India Travel

Accommodation in Rajgir

Related Properties from Gurgaon

The Center Hokke hotel in Rajgir

Japanese interest in Rajgir is not only evident in the huge Peace Pagoda, but also in the altogether more curiousCentaur Hokke hotel. Designed by a Japanese architect, its strange shape and corridors act like a giant air-conditioning unit, with circulating air keeping temperatures down. The hotel also has its own shrine room - cylindrical, roofless and 18m high. There are twenty-six rooms in all, twenty Japanese-style and six Western-style, but it's the restaurant that takes the biscuit. The Lotus without doubt provides the finest Japanese food in Rajgir, and possibly the whole of India. Guests are greeted with iced cologne-soaked

Rajgir in Bodhgaya

Eighty kilometres northeast of Bodhgaya, the small market town of RAJGIR nestles in the rocky hills that witnessed the meditations and teachings of both the Buddha and Mahavira. The capital of the Magadha kingdom before Pataliputra, this was where King Bimbisara converted to Buddhism.Today the picturesque and quiet environs, visited by international pilgrims, are also enjoyed as a health resort because of the local hot springs. The pools are always open, but can get unpleasantly crowded. Several sites bear witness to the Buddha's many visits. A Japanese shrine at Venuvana Vihara marks the spot where a monastery was built for the

Patna Excursion

Patna makes a popular base for exploring Nalanda and Rajgir, as well as Vaishali to the north, but there are also places of interest closer at hand. The fabulous dargah - Sufi mausoleum - at Muner, on the road to Varanasi, is the prime attraction, but if you're in the area between early November and early December, don't miss the Sonepur Mela, an enormous month-long cattle fair held across the huge Gandhi Bridge, 25km north of Patna at the confluence of the Gandak and Ganges. Cattle, elephants, camels, parakeets and other animals are brought for sale, pilgrims combine business with

Details of Eastern UP

Flowing beyond Allahabad across the plains of EASTERN UP, the Ganges turns sharply north at Chunar and traces a great arc through ancient Varanasi. Even before the Hindus declared this to be the most sacred spot on earth, it stood at the centre of die Buddhist universe, linked by trading routes from Rajgir in Bihar to Mathura near Delhi. It was on the outskirts of Varanasi, at the deer park at Sarnath, that the Buddha delivered his first sermon. North ofVaranasi, the much-travelled road to Nepal passes through the large administrative town of Gorakhpur, not far from Kushinagar, where the

Bihar and Jharkhand : Overview

BIHAR and JHARKHAND occupy the flat eastern Ganges basin, south of Nepal between Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Now desperately poor and troubled, the region's glory days came early, when this was the land of the Buddha - born in Lumbini in Nepal, he spent much of his life wandering through the kingdoms of the Ganges. In his quest for truth during the sixth century BC, Prince Gautama visited Vaishali and Rajgir. before moving on to Bodhgaya and gaining enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. Only during the nineteenth century was it demonstrated that the major events of the Buddha's life

Nalanda

The richly adorned towers and the fairy-like turrets, like the pointed hill-tops, are congregated together . . . The stages have dragon projections and coloured eaves, the pearl-red pillars carved and ornamented, the richly adorned balustrades, and the roofs covered with tiles that reflect the light in a thousand shades. These things add to the beauty of the place. Hiuen Tsang, who spent twelve years at Nalanda as student and teacher. Founded in the fifth century AD by the Guptas, the great monastic Buddhist university of NALANDA flourished, with thousands of international students and teachers, until it was sacked by the Afghan

Patna and around

The capital of Bihar, PATNA. dates back to the sixth century BC, which makes it one of the oldest cities in India. Today, it's a nice enough place, but one which holds only the barest of indications of its former glory as the centre of the Magadhan and Mauryan empires.The sprawling metropolis hugs the south bank of the Ganges, stretching for around 15km in a shape that has changed little since Ajatasatru (491-459 BC) shifted the Magadhan capital here from Rajgir. The first Mauryan emperor, Chandragupta, established himself in what was then Pataliputra, in 321 BC, and pushed the limits of

Reaching Patna

Patna has three stations but all main-line train services arrive at Patna Junction, in the west of the city. Fraser Road (now Mazharul-Raq Path), immediately north of the station, is the main drag, with as much glamour as the state can muster - though even here you'll see rag pickers living on the pavement. Patna's airport lies 5km to the west, linked to town by taxis and indian Airlines buses. A few hundred meters west of the station, the chaotic Harding Park bus stand runs services to and from Gaya, Varanasi, and the Nepal border at Raxaul (gate 6). North

Bodhgaya Accommodation: hotels

Buddha International 3 0631/400506- In the south of town near the Indosan Japanese temple, With an impressive lobby and nice lawn it's pleas-art but pricey. Buddha Vihar, Bihar Tourist Complex t 0631/400445. Cheap three- four- and six-bed dorm accommodation Embassy, opposite the Nepalese temple S 0631/400711. Reasonable rooms and rooftop views, but a little expensive for what you get. ITDC Bodhgaya Ashok, near the museum -i~ 0631/400700. Comfortable bungalow-type accommodation with a pleasant lawn, an upmarket restaurant and several in-house facilities including a travel desk.

