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The
Indian subcontinent is flanked by the
borders of Pakistan, Myanmar, China,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Sri Lanka is
another neighboring country separated from
the Asian main land by the Palk Strait
in the Indian Ocean. The northern part of
the country is walled by the Mighty
Himalayas, the highest mountains on
earth and the southern part is fringed
with the coasts of Arabian sea in the
west, Indian Ocean in the south and Bay of
Bengal in the east. The conglomeration of
islands in the Bay of Bengal in the east,
the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep
islands in the Arabian Sea are union
territories of India.
Geographically India can be divided into
four natural regions :
The Northern
Mountain Region
This is the
region with undulating
valleys and high mountains. It covers,
the northern states of Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, the Tehri region of Uttar
Pradesh, Kumaon, Sikkim, Arunachal
Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagalnd and Mizoram.
There are some openings or passes in the
northwestern side of the great Himlayan
wall - the Khyber, Bolan, Gomal, Kuram and
Tochi passes are all now in Pakistan.
The Great
Northern Plains
The valleys of the Indus River and its
tributaries, the deserts of
Rajasthan and Sind and the fertile valleys
of the Ganga, Yamuna and Brahmaputra make
up the Gangetic plain. The Indus Valley
and the desert of Sind are at present in
Pakistan. The richness and fertility of
this Plain has lured invaders to this
country for centuries. The Northern
Plain, known as Aryavarta in
ancient times, was the scene of the
Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the great
Indian epics, the seat of Buddhism and
Jainism, seat of great empires like the
Mauryas and Guptas and important cities
such as Delhi, Mathrua, Patna, Varanasi,
Ahmedabad etc.
The Deccan
Plateau
Lying south of the Gangetic Plain, the
Deccan Plateau is separated from the Plain
by the Vindhya and Saputara
mountains, and from the coastal plains
by the Western and Eastern Ghats. This
triangular table land slopes towards the
east and has all its rivers, except Tapti
and Narmada, flowing from west to east and
draining into the Bay of Bengal. The far
south of the Deccan Plateau slopes into
the plain lands of Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka.
This region is historically important and
thus a tourist center with beautiful
temples, scenic marvels and rocky caves.
With its own splendid art, traditions and
languages this region is the cradle of the
south Indian culture.
The Coastal
Plains
The Deccan Plateau is flanked on the west
by the Western Ghats and on the
east by the Eastern Ghat ranges,
both running parallel to the coast. The
Western Ghats are very steep and the
narrow maritime plain between its ranges
and the sea is known as the Konkan in the
north and Malabar in the south. This is a
rich plain with evergreen vegetation,
lovely forests, birds, wild animals and
its unique culture has something
substantial to offer to the touring
connoisseurs.
India is accessible by air through its
four major cities - Delhi the
capital city in the north; Mumbai
(formerly Bombay), the commercial capital
in the west coast; Chennai
(formerly Madras), in the southeast coast
and Calcutta in the east. There are
other International airports in the state
capitals and cities besides these four
metros.
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