Taj Mahal @ click of mouse
Arpita Sinha

New Delhi, June 15

Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had once described Taj Mahal as ‘a teardrop in the face of eternity.’ And after more than three-and-a-half centuries, Taj Mahal, the monument that symbolises love has got its official website.

The website on the Taj Mahal http://tajmahal.gov.in developed by the Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Department gives not only complete information about the world famous monument, but also photographs, impressions and video clips shot by visitors.

According ... Read More

Lotus Position in a Backpacker’s Town
Thomas Kelly for The New York Times

Sadhana Yoga is on a hillside above Phewa Lake in Pokhara, Nepal.

By JAMES NESTOR

“BREATHING clearly lifts the mind and spirit,” said Amar Puri, a wiry man in a sweat-stained T-shirt, as he crouched on a patch of lawn and poured saltwater in one nostril with a neti pot. He snorted and sneezed, as the morning mist hovered just above the lead-gray surface of Phewa Lake, reflecting the Himalayas. ... Read More

Last Footfall in Nepal
Sunrise on Poon Hill, with a view of 26,795-foot Dhaulagiri.

By ETHAN TODRAS-WHITEHILL

Published: March 21, 2010

THE path is wide, the terrain easy, yet I keep losing my footing, tripping over stones and my own feet because I can’t watch the trail. My eyes refuse to leave the white mountain filling the sky before me, the 24,786-foot Himalayan peak Annapurna III. It dominates the horizon as surely as a sunset does, but with millenniums-old glaciers ringing its ... Read More

India: The real magic kingdom
Stephanie Nolen

In the holy Hindu city of Varanasi, my family and I stood respectfully back from the entrance to an ancient temple one day last spring, craning our necks a bit to get a glimpse of the elaborate gold idols inside, mindful of the worshippers edging past us to pray. Then the merry priest caught sight of my three-year-old son: He swooped over in a swirl of saffron robes, swept the child into his arms ... Read More

CWG: Delhi to get 40 info-cafes for tourists
New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) About 40 info-cafes will be launched here Friday to provide information to the over 100,000 tourists who are expected to visit the capital during the Commonwealth Games.

The cafe will have a touchscreen through which tourists can gather information regarding Delhi - places for site-seeing, bus routes, shopping places, Metro routes, eateries and the like.

These cafes will also serve Indian delicacies like jalebis, samosas, chaat and other items. ... Read More

Tar balls spoiling Goa beaches may stay till October: Government
Panaji, Sep 2 (IANS) Goa's tourism season, which begins in October, could be in peril.

The state government has conceded that the tar ball phenomenon which has layered several beaches with ugly, acrid, black streaks of oil, may well continue right up to October, when millions of tourists visit the state.

"The appearance of tar balls along the west coast of India is an annual phenomenon with high likelihood in the months from May to ... Read More