Great Outdoors

India is one big outdoors. Even in the city, the moment you step out of the relaxed familiarity of your hotel, you might be engaged in watching a cockfight or a family of acrobats spin impossibly and do incredulous feats with familiar reassurance.

That is a taste of the exotic. But if you are in India for a holiday and wish to do the impossible, come let us show you the way.

Head first for the Hill Station in India. in the north it is the Himalayas which stretch all the way across the country. Our more popular hill resorts are a legacy of the British. Come to Kashmir or Himachal, the Garhwal and Kumaon Hills or across to Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal, and to Sikkim - the land of lamas, orchids and savage beauty.

Now analyze your adventurous needs. If it is mountaineering, come to Garhwal, the destination of many amateur and professional mountaineering expeditions in the country. Or, if you want to do a spectacular run, base yourself at Leh or Zanskar in Ladakh, where you have only a grand isolation for company. Slightly tamer in your wants? Then trek the fabulous Sindh and Lidder valleys, lower Himalayan regions, or take to the meandering forest trails around Shimla. And follow up with a relaxing swim in the warm sulphur water-baths at Vasisht in Manali. Trace the contours of the tea country in Assam, Darjeeling and Kalimpong in the east or the Nilgiris in the south, or walk the miles at Coonoor, Ooty or Kodaikanal in serene surroundings. Other prominent hill stations where you can relax are Ranchi, Bihar, Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh; Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra and Shillong, Meghalaya.

And in winters come skiing on the slopes at Gulmarg, Kufri or Narkanda, or trace a virgin path in the wilderness of Rohtang Pass.

Shoot the rapids in Kashmir or Himachal, Uttar Pradesh or Sikkim. Or take a pleasant ride down the backwaters of Kerala in thatched houseboats.

Take off, in Delhi or in Pune, across the lazy blue skies, in a glider. Or go bicycling across the startling contrasts of the Indian countryside. Or, in any season, pick up a car and travel the country as you please.

The safari is in. Board a camel at any point in Rajasthan and go with your own camp across the mighty Thar desert, camping by starlight in luxury shamianas that the sheikhs would envy you.

Whether you wish to sail from Bombay to Goa; go flying, hang gliding, mountaineering, skiing, surfing or rafting; play polo, golf or cricket, India has it all. In its many seasons the country for all reasons.