India

A Truly Exotic and Suprising Destination - Overview by Ngaire Keene

Colorful, exotic, incredible temples, elephants, happy people, traffic and luxurious accommodations with truly gracious service; this is what comes to mind when I reflect on my travels in India. The most surprising thing was all of the vivid colors of India. Color hits you immediately every where you look. The women in their beautiful saris waving as we passed by, the brightly painted trucks and buses, the brightly decorated elephants at temple celebrations. The people are friendly and happy; they smile and wave, and the children like to have their picture taken. The traffic is shocking at first but you adjust to camels and cows being on the road. Then the pure luxury that is offered by the Oberoi and Taj hotels. This is a busy, bustling country where even in the countryside people are busy going about their very active lives. India is undergoing major changes and there is a growing middle class of well-educated professionals that are shaping a new and modern India

Recommendations on Areas to Visit

India is divided into two main regions as far as tourism is concerned; the North and the South. The most popular is the Northern region with the South being visited as an extension to a Northern tour or on your second visit to India. The other popular destination is one of the tiger reserves in order to see a tiger in the wild. No guaranteed sightings, but very exciting for wildlife enthusiasts. We offer tours that combine the best of these regions.

Northern India

The North is the most popular and this contains "The Golden Triangle" of Dehli, Agra (Taj Mahal) and Jaipur. This is the most popular tourist circuit to visit. I also feel adding Udaipur to that list of destinations as it is well worth the visit. This Northern region has all the luxury hotels to keep the modern tourist in comfort while exploring the wonders that the state of Rajasthan and modern Delhi have to offer. I would strongly recommend this Northern itinerary for first time visitors to India.

Southern India

The south of India offers the bustling port city of Mumbai (Bombay) , the new beach resort of Goa, very popular with Europeans, Kochi (Cochin) and the amazing Kathakali performance, the beautiful Kerala backwaters, Lake Periyar and the surrounding spice villages. This is a less touristy area of India and the state of Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India. This perfect as an extension to the North for a longer tour or for a second time visit to India.