India is secular nation that bears equal tolerance to all religions. Hence, one can find many a religious places specific to different religious groups. There are Hindu, Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh religious places. Most of them have a mythological story associated with their evolution and devotees believe in wish fulfillment at some of these. However, faith is the sole basis that keeps these places alive; some of them are more than a century old. The famous pilgrimage centers in India are Tirupati, Shirdi, Somnath temple, Thrissur, Khajuraho, Omkareshwar, Golden temple, Ajanta caves, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gaya, Rishikesh, Varansi, Anandpur Sahib and many more.
India is famous for its hill stations, most of them being developed by the Britishers during their rule. These all formed the summer capitals during their rule. All the hill stations are well linked from the major cities and towns by road, rail and air. Also these have good boarding/lodging facilities with amenities like swimming pools, pool tables, casinos etc. The picturesque Hill stations are popular as resorts among both Indians and visitors, providing a relaxing and salubrious retreat from the heat and dust of the plains. The snow clad peaks and the cool hill stations on the foothills of these hills provide respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. India has seven principal mountain ranges and the most important amongst them are the Himalayas followed by the Shivaliks, which have the most popular hill resorts. Shimla, Dalhousie, Nainital, Mussorie, Panchmarhi, Mount Abu, and Kodaikanal are some of the favorite hill resorts of international tourists.
The Indian peninsula is surrounded by the Arabian Sea on the West, the Bay of Bengal on the East and the Indian Ocean from the South. The Sahyadri hills have given rise to the scenic beauty where the sea and hills meet. This has made Konkan on the western coast a very rich and fertile land. While on the eastern side, a wider area stretches between Bay of Bengal and Eastern Ghats, called as the Coromandal Coast. The Indian peninsula is made up of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep Islands facing the Arabian Sea and West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Andaman Nicobar Islands facing Bay of Bengal. Of all Gujarat has the longest coastline. India is endowed with several beautiful beaches, dotting its long coastline.
India has many places of adventure to be explored. These places have their own and unique experience, thrill and excitement. Over the years places like Mahabaleshwar have developed para-gliding, and parachute rides. It takes your breath away, watching the beauty of the hill station from a height. The valley below and the sky kissing the earth far away has its own beauty. The Buddhist monastery of Bir in Kangra, has been the venue for national and international para-gliders for past sixteen years. If you are passionate about mountaineering then India is the place to be. It has a wide range of mountains to choose. You have the chilling Himalay, the Aravalli, the Sahyadri, the Vindya and many more exciting mountain ranges. The pulsing climbs are at Bhimashankar, Saputara and others in Maharashtra. Manali in Himachal Pradesh, the Beas Kund region and lower reaches of Hanuman Tibba, Shitidhar peaks around the source of the beas river and the Deo Tibba are quite nursery in nature
Today India is a home to all kinds of people from different religions. Each having its own unique culture and tradition. Due to its richness India was of strategic and economic importance to many Empires. The traditional Indian rulers like the Marathas, Marvars, Peshwas, Rajputs, and many others shaped the places like Gwalior, Udaipur, Jaipur, Pune, Mysore and many more. These places have priceless monuments and forts like Shaniwar wada, Raigad fort and world famous palaces like those of the Scindias. India was invaded first by the Mughals, in the fourteenth and fifteenth century. They ruled for almost four centuries and are a significant part of Indian History. The Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Red fort, and many other monuments reflect Mughal architecture. These have influenced Indian culture and is seen even today in modern India
India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. Faster economic growth in the 1980s permitted a significant increase in real per capita private consumption. A large share of the population, perhaps as much as 40%, remains too poor to afford an adequate diet. Financial strains in 1990 and 1991 prompted government austerity measures that slowed industrial growth but permitted India to meet its international payment obligations without rescheduling its debt. Production, trade, and investment reforms since 1991 have provided new opportunities for Indian businessmen and an estimated 100 million to 200 million middle class consumers. New Delhi has always paid its foreign debts on schedule and has stimulated exports, attracted foreign investment, and revived confidence in India's economic prospects. Foreign exchange reserves, precariously low three years ago, now total more than $19 billion. Positive actors for the remainder of the 1990s are India's strong entrepreneurial class and the central government's recognition of the continuing need for market-oriented approaches to economic development, for example in upgrading the wholly inadequate communications facilities. Negative factors include the desperate poverty of hundreds of millions of Indians and the impact of the huge and expanding population on an already overloaded environment.
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