India Travel

Arrival, information and city transport in the Varanasi at Eastern UP

Related Properties from Gurgaon

City transport of the Varanasi in the Eastern UP

Cycle rickshaws are the easiest way to get around Varanasi, and often defy death and traffic jams by cycling up the wrong side of the road; a ride from Godaulia to Cantonment railway station costs Rs10-15. Auto-rickshaws should be faster but due to the volume of traffic are rarely quicker for short rides across town. Godaulia to the railway station should be Rs25. Taxis and an inadequate and overcrowded city bus system offer further options. Shared auto-rickshaws or tempos are a cheap and efficient alternative for the trip to Sarnath.

The rest of the city of Varanasi in the Eastern

Varanasi holds a few other sites of interest, especially in the area south of Godaulia, just beyond Asi Ghat. The Durga Temple here, and the Bharat Kala Bhavan museum of Benares Hindu University (BHU) are easily accessible, while just across the river, Ramnagar and its impressive fort continue to play an important role in the life of the city.

Arrival, information and city transport to Amritsar in Haryana and Punjab

Amritsar's airport, serving Indian Airlines flights from Delhi and Chandigarh, lies 12km northwest of the city. Taxis (around Rs200) and auto-rickshaws (RslOO) run to the town centre, while buses pull into the huge, frenetic bus stand off GT Road on the eastern edge of the city centre. The railway station lies on the northern edge of the centre, 2km west of the interstate bus stand. PTDC's tourist office, Youth Hostel, Mall Mandi. GT Road (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm: ©0183/231452) is friendly, helpful and has useful information on bus and other travel connections. Amritsar is too large and labyrinthine to negotiate on foot. If

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

Arrival, information and transport to the Lucknow in Central UP

From Amausi Airport, 16km south on the Kanpur Road, a taxi to the centre of Lucknow costs around Rsl50. Airport buses connect with flights. Lucknow s main Charbagh Railway Station (for computerized reservations), 4km southwest of the central hub of Hazratganj, is itself a remarkable building, with prominent chhatris above the entrance arcade and a roof inspired by chess pieces. Most buses, including those from Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra, Jhansi and Kanpur, arrive at the main Charbagh Bus Stand alongside, while some buses from the Nepal border at Sonauh and from Gorakhpur, Faizabad and Ayodhya pull in at the Kaisarbagh stand, near

Practicalities of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh

There are three bus stands - the main Railway bus stand, 1km north of the centre, for buses from the Nepalese border at Sonauli and Kushinagar; the Kacheri bus stand, lkm southwest of the station, for services from Allahabad, Lucknow and Varanasi; and the main bus stand for Varanasi (6hr) and Nepal-Varanasi buses, at Pedleyganj, 2km southeast of the station. Major daily trains servicing Gorakhpur include the fast Vaishali Express #2553 to Lucknow and Delhi (5.10pm) and the Gorakhpur-Dadar Express #1028 for Mumbai via Varanasi (5am); among trains to Varanasi (6hr) are the fast Kashi Express #1028 (5am) and the Chauri-Chaura

Information of Varanasi in Eastern UP

The main UPTDC tourist office is at their Tourist Bungalow on Parade Komi) though their tourist information counter inside the railway station is far more efficient and on the ball - the boss, Uma Shankar, seems to regard the protection of tourists as a personal crusade. Both book accommodation and provide free maps. The shabby Bihar Government Tourist Office at Englishia Market, Slier Shah Suri Marg. Cantonment, is useful if you're heading east towards the Buddhist centres. The Government of India Tourist Office languishes in the leafy suburbs of the Cantonment, a long way from the main attractions of the old

Arrival and information of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh

The easiest way to get to Khajuraho is on one of the daily flights with Indian Airlines from Delhi (via Agra), or Varanasi. The local airport is 5km south of the main square of Khajuraho town; the taxi ride in costs Rs80. The two nearest railheads are at Jhansi to the northwest (see p.335), and Satna to the southeast; both are connected by bus. All buses terminate less than 1km southeast at the bus stand, within walking distance of most central hotels, or a cycle rickshaw will set you back Rs10, an auto-rickshaw Rsl5. Money can be changed at the State

Arrival, city transport and information to Ujjain in Western Madhy Pradesh

Trains arriving in Ujjain on both broad-gauge branches of the Western Railway pull-in at the station in the centre of town; Ujjain is on a link line between Indore and Bhopal, with regular intercity trains shunting between the three. Two minutes' walk northeast of the station is the Dewas Gate bus stand, where buses for Gwalior, Agra, Rajasthan and Bhopal depart. The inconvenient P.D.V. Bus Stand, next to the MPTDC Yatri Niwas, serves Indore, Bhopal and Mandu. The city is fairly spread out, so you'll need to get around by auto-rickshaw or by renting a bicycle from the shop opposite

Arrival, information and city transport in Haryana and Punjab

Served by flights to and from Delhi, Amritsar and Leh, Chandigarh's airport lies 11km south of the city centre. Facilities include an Indian Airlines office (0172/704539), a branch of the State Bank of Patiala and a taxi stand. The railway station lies 8km southeast of the centre, connected by half-hourly buses or auto-rickshaws and taxis. The prepaid rickshaw counter is worth queuing for as rates are fixed. There's a useful Current Reservations ticket office, although Northern Railway's main computerized reservation counter is at the bus terminal (Mon-Sat 8am—8pm). All state transport buses pull in to the main transport and information hub -

