India draws a lot of tourists from around the world every year. During peak season of vacations, the tourist spots are filled not only by the foreigners but Indian natives who move about from one part of the country to the other and enjoy India's diverse beauty.

India has a rich collection of heritage buildings, refreshing hill stations in Northern India, seawaters in Kerala, beaches in Goa, tea gardens in North-east India and deserts in Rajasthan. It has diversity in culture, religion and language and is well known for its hospitality. For action lovers, rafting in the Holy Ganges and mountain climbing in the Great Himalayas can be a stress reliever. Yoga, meditation and Vedic Sciences camps are organized at a number of these tourist places.

There are a number of travel and tours agencies that offer tour packages. These packages include lodging, boarding and food in resorts, inns, heritage hotels, and other 3,4, or 5-star hotels. India has its own Hollywood replica called the Bollywood that produces more than about 850 films every year. These films - action, romantic, art, classical, societal are the major source of entertainment for Indians.

Indian food also varies from state to state. Every state and region has its special delicacy to offer. Chinese, Italian, Continental, Mughlai foods are available at almost all good restaurants and hotels.

Vacations and Holidays

Most of the government offices operate for 5 days per week in India. However, with increasing privatization in many job sectors and lots of multinational companies coming in, most of the sectors work for 6 days a week.

There are 3 National Holidays and these are observed by all sectors across the Nation:

Independence Day - 15th August
Republic Day - 26th January
Gandhi Jayanti - 2nd October

Some other holidays that are observed in most of the Indian states are Holi, Diwali, Id, Christmas Day, Dusshehra, and Guru Nanak Jayanti etc.

All schools in India close down for vacations - summer or winter according to their geographical climate. Other sectors observe festival holidays.