Accommodation price codes of Ladakh

All accommodation prices in this book have been categorized using the price codes below. Prices given are for a double room, and all taxes are included, for more details. OuptoRs100 Rs30CMOO Rs900-1500 R3100-200 Rs400-600 Rs1500-2500 Rs200-300 Rs600-900

Accommodation price codes All accommodation prices in this book have been categorized using the price codes below. Prices given are for a double room, and all taxes are included. For more details. up to Rs100 Rs300-400 Rs900-1500 Rs100-200 Rs4Q0-600 Rs1500-2500 RS200-300 RS600-900

Accommodation price codes to Goa

All accommodation prices in this book have been categorized using the price codes below. Prices given are for a double room, and all taxes are included. For more details. up to Rs100 Rs300-400 Rs900-1500 Rs100-200 Rs4Q0-600 Rs1500-2500 RS200-300 RS600-900

Accommodation price codes in Gujarat

All accommodation prices in this book have been categorized using the price codes below. Prices given are lor a double room, and all taxes are included. For more details, O up to Rs100 RS300-400 Rs900-1500 Rs100-200 Rs400-600 Rs1500-2500 Rs200-300 Rs600-900

Accommodation of Gangtiok in Sikkim

Gangtok's hotels are expensive in high season -broadly speaking April to June and September to November - but at other times offer discounted rates. Many hotel rooms have excellent views of Kanchenjunga and operate a viewing tax, which makes them slightly more expensive. As the town spreads so does the choice of accommodation, with good hotels springing up along the highway at Deorali and Tadong.

Accommodation in Delhi

Delhi has a great range of accommodation, from dirt-cheap lodges to extravagant international hotels. Bookings for up market hotels can be made at the tourist desks at airports and railway stations, but budget travellers have to do their own searching. If you want to stay in comfort, try booking your ticket through the Travel Corporation of India (TCI), which offers substantial discounts on double rooms in select upmarket hotels (see p. 151)-

Accommodation in Orissa

As state capital. Bhubaneswar offers the typical range of accommodation from luxurious five-stars to the filthiest of lodges. While the better-class hotels are spread out all over the city, the inexpensive places tend to be grouped around the railway station, or near the busy Kalpana Square junction at the bottom of Cuttack Road, a five-minute rickshaw ride away. The railway station also has retiring rooms if you're really stuck. Reservations must be made in advance at the counter in the main hall.

Pachmarhi Accommodation in Madhya Pradesh

Finding accommodation in Pachmarhi is a problem during the melas and during May and June, when visitors flock to escape the heat of the plains. The tourist information counter at the bus stand can tell you which of the eight MPTDC hotels have vacancies; otherwise several pleasant and friendly private places in the bazaar are good alternatives. These independent establishments will all negotiate good discounts outside the October to March high season; MPTDC offers a twenty-percent "monsoon discount".

Accommodation price codes Haryana and Punjab

All accommodation prices in this book have been categorized using the price codes below. Prices given are for a double room, and all taxes are included. For more details, see p.51. uptoRs100 Rs300-400 Rs900-1500 Rs100-200 Rs400-600 Rs1500-2500 Rs200-300 RS600-900

Thriuvananthpuram Accommodation in Kerala

Accommodation Thriuvananthpuram's mid-range and expensive hotels are, in general, cheaper then in most state capitals, but are not concentrated in any one district. Budget hotels are grouped mainly in the streets around Central Station Road- Good areas to start looking are Manjalikulam Road, five minutes' walk west from the railway station, or the lanes off Aristo Junction; note that the best of the budget places tend to be full by late afternoon. If you prefer to base yourself at the beach, head for Kovalam.

Accommodation price codes in Delhi

All accommodation prices in this book have been categorized using the price codes below. Prices given are for a double room, and all taxes are included. For more details, see p.52. OuptoRs100 O Rs300-400 O Rs900-1500 Rs100-200 RS400-600 Rs1500-2500 Rs200-300 Rs600-900