2. Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is one of the most popular tourism places in India which is situated in the northern part of India, it has bordering with the capital of India New Delhi. As this state is most populous state of India, it is filled with its wealth of historical monuments and religious fervour. Geographically, this state is very diverse, with Himalayan foothills in the extreme north and the Gangetic Plain in the centre.

This state is also home of India's most visited site, the Taj Mahal, and Hinduism's holiest city, Varanasi. One of the eight forms of Indian classical dances, Kathak is originated from Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is also known as The Heartland of India, because it is at the heart of India. This state has world’s famous cuisines like Awadhi cuisine, Mughlai cuisine, Kumauni cuisine. One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Taj Mahal is also located in this state (Agra).

It is known for its rich culture and tradition from since a very long time. It is home to Ayodhya and Mathura birthplace of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna respectively. It attracts a huge number of both national and international tourists.

Tour to Uttar Pradesh offers you an image of stunning monuments, splendid lakes and mountains, exotic wildlife, landscapes and many more. 

There are different places one can visit in Uttar Pradesh like Agra, Jhansi, Lucknow and Meerut, which are most historical cities, famous for their monuments. This state has holy cities for Hindus like Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Varanasi, Ayodhya and Allahabad are and Kushinagar and also Sarnath, which  are important Buddhist places among the main four pilgrimage sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha. The most developed urban city in this state is Noida.

Tourism Places in Uttar Pradesh:

1.Agra:

Agra is situated on the bank of the river Yamuna 200 Km away from the national Capital Delhi.Agra is regarded as India’s tourism capital and has three world heritage site like Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort. It is famous for its world heritage buildings, monuments especially for Taj Mahal. This is also home town to many other beautiful Mughal buildings like Akbar’s Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah, etc.. Dayal Bagh is an under-construction temple that many visit. The life like carving in marble is not seen anywhere else in India.

The symbol of love Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in the memory of his beautiful wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal made during this era were purely in the contemporary Mughal style which is still reflected in whatever monuments remain in Agra. The narrow lanes of Agra, Mughlai cuisine, the craftsman. The This is mostly treated as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

Approximately over 2.5 million visitors visiting Taj Mahal  per year. A first visit to Agra could easily trigger an attack of Agra-phobia. With its notorious sprawl and congestion, this north Indian city has, on the face of it, little to lure visitors... apart from what is arguably the world’s most famous building.

Taj Mahal gives different hues at the different parts of the day. It was embellished with millions of precious and semi-precious stone brought from all over the world. It cost 50 lakh rupees on those days. In the British India, British rulers stole most of the precious stones infixed within the marble work. This has left Taj Mahal damaged, spoiling much of its glittering quality, it used to carry. Even though, the sheen of white marble will not disappoint you

Taj Mahal Opening Hours:

Opening times are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Friday (when it's closed for prayer).

The Taj Mahal is also open for moonlight viewing from 8.30 p.m. until 12.30 a.m., two days before and after each full moon.

When to travel

The best time to visit Taj Mahal is between late October, after the monsoons, and mid-March, before the scorching heat starts to build up, is the most agreeable time for an Indian holiday (though April is usually bearable and hill stations offer refuge from summer heat). Tourist sites can get very busy with Indian “vacationers” during the 10 days around the autumn festival of Diwali, and at Christmas and the New Year.

How to reach:

By road:

There are regular bus services from Agra to a number of important cities. The main bus stand of Idgah has a number of buses running for Delhi (203 kms away), Jaipur (236 kms away), Mathura (58 kms away), Gwalior (118 kms away), etc.

BY Train:

Indian Railway has a good network of trains that connect Agra to other cities in India. Agra is well connected by excellent train services to Delhi such as The Shatabdi Express (2 hrs), Taj Express (2.5 hrs), Intercity Express (3 hrs).

By Air:

The  best & fastest way of reaching Taj Mahal, Agra is by air. The city of Taj, Agra, has its own airport that is around 7 km from the city center. Indian Airlines (Domestic Airline in India) runs daily flights from Delhi to Agra. Kheria Airport (Airport of Agra) is about 6 km from the Agra city centre and is easily accessible by taxis and auto-rickshaws at nominal.

Local Transportation:

After reaching the you can easily get taxi, tempo, auto-rickshaw and cycle rickshaw in the city that will take you to Taj Mahal at nominal rates. Even though diesel and petrol vehicle are not permitted in the vicinity of Taj Mahal area, you can find battery-operated buses, horse-driven tongas, rickshaws and other pollution-free vehicles there.