The Rough Guide to India is the essential handbook to this extraordinary country. The 24 page full-colour introduction includes stunning photography of the country''s many highlights. The guide has comprehensive accounts of every attraction, from fast-paced Delhi and the sacred sites of the Ganges plain to the Moghul splendour of Agra and the shell-sand beaches of the south. There is also practical advice on activities as diverse as boating through the Keralan backwaters, hiking through the high-altitude deserts of Ladakh or treatments at an ayurvedic spa. The listings sections provide hundreds of insider reviews of the best hotels, hostels, restaurants, bars, shops and museums in every city and village. The authors also give an informed insight into India''s history, politics, religion, music and cinema, providing a valuable context to the reader''s trip.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
the rough guide hates india:
who ever wrote the rough guide to India obviously didnt have a very good time. almost every section is prefaced with "try to get out of this area as soon as possible, but if you have to stay here are some places you can get some bread and coffee." its down on most every city and only has a couple of places it can bring itself to recommend. i never had any problem with any of the hotel or restaurant information but having that book was like having a whiny friend along who wanted to go home. it became a... more info
Rough Guide India:
Some of the same complaints that I have for the Lonely Planet Guide except this one was harder to read due to the use of the lighter inks in the text. Information was excellent! Now print a smaller, more detailed version for Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra, Khajuraho and Varanasi. These are the areas that most tourists are traveling to and all the rest is just wasted paper as we tear the books apart for our travels.
Best guidebook for India:
This is the best guidebook I know of for India. I used it on my recent trip and found it overall to have excellent, in-depth information, great info for putting things in cultural/historical context, and detailed, accurate maps. In my opinion it blows Lonely Planet out of the water. Several Indian guesthouse owners and the man at the tourist desk in Varanasi (who has worked there for 25 years) told me the same thing, and on the flipside I met not a single person who recommended Lonely Planet over this book.... more info
Not very useful for Northeastern India, but great for North India:
I have just returned from a one month holiday in Bangladesh and Northeastern India. I was hoping for a more region-specific guide but there isn't one, so I had to carry this bulky country-wide guide with me. This appears to be an excellent guide for the more "usual" destinations in India, but people should be aware that it barely covers Northeastern India at all. Part of this is due to an editorial decision to drop information from prior editions due to political instability in many of those states,... more info
