From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.

Explore the myriad wonders of India with this useful guide in hand. Whether you wish to cruise the backwaters of Kerala on the rooftop of a ferry, explore the Buddhist gompas of Leh, drink Darjeeling's namesake tea, get lost in the dusty bazaars of Hyderabad, or stroll the 16th-century ruins in Hampi, this book will help you get there. Highlights include more than 200 traveler-tested maps, thousands of places to stay and eat for all budgets, excellent health information, all you need to know about transportation options, and a 32-page color section on India's religions. --Kathryn True


Book Description
India is as spectacular and as diverse as a Bollywood movie - colorful, exuberant, exciting and loud. This top-selling guide is better than any blockbuster at conjuring up the highlights, be it soaring Himalayan peaks or sun-soaked Keralan beaches. • feast your eyes on the sights in our 16-page color highlights section • tease your tastebuds with reviews of thousands of restaurants and cafes • meet and greet the locals using our handy language chapter • find your way with 218 maps, including a full-color country map • follow the safest path with our vital information on health risks, scams and regions in conflict


Excerpted from Lonely Planet India (Lonely Planet India) by Sarina Singh. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
With one foot grounded in time-honored traditions and the other fervently striding into the entrepreneurial e-age, India embraces diversity as passionately as few other countries on earth could. Boasting a population of one billion people - and growing - India is as vast as it is crowded and as sublime as it is squalid. The plains are as flat and featureless as the Himalaya are towering and spectacular, the religious texts as perplexing as their underlying message is simple, and the people as easygoing as they are tenacious. Perhaps the one thing that encapsulates India is that it is a place to expect the unexpected. Indeed, that's what often makes travelling in the subcontinent so frustratingly draining, yet also so inimitably inspirational. Love it or hate it, India jostles your entire being and, while more than a few travelers are only too happy to get on their flight home, many will later find themselves hankering to get back. India can be hard going for travelers and is guaranteed to challenge, inspire and confound all at once. The poverty is confronting, Indian bureaucracy would test the patience of a saint, bus journeys on pothole-riddled roads can zap your energy in a flash, and even the most experienced travelers find their tempers frayed at some point. Yet it's all part of what makes India the unique travel experience that it is. India, it is often said, is not a country but a continent. From north to south and east to west, the people are diverse, the languages are varied, the customs are distinctive, the landscape is manifold. In a nutshell, India's landmass roughly resembles an upside-down triangle with the top formed by the mighty Himalayan mountain chain. Here you will find the intriguing Tibetan-influenced region of Ladakh and the awesome mountainous areas of Himachal Pradesh, Garhwal and the Darjeeling and Sikkim regions. South of this is the flat Ganges plain, crossing east from the colorful and comparably affluent Punjab in the northwest, past the capital city Delhi and buzzing tourist attractions such as Agra (with the Taj Mahal), Khajuraho, Varanasi and the holy Ganges to the northern part of the Bay of Bengal, where you find frenetic Kolkata (Calcutta), which has long been acknowledged as India's cultural capital. South of this northern plain the Deccan plateau rises. Here you will find cities that mirror the rise and fall of the Hindu and Muslim kingdoms, and the modern metropolis that their successors, the British, built at Mumbai (Bombay). India's story is one of many different kingdoms fiercely competing with each other, and this is clearly evident in places such as Bijapur, Mandu, Golconda and other central Indian centers. Finally, there is the steamy south, India's Dravidian heartland, which is just as extraordinarily diverse as North India in terms of its landscapes, people, arts, traditions and culture. India's glorious diversity can make it a veritable quagmire when planning itineraries. If you want to see places of worship, there is an astonishing array of sacred sites, from immaculately kept Jain temples to weathered Buddhist stupas. If it's history you're after, it's around every corner; the countless monuments, battle-scarred forts, abandoned cities and ancient ruins all have their tales to tell. If you simply want to splash around, there are beaches to satiate the most avid sun worshipper, while lovers of the great outdoors will find no shortage of scenic walks. On a personal level, India is going to be exactly what you make of it. This country is not a place you merely 'see'; it's an assault on all the senses, a journey that's impossible to define because it's so different for everyone. But there's one thing for sure - no matter where you go or what you do, it's a place you'll never forget.

FROM OUR EDITORS

One of the most dependable series available, Lonely Planet's guidebooks are packed with essential information and accurate maps and are written with enough character so that they are also good reading for armchair travelers. The series is now popular with travelers of all sorts, although backpackers and adventure travelers have long relied on Lonely Planet's guides because of the wide range of destinations offered. Whether you want to relax on the beaches of Thailand, roam the Australian outback, or explore the deserts of Iran, Lonely Planet has a practical, thorough guidebook for your destination. For dangerous or less-traveled regions, we highly recommend Lonely Planet's guides because they provide crucial information in an easy-to-use format, making it possible for travelers to handle the difficulties of language, customs, and transportation. In countries with unfamiliar alphabets, the guides include the names of cities and sights in both English and native characters, and glossaries are provided to help travelers with menus. The series offers lodging and restaurant options for all budgets, but the main focus is on getting a good deal for your money. With good writing, a wealth of valuable information, and beautiful color photo sections, Lonely Planet's guides are hard to beat.

FROM THE PUBLISHER