As you pack your luggage and carefully plan your itinerary for your trip, you might be left wondering what things you actually know about India and what you should do when you get there. Although there are many popular tourist destinations that are commonly known, there are other things that most travelers do not know about. For instance, most travel guides don’t tell you where the best places are to eat other than fancy restaurants or hotels. Locals also go to wonderful places that a majority of tourists have not even heard about. This is the reason why in our India travel guide, you will be taken to places that you probably never knew existed in India.

One of the things you must not have known about India is that it has lots of protected species of animals that are spread across 75 national parks and over 400 wildlife sanctuaries. For instance, some of those sanctuaries protect the tiger species, which has now become an endangered animal from all the hunting that is done for its parts. Other than that, since India has very diverse climates, a lot of species of birds and animals can be found in the country. That means that a lot of these creatures are now housed in zoos, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. Sariska, Kanha, Ranthambore and Corbett are just some of the locations where wildlife sanctuaries can be found. So, if you are an animal lover and you intend to travel to India, making trips to different sanctuaries and parks should be on your list. The Corbett Tiger Reserve, located in Uttarakhand is one of 27 reserves in India dedicated for the preservation of wild tigers, which is already dwindling in numbers due to poaching. April up to the middle of June is a good time to visit the reserve as it will be very likely to see some tigers during this time. The reserve also has a collection of Asian lions and elephants. Safari parks you can visit are Bandavgarh. Pench and Kanha in Madhya Pradesh. Asian lions can be seen in Sasan Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat while you will spot Bengal tigers at Sunderbans in West Bengal.

When people go to India, they know for a fact that the Taj Mahal is an important place to visit as it holds a lot of valuable history as well as being a thing of beauty. However, there is another area often overlooked by first-timers when they visit. The temples in Khajuraho contain a lot of sculptures that are considered to be erotica, which makes it the second most popular place to visit by tourists both local and foreign. Of course, they don’t tell you this in other travel guides and you often find out about it if someone asks you when you are already leaving from your trip to India.

India has several religious festivities that are celebrated at different times of the year. However, Kumbh Mela is one of the most exciting celebration to watch or maybe participate in. It’s a pilgrimage to the Ganges River and done in stages. There is the normal Kumbh Mela that is celebrated very three years. There is also the half or Ardh Kumbh Mela which happens every six years and celebrated in Prayag and Haridwar and the complete or Purna Kumbh Mela that is observed every twelve years and can be seen in Nashik, Haridwar, Ujjain and Prayag. Every 114 years, the great or Maha Kumbh Mela is celebrated in Allahabad. Gatherings for this pilgrimage of cleansing and renewal attract millions of participants.

For the more adventurous traveler looking for places that are not part of the regular tourist itinerary, and those that do not mind getting wet and muddy, venture into the northeastern part of India and look for the Jaintia and Khasi hills. Over the mountain streams and rivers you will find a few living root bridges, grown from the strong and elastic roots of the Ficus elastica. The root bridges take about ten to fifteen years before they can be used but when fully functional they are as strong as concrete bridges and can carry a load of more than 50 people. The roots of the tree are trained to grow straight by using hollowed-out betel nut tree logs laid over a stream. When the roots are long enough they will be allowed to take root in the soil on the other side of the stream. As the roots continue to grow, the root bridge becomes stronger. Those found at the Cherrapunji are believed to have been around for five centuries.

Atham to Thiru Onam or simply Oman is the largest celebration in the state of Kerala between the months of August and September. The festival is done to hone the homecoming of the King Mahabali. In reverence to the King, the women of Kerala make flower mats with complicated designs places at the front entrance if the homes. These flower mats are called Pookalam, traditionally built with ten rings to represent each day of the festival. The designs may have changed through time but still retained the circular patterns.

India celebrates spring between February and March with a grand festival called Holi. It is a religious festival and a spring carnival in one. The big celebration is a lot of fun and draws a big crowd with people throwing colored powder at each other and spraying each other with scented water. While it may be all fun at the outside, the deeper meaning of the celebration is to forget the old and start anew, celebrate the victory of good over evil and for renewing all kinds of relationships with hugs, gift exchanges and greetings of “Bura Na Maano Holi Hai,” that translates to “Don’t Mind, it is Holi”. That is of course aside from the music and dances during the festival. Do be aware that the special drink during the Holi, called the Thandi, made from rose petals, pistachios, almonds, saffron and milk as well as fruits may contain bhang or cannabis indica, used in the production of hashish.

India has traditionally been a source of spices in the Orient. And for the record, according to Guinness, India produces the hottest kind of pepper, the bhut jolokia, also called the ghost chili or the naga chili. It is 200 times hotter than the jalapeño peppers of Mexico. It is one of the staple chilli peppers used in Indian cuisine and in the north where the fiery pepper is grown, bhut jolokia is used to repel elephants. That’s how potent these small spicy fruits are.

While it is very common to see several markets in India, it is seldom that many travelers will get the chance to see tribal markets or haats in remote villages up north. One place worth visiting if you have the time is the market in Chhattisgarh, which can be a feast for the eyes and the senses, if you are not blinded by the bright colors of the dresses worn by local women. The locals just recently used money for trade and are more adept at the traditional form of exchange – metalwork for colorful saris, firewater for lentil cakes. This is a market where things ordinary and extraordinary are sold. Imagine seeing live red ants sold as snacks. In Chhattinsgarh, the market location changes everyday and different things are sold depending on the skills of the traders in the area and the village specialties. This is a place where tribals trade mahua or mawha flowers, from the tree that has several uses. The flowers are used as ingredient to brewing a tribal alcoholic drink called mahuwa. Tribals also use the flowers as traditional medicine.

