Punjab, located in the north west of India, is one of the smallest but the most prosperous states of India. Punjab is primarily an agricultural state and enjoys the natural benefits of fertile soils and abundant waters. The five rivers Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum gave it its name 'punj<ab' or the 'land of five waters'. The state has earned its epithet: "of Granary India" through the enterprising spirit, and untiring toil of its people. Weather
Punjab has three major seasons. April to June is Summer time when the climate of the plains is excessively hot and dry with temperatures as high as 49° C (120° F). Rainy season starts normally from July and continues till the end of September. Winter months are October to March with cool and pleasant weather. The average temperature in January is 13° C (55° F), although at night the temperature sometimes lowers to freezing.
Tourism
Punjab, the land of five rivers and integrated cultural history, offers a lot to an avid tourist. For this land of the great gurus not only boasts of ancient monuments but throbs with historical embodiments. Since Punjab was the seat of royalty, there is no dearth of breathtaking palaces, for instance Quila Mubarak. There are Museums and also religious places like Golden Temple. If you are a wild life freak, then this state has sanctuaries, which are hot favourites with migratory birds.
Places of Tourist Interest
Pilgrimages : Temples, Gurudwaras, Mosques and Mausoleums are places of pilgrimages. Ram Tirth, Amritsar, Durgiana Mandir, Amritsar ( Lakshmi Narain Temple), Bhagwathi Mandir, Maisar Khanna, Bathinda City, Shiv Mandhir, Gur<mandi, Jalandhar, Sodal Mandir, Jalandhar City, and Panch Mandir, Kapurthala Town are some popular religious places. Heritage Sites : includes Archaelogical Destinations, Forts, the Palaces of Punjab, Museums, Historical Remains and Homage to Freedom Fighters. Some popular forts of Punjab are Govindgarh Fort Amritsar, Bathinda Fort, Faridkot Fort,
Qila Mubark Patiala, Bhadurgarh Fort, Anandpur Sahib Fort, Ropar, Phillaur Fort, Ludhiana and Shahpur Kandi Fort. Major Cities : Amritsar, Chandigarh, Patiala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Roopnagar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Bathinda, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozpur, Moga, Muktsar, Sangrur and Sirhind are major cities of the state and has lot of attractions for the tourists. Festivals & Events
Fairs or Melas in Punjabi are synonymous with the joy and gaiety. After a day or season of hard work nothing is more welcome to the people than the prospect of a festival or a fair. The fairs of the Punjab are linked with its culture and reflect by and large the various phases of its life. Broadly, they may be divided into seasonal fairs, mythical fairs, fairs held in honor of saints and fairs connected with festivals. The most famous of the seasonal fairs are Basant Panchami, the Basant fair, Baisakhi, Chhapar Fair, Gugga Naumi, Jarag Fair, the Roshni Fair (Fair of the lights), Haider Sheikh at Malerkotla, Dhesian Sang, Khwaja Roshan, Mir Shah Husain, Baba Jawahar Singh, Shiy Chaudas, Nathana, Muktsar Fair and Jor Mela. The major festivals of Punjab are Holi, Hola Mohalla, Gurupurabs, Baisakhi, Teeyan, Rakhi, Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Devuthan, Diwali and Lohri. When to Go
The best time to visit Punjab is October to March.
Interesting Fact
Amritsar, the holy city of Punjab is famous for Golden Temple. Attached to the golden Temple as in all Sikh Gurdwara's is the Langer hall, where all people regardless of faith, gender, status etc all sit together in straight rows to eat the same simple foods free of charge. The Langer at the Golden temple serves around 70.000 meals in this unique way 24 hours a day, with numbers reaching 200.000 on special religio us days. All the food is brought by donations and prepared and distributed by volunteers doing sewa, (selfless service).
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