Every 12 years, the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu spiritual gathering, is held on the banks of the Holy River Ganga. Millions of people flock to the holy river to bathe. The crowds are so large that they can be seen from space, and on February 10, 2013, more than 30 million people gathered in a single day! UNESCO has also designated it as a cultural heritage site.

These are known as Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, Palace on Wheels (Rajasthan), The Golden Chariot (Karnataka and Goa), The Maharajas' Express (which begins in Delhi but has a different route), and The Deccan Odyssey (which begins in Delhi but has a different schedule) (begins in Maharashtra but itinerary differs). They are the pride of Indian Railways, holding a prominent position among the world's luxury trains. The oldest of them is Palace on Wheels.

In India, there are more vegetarian options and consumables influenced by Indian food on the McDonald's menu. The Veg Pizza McPuff, Maharaja Mac (select veg or chicken), McAloo Tikki (potato patty), McSpicy Paneer (cheese patty), and Masala Grill Veg are some of the distinctive Indian McDonald's options.

The Statue of Unity is the world's largest statue, at 600 feet (182 metres). The statue honouring independence leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is placed in Gujarat, the western state where Patel was born. In contrast, this statue is nearly twice the height of the Statue of Liberty (305ft or 93m). It is comprised of almost 12,000 bronze panels and weighs around 67,000 tonnes.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have the best nesting beaches in India for three species of marine turtles: Hawksbill, Green turtle, and the world's largest sea turtle, the Leatherback (Dermochelys Coriacea). The nesting population of Leatherback turtles in Nicobar is one of the few in the Indo-Pacific that exceeds 1,000 individuals and is thus of global significance.

What we do know is that the Taj Mahal's name is derived from Persian, the language of the Mughal court. The word Taj means "crown," and the word Mahal means "palace." As a result, the name "Taj Mahal" can be translated as "Crown Palace" or "Palace of the Crown."

Tamil Nadu has over 30,000 Hindu temples, many of which are centuries old. One of the most well-known is the vibrant Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. Visitors flock to temple towns such as Madurai and Kanchipuram all year.

After the conflict in Lanka, Hanuman traveled to the Himalayas to continue his devotion to Lord Ram. With his nails, Hanuman inscribed his version of Ram's story into the walls of the Himalayas. When Maharshi Valmiki went to Hanuman to present him with his version of the Ramayana, he saw the walls and was saddened because Valmiki believed Hanuman's Ramayana was greater and that his painstakingly produced version of the Ramayana would go undetected. When Hanuman realized this, he abandoned his version. Valmiki, taken aback, stated that he would want to be reincarnated to sing Hanuman's glories!

Sanskrit is one of the world's oldest languages, with a history that dates back over 3500 years. Many linguists regard it as the mother tongue of many (almost all) languages. It is a member of the Proto-Indo-Aryan, Proto-Indo-Iranian, and Proto-Indo-Europian language families. Sanskrit has also been shown to be the best language for computers. Isn't it awesome?

Some of the rock shelters were inhabited more than 100,000 years ago, making this one of India's oldest cave collections. The rock art at Bhimbetka is the oldest known in the Indian subcontinent, dating back more than 30,000 years.

These procedures were invented around 2500 years ago. The planting of sugar cane and the manufacturing of sugar are documented for the first time in Sanskrit literature from ancient India. It took occurred in India's Bengal area between 1500 and 500 BCE. Guda, which means "to form into a ball" in Sanskrit, was the term given to a poorly produced sugar product.

Have you ever thought of a post office that is floating? But in this incredible world, we have it too. India has a floating post office in Srinagar. The post office is built on a houseboat and even houses a museum in it. Interesting, isn't it?

Social media and digital consumption have grown so pervasive in most areas of the world that it's easy to forget that reading is still a major form of pleasure for some individuals. A 2017 survey found that the average Indian spends 10 hours and 42 minutes per week reading. In comparison, Americans work five hours and 42 minutes each week. Thailand, China, the Philippines, and Egypt round out the top five nations.

The Hindu deity Lord Jagannath inspired the English word Juggernaut, which means "huge or powerful." Every year, a cart festival known as The Holy Rath Yatra is held in Puri, Odisha. The carts used for Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balavadra, and his sister Goddess Suvadra are enormous, and devotees would crush themselves under the wheels of the carts in order to achieve salvation. That is where the term originated.

The first bus service in India was established on July 15, 1926. The initial route connected Afghan Church and Crawford Market.

Indian food may be the world's oldest continually cooked dish. Of all, what we call "Indian food" in the United States differs greatly across the country. There is a multitude of varied foods to discover during a vacation to the nation, from the Portuguese-inspired delicacies of Goa to the tandoori ovens of the Punjab.

Hinduism is considered the world's oldest religion, with texts going back to 5,500 BCE. There is no recognised creator of Hinduism, and no one cares who founded it because Hinduism is a way of life. Hinduism is currently the world's third biggest religion, with over 1 billion adherents. Hinduism is not a monotheistic religion when it comes to gods. Hindus worship one deity, Brahma, who manifests himself as hundreds of different gods. It is up to each Hindu to choose whatever deity he or she want to worship. Another interesting fact about Hinduism is that the number 108 is considered to be the most holy number among Hindus.

Hinduism, or Hindu dharma as it is known in India, is not the official name of this religion. Santana Dharma, which means the Eternal Way of Salvation, is its full name. Hindu or Indu is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water or a river. The Greeks referred to the people who lived along the Indus River as Hindus.

The previous King of Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II, entered the Guinness Book of World Records when he had two gigantic sterling silver containers, the biggest in the world, made to transport 'Ganga Jal on his journeys to England. 14,000 silver coins were melted to construct these massive jars. These "Gangajalis" are still on display at the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum and are a big draw for visitors.

Yes, the tall, pleated white hat worn by cooks, known officially as a toque, has 100 folds for a purpose! According to Reclutant Gourmet, pleats were used to indicate a chef's level of experience, such as the number of ways he or she understood how to cook eggs.

The Indian government has forbidden anybody from approaching North Sentinel Island, the Sentinelese people's home, within three miles. The anthropologist Madhumala Chattophadhyay had numerous calm meetings with the Sentinelese in 1991, but the inhabitants made it obvious (sometimes forcefully) that they did not want to be disturbed in later years. It is today regarded as one of the remaining areas on the planet that has remained undisturbed by the outside world.

Chennai was once known as Madraspatnam, a fishing community. The East India Company afterwards built Fort St. George, the first major English colony in India. As a result, Chennai became the first British colony on Indian soil.

Yes, you read that correctly. Bacteriophage bacteria can be found in the holy river Ganga. It infects and kills other harmful bacteria that have infiltrated the river. That is why, even if stored for an extended period of time, river Ganga water does not spoil. According to D.S. Bhargava, an environmental engineer at the University of Roorkee, the Ganga is the only river in the world that decomposes organic wastes 15 to 20 times faster than any other river.