtra. In addition to its proximity to Ramtek and the ashrams around Sevagram, Nagpur is a convenient stop for those heading to the isolated Navagaon National Park, 135km east, and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, 150km south of Nagpur. The former has bears, wild dogs and elusive leopards, while the latter hosts gaurs, chitals, nilgais and seldom-spotted tigers. Nagpur is the perfect location for your event.
NainitalKumaon’s largest town and favourite hill resort, Nainital gets crowded with holidaying families and honeymooners during peak seasons. Occupying a steep forested valley around the deep, green volcanic lake Naini, it’s an attractive, upbeat place founded by homesick Brits reminded of the Cumbrian Lake District. Disaster struck here in December 1880 when a major landslide buried a hotel and 150 people, creating the memorial recreation ground now known as the Flats. Nainital is the perfect location for your event.
OotacamundOoty, short for Ootacamund is a town, a municipality and the district capital of the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Ootacamund is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. Udhagamandalam is the official Tamil name for the town. Ooty stands at an approximate height of 7,500 feet (2, 286 m) above sea level. Ooty is the perfect location for your event.
PondicherryWith its seafront promenade, wide boulevards, enduring pockets of French culture and architecture, and a popular ashram, charming Puducherry – whose name officially changed from Pondicherry in October 2006 – is unlike anywhere else in South India. That’s hardly surprising – the former French colony was settled in the early 18th century as a colonial enclave and it retains a mildly Gallic air superimposed on a typical Indian background. Pondicherry is the perfect location for your event.
Port BlairThe green, ramshackle capital sprawls around a harbour on the east coast of South Andaman and is the administrative nerve centre of the islands. There’s plenty to see in town relating to the islands’ colonial past plus a couple of interesting museums, and as this is the only place to change money, reliably access the internet and book (and wait for) onward transport, most travellers will spend at least a couple of days here. If you want to experience the more natural beauty of the Andamans – above and below the water – book a ferry and move on to Havelock or one of the other islands. Port Blair is the perfect location for your event.
PuneA place where old and new India interweave without a second thought, Pune (pronounced Poona) is a thriving centre of academia and business as well as a historic centre and home to the Osho Meditation Resort. The great Maratha leader Shivaji would be astonished to see how his city has changed in 500 years. He was raised here after the city was granted to his grandfather in 1599. The town fell to the British in 1817 and became their alternative capital during the monsoon. Many maharajas had palaces here, too, taking advantage of its cooler climate. Pune is the perfect location for your event.
RanthambhoreRanthambore National Park is one of the largest and most famous national parks in northern India. It is situated in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 180 km from Jaipur, which is also the nearest airport. The nearest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur, about 11 km away. Ranthambhore was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 by the Government of India, and was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973. Ranthambhore became a national park in 1980. In 1984, the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary, and in 1991 the tiger reserve was enlarged to include Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries. Ranthambhore is the perfect location for your event.
RishikeshEver since the Beatles rocked up at the ashram of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the late ’60s, Rishikesh has been a magnet for spiritual seekers. Today it styles itself as the ‘Yoga Capital of the World’ – with some justification – as there are masses of ashrams and all kinds of yoga and meditation classes. Most of this action is north of the main town, where the exquisite setting on the fast-flowing Ganges, surrounded by forested hills, is conducive to meditation and mind expansion. In the evening, the breeze blows down the valley, setting temple bells ringing as sadhus (spiritual men), pilgrims and tourists prepare for the nightly ganga aarti ceremony. Rishikesh is the perfect location for your event.
ShimlaUntil the British arrived, there was nothing at Shimla but a sleepy forest glade known as Shyamala (a local name for Kali). Then a Scottish civil servant named Charles Kennedy built a summer home in Shimla in 1822 and nothing was ever the same again. By 1864 Shimla had developed into the official summer capital of the Raj. Every summer until 1939, the entire government of India fled here from the sweltering heat of the plains, with all their clerks’ books and forms filled out in triplicate. When the Kalka–Shimla railway line was constructed in 1903, Shimla’s status as India’s premier hill station was assured. The city was even briefly the capital of Punjab until the map was redrawn in 1966. Shimla is the perfect location for your event.
SiliguriThe vibrant, crowded trading hub encompassing the twin towns of Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri (NJP) is the jumping-off point for Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sikkim, the northeast states, eastern Nepal and Bhutan. For most travellers, Siliguri is an overnight transit point where there are good meals, great shopping and a glimpse of snowy peaks. Siliguri is the perfect location for your event.
SuratOn the Tapti River, Surat is a busy commercial centre for textiles and diamonds. It’s long attracted outsiders: Parsis settled here in the 12th century, it later became a vital Mughal port and transit point for Mecca, and in 1613 was the first English settlement in India. Surat is the perfect location for your event.
TrivandrumThe unpretentious capital of Kerala, Trivandrum (many people still call it by this colonial name, understandably) rests upon seven low hills. You only have to walk a few metres off the fume-filled racetrack that passes for a main road to appreciate its gentler side, where much of old Kerala’s ambience remains intact. Pagoda-shaped buildings with red-tiled roofs line the narrow, winding lanes, and life slows exponentially the further you walk. For most visitors it’s just a gateway to the golden-sand resorts of nearby Kovalam and Varkala, but there are some great attractions in and around town for visitors with time to wander off the traveller trail. Trivandrum is the perfect location for your event.
UdaipurWatermarked by whimsy and splendour, the Venice of the East holds stage as one of India’s truly seductive cities. Udaipur is an international destination unto itself, with splendid Lake Pichola lapping against shimmering white buildings, and the Aravalli hills closing in to savour the view. Udaipur is the perfect location for your event.
VadodaraVadodara (or Baroda as it’s often known) is a cultured, harmonious university town 100km southeast of Ahmedabad, which explodes into life during festival season. The impressive museum, overwrought Indo-Saracenic palace and beautiful Tambekar Wada can be visited in a day or two, but the main reason for coming here is the nearby, wonderful Unesco World Heritage site Champaner, with its mosques lost in the landscape. Vadodara is the perfect location for your event.