Grand mosques can be seen all over India but that is one mosque that can be considered as the smallest in the world. It is located in Hamidia in Bhopal. The sixteen square meter mosque sits atop a corner of a former fortress wall, over a stone turret. It was built for the soldiers that used to guard the Fatehgarh Fort. It is also considered the first ever mosque to be built in Bhopal. Today there are more than 400 mosques that have been built around Bhopal.

The different religions in India have different celebrates but there is one celebration that is observed not only by the Hindus but also by the Jains and the Sikhs, even if there are some variations. Diwali is a celebration of the victory of good over evil, held for five days in October or November. It translates to row of lights in English and is characterized by the hanging of colorful lanterns, and lighting clay pots filled with oil everywhere. Celebrants wear new clothes and partake of snacks and sweets with friends and family members. It is done in observance of the return of Lord Rama after a fourteen-year exile together with Lakshamana and Sita and his victory over Ravana, the demon king. Celebrants seek blessing from elephant-headed Ganesh, god of auspicious beginnings and good fortune and the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi.

Indian women look very alluring wearing a traditional sari, a type of clothing that is synonymous with India. A traditional soft sari is traditionally worn with a blouse covering the upper part of a woman’s body. Other women prefer to wear a rural version of this traditional clothing. What they wear is the ghagara-choli. The ghagara is the long skirt while the choli is a short blouse. A sari is normally accompanied by a diaphanous duppata, worn like a shawl that is thrown over one shoulder. Another popular variation is called the salwar kameez, consisting of a s short blouse and trousers or salwar. A dupatta completes the ensemble.

Henna or mehndi, while long used in Asia to promote luxurious hair growth and to add color to the hair, it is also applied to the skin for beautiful body art. In India mehndi paste is used to create designs on women’s palms for special occasions such as during a festive celebration, engagement and marriage ceremony. In the north bridegrooms are also given mehndi designs on their palms. While that may be the traditional use, it has become quite popular to have henna tattoos, and you can get yours done by authentic henna tattoo artists in India.

India is one country that is synonymous with films and music. Movies are very popular in the subcontinent and film producers are making a killing churning out over 1,000 movies annually. And these movies are not only for domestic viewers. They also enjoy massive following in several parts of Asia as well as in Europe. Indian actors and actresses are very popular worldwide, and their following is comparable to the idolatry given to Hollywood movie stars. The movies produced in India are not only in Hindi; they are done in several languages, including Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Punjabi. Bollywood though does not represent the whole Indian film industry. In fact it is just a part of the whole. Bollywood is based in Mumbai, formerly Bombay. It is one of the largest film centers in the world and the largest one in India. While the term Bollywood was only coined during the 1970s, the film industry in India started in the early part of the 1900s, with Raja Harishchandra, the first silent film produced in 1913 by Dadasaheb Phalke.

As is often said, India is very diverse in culture, traditions, ethnic influences, religion, population and cuisines. From the south you can sample specialties like masala dosa, sambar lemon rice, rava uttpam, toran, rasam, meen and appam. From the north theres the tanduri chicken, kadi chawal, chole bhature, rajma chawal, daal baati churma, biryani and dhokla. It may be impractical to sample each of these specialties one at a time. Good thing the concept of combo meals in also followed in India. To sate your appetite, try to order a thali, where you can enjoy a sample of the specialties of a region. In this way, you will have a cheaper way of savoring the different flavors and have a taste of different foods in one serving. Complete your meal with mitha paan or kheer for dessert.

If you are staying in India longer and wants to see something out of the norm and staying in Delhi, take a train to Chandigarh and visit the Nek Chad Rock Garden. Nek Chand, the creator of the garden was a government official who was actually making a small garden from himself. He used rubble to form walls for his garden and placed a few pieces of sculptures in it. Eventually he began to create additional sculpture pieces using found objects, in short, he recycled objects to create pieces of art and displayed them in his garden. His creation was eventually discovered and the government paid him a salary to keep the rock garden growing.

Despite the multitude of temples that you will see all over India, you may miss the Golden Temple located in Armitsar, Punjab. It is a Sikh temple found in the border between India and Pakistan. The Golden Temple sits in the center of the Amrit Sarovar pool, the source of the name of the city and in here the pilgrims are allowed to bathe in the pool and walk clockwise around it. Pilgrims and tourists can partake of the free meals served near the eastern entrance of the temple. It is a sight to behold as the golden hue of the temple in reflected on the water.

Near India’s border with Tibet, in Ladakh, is what the locals call gravity hill or magnetic hill. Vehicles with gears unengaged seem to be pulled up the hill. It can be an awesome sight to behold but it is actually a fantastic illusion. There is actually no magnetic force that pulls the vehicles upward. In fact the hill slopes downward. However, the surrounding areas as well as the horizon composed of mountains provide the illusion that the vehicles as moving upward as your point of reference gets awry.

India has long been a source of some of the best spices in the world. And it would be quite difficult for you not to encounter stores and vendors selling different spices. Most of these are native to the Indian subcontinent and some of the spices you may want to sample that are expensive and hard to find back home can be found here. Cardamom, the third most expensive spice after saffron and vanilla is easily available in India. So too other exotic spices such as turmeric, black pepper, kokum, Malabar tamarind and garcinia comboque extract. India is now a good source of vanilla beans and various products made from these expensive beans are available in the country.