Regions

India is administratively divided into 28 states and 7 union territories. The states are broadly demarcated on linguistic lines. They vary in size; the larger ones are bigger and more diverse than some countries of Europe. The union territories are smaller than the states—sometimes they are just one city—and they have much less autonomy.

These states and union territories are grouped by convention into the following regions:

Map of India's regions and states Himalayan North (Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand)

Mountainous and beautiful, a tourist destination for the adventurous and the spiritual. This region contains some of India's most visited hill-stations and religious places. Includes the exquisitely scenic states.

The Plains (Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh)

The country's capital Delhi is here. The river Ganga and Yamuna flows through this plain. Many of the events that shaped India's history took place in this region. Madhya Pradesh is in Central India and is densely forest. Most of the tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries are created in MP for wildlife conservation. The River Narmada originates at Amarkantak in MP enters Jabalpur and then Gujarat. It submerges at Arabian Sea at Bharuch. Virgin River Narmada is holiest river for the Hindus and is a major center of pilgrimage and spiritual tours in India.

Western India (Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan)

Miles and miles of the Thar Desert. Home to the colorful palaces, forts and cities of Rajasthan, the country's most vibrant and biggest city Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), wonderful beaches and pristine forests of Goa and Bollywood (Indian film industry in Bombay).

Southern India (Andaman and Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu)

A strong bastion of indigenous culture, South India features famous and historical temples, tropical forests, backwaters in Kerala, equally great coastal line and country side infused with rich heritage in Andhra Pradesh, beautiful hill stations in Tamil Nadu, beaches and cosmopolitan cities in Pondicherry, Karnataka and the wonderful lush island groups of Andaman & Nicobar (on the east) and Lakshadweep on the west.

Eastern India (Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim, West Bengal)

Although not as developed as the 3 above, it is by far the most culturally advanced part with the highest degree of tolerance for outsiders, its largest city is Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), the temple cities of Puri of Lord Jagannath fame, Bhubaneswar and Konark are all in Orissa. It is also the mineral storehouse of India, having the country's largest and richest mines.

North-Eastern India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura)

insular and relatively virgin, the country's tribal corner, with lush, beautiful landscapes, endemic flora and fauna of the Indo-Malayan group and famous for Tea Gardens. Consists of seven tiny states (by Indian standards, some of them are larger than Switzerland or Austria) popularly nicknamed as the Seven Sisters.