Why You Should Go To India This Summer

India is a vast, beautiful country that’s full  of different experiences and sights to enjoy, from the humongous Himalayas in the north to the beautiful Bangalore Palace in the south, some 2,000km away. There is plenty in between there too. With over 3,000km2  to explore in a land populated by more than 1 billion people, you can be sure to be entertained whilst on your travels.

When India is mentioned in conversation, you’re likely to think of all kinds of things: poverty, culture, food, beautiful scenery, spectacular Hindu celebrations and iconic landmarks. That is why India is so great – there’s a little bit of everything. If you wanted to live in luxury for a week, you could easily find a palace hotel that costs less than a 2-star equivalent would in Britain. If, on the other hand, you wanted to go backpacking and take in the breathtaking surroundings your own way, then you could do that too. If you wanted to party, then you could try to sneak into one of the lavish weddings that are attended by 1,000s of people and go on for several days. If you really want to see everything India has to offer you would need around three months to get through everything. If you don’t have that long,  it would still be worth going just to get a taste.

India is full of stunning architecture. There’s the Taj Maha in Agra, with its beautiful white marble structure and further down south there is Bangalore Palace and its amazing gardens as well as many more. On top of that there is the natural scenery which is even more beautiful! In the north, the Himalaya Mountains and river Ganges are breath-taking and in the south you have the beautiful rolling hills, beaches and tropics of Kerala. That’s not even the entire list; there are literally thousands of sights and attractions in India to see. The only shame is that most of us won’t ever find the time to see them all.

My personal favourite thing about India is that it is cheap to explore. Really cheap. You can get lunch pretty much anywhere for 20 rupees (or 22p) and a meal in a mid-range restaurant costs just 100 rupees (around £1). You can book a week in one of the 5-star palace hotels such as the Taj Mahal Palace a few months in advance for just £150! To put that in perspective, staying a London hotel of similar quality, such as The Ritz, would cost you £4,000 – £14,000. For the price you pay to stay in the Taj Mahal Palace for a week, you could live in The Ritz for almost two years. If you were to take £100 or just under 10,000 rupees you could live comfortably in India for over a week. The only downside is that getting there will cost you in excess of £400 and will take around 10 hours by plane. It would be a bit of an ordeal to get there, but you would instantly forget about the journey once you arrived since India truly is a spectacular country.