Arrival and information in Himachal Pradesh

State-ran buses from Manali, Mandi, Pathankot, Kangra and Delhi pull into the bus stand in the very south of the lower town, though some continue after a short stop all the way up to McLeod Ganj - the usual arrival point for private and deluxe buses from Delhi and Manali. The nearest point of arrival for trains from Delhi, Punjab and Jammu Tawi is Pathankot - the narrow-gauge train linking Pathankot to Jogindernagar also stops at Kangra and at Nagrota. Dharamsala's airport, 11km to the south at Gaggal, has three Indian Airlines' flights a week to Delhi. The tourist office (Mon-Sat

Moving on from Calcutta

By air For information about flights from Calcutta Airport; otherwise call the individual airlines listed on pp.954-955 to confirm departure and arrival. Remember that return flights must be confirmed at least 72 hours in advance. Besides a good network of domestic flights, Calcutta is served by several short- and long-haul international flights. Major domestic routes from Calcutta are summarized in the Travel Details on p.990. For details on getting to the Andaman islands from Calcutta, see opposite. By rail Information on train connections is available around the clock:. Making reservations to leave Calcutta by train is easy, with computerized booking offices throughout the

Ramnagar in Varanasi at the Eastern UP

The residence of the Maharaja of Varanasi, Ramnagar Fort looks down upon the Ganges not far south of the Asi Ghat. The best views of the fortifications -especially impressive in late afternoon - are to be had from the other side of the river, which is reached by a road heading south from the BHU area and over a rickety pontoon bridge. During the monsoon the bridge is dismantled and replaced by a ferry, still preferable to the long main road that crosses the main Malaviya bridge in the north before heading down the eastern bank of the river. It

Arrival, information and city transport in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad's international airport (079/642 5633) is linked to the city, 10km south, by prepaid taxi (Rs200-250), auto-rickshaw (Rs80-100) and city bus #101, which terminates at Lai Darwaja, the station for local buses in the west of the old city, near most of the hotels. Long-distance buses arrive at the ST Bus Stand in the southeast of the old city, lkm from the hotels, while the railway station is to the east, at the far end of Relief Road and MG Road. City buses to Lai Darwaja run from both the railway station (#48. #122 and #133) and the bus stand

Eastern Andhra Pradesh

Perhaps India's least visited area, eastern Andhra Pradesh is sandwiched between the Bay of Bengal in the east and the red soil and high peaks of the Eastern Ghats in the north. Its one architectural attraction is the ancient Buddhist site of Amaravati, near the city of Vijayawada, whose sprinkling of historic temples is far overshadowed by impersonal, modern buildings. Some 350 km north, the major port of Vishakhapatnam is not as grim as it first seems, but it's not a place to linger long. For anyone with a strong desire to explore, however, pockets of natural beauty along the

Varanasi in the Eastern UP

The great Hindu city of VARANASI, also known as Banaras or Benares, stretches along the crescent of the River Ganges, its waterfront dominated by long flights of stone steps known as ghats, literally "landings", where thousands of pilgrims and residents come for their daily ritual ablutions. Known to the devout as Kashi, the Luminous - the City of Light, founded by Shiva -Varanasi is one of the oldest living cities in the world. It has maintained its religious life since the sixth century BC in one continuous tradition, in part by remaining outside the mainstream of political activity and historical

Arrival and information in Delhi

Delhi is India's main point of arrival for overseas visitors, and has two airports, one domestic and one international. State buses from all over the country pull into the Inter-state Bus Terminal in Old Delhi, while private buses stop in the more central location close to New Delhi railway station. Trains arrive at the railheads in Old or New Delhi, both well connected to Connaught Place, the commercial centre of the city, by rickshaw and taxi. For a summary of the kinds of accommodation available in different areas of the city, which may well determine where you head first, see p.

Arrival and information in Gujarat

Arriving in Junagadh by bus or train, you're within easy walking distance of nearly all the hotels. From the long distance bus stand, turn right, then left at the main road and straight on across the railway tracks into the town centre; from the railway station, take a right down Station Road and a left at the end, by the petrol station. Local transport is provided by auto-rickshaws, though bicycles are great for getting around; with a bit of leg-work you can even cycle to the foot of Mount Girnar. Run-of-the-mill bikes can be had from 3 shop just west

Arrival, information and city transport of Guwahati in the Northeast

The railway station lies in the centre of town, with the state bus stand. which operates a left-luggage service (4.30am-10.30pm), right behind. The back of the railway station leads into the hectic Pakan Bazaar area, from which most of the private bus companies operate. Guwahati airport, 18km east of the centre, is served by taxis (from outside the Nandan Hotel) and airport buses, including those run by Indian Airlines. The Assam government tourist office in the Tourist Lodge on Station Road (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; closed 2nd & 4th Sat of month) organizes day-trips and longer tours; their day- and overnight-packages to Kaziranga

Arrival, information and local transport in Goa

European charter planes and domestic flights arrive at Goa's Dabolim ait-port, 29km south of Panjim on the outskirts ofVasco da Gama, Goa's second city. Prepaid taxis into town (45min; Rs475), booked at the counter in the forecourt, can be shared by up to four people. Long-distance and local buses pull into Panjim at the towns busy Kadamba bus terminal, lkm east of the centre in the district of Pato.Ten minutes'walk from here, across Ourem Creek to Fontainhas, brings you to several budget hotels. If you plan to stay in the more modern west end of town, flag down a motorcycle taxi