For many tourists, India is on the bucket list, and it is no mystery why! There are already enough reasons to pack your bags to visit Mumbai or Varanasi because of the varied scenery, vibrant festivals, and spicy-hot cuisine. We have some amazing facts about India to entice you to explore India.
Cows are considered to be holy
You’ll need to make some changes before visiting India if hamburgers are a daily part of your diet! In the Constitution, cows are governed by their own set of laws, rendering killing a cow a crime.
Even on busy city streets, without fear of being threatened by humans, cows have the right to wonder where they please.
India is Earth’s wettest populated location
Meghalaya village, which witnesses around 11,873 millilitres of rain annually, has been awarded Guinness world record award for the wettest location on Earth. The monsoon season is six months long, so be sure to pack an umbrella!
There are over 300,000 mosques and more than 2 million Hindu temples in India
Get ready to be fascinated and surprised by all the beautiful architecture that India has to offer. Approximately 15 percent of the population of India is Muslim. Throughout the world, the mosques range from small village buildings to enormous famous ones, such as the Hyderabad Mecca Masjid or the New Delhi Jama Masjid.
The same can be said about the Hindu temples of India, which exceed two million to serve the Hindu population of 79.8 percent of India.
The Chenab Bridge is the world’s tallest rail bridge
Not all of the famous monuments in India are religious. 1,178 feet above the water is the jaw-dropping bridge crossing the Chenab river in Jammu. You may want to skip this one if you are afraid of heights!
Rajasthan has a Rats’ Temple
India’s animal wonders are continuing. Though rats may not be the first species you think of to worship, there is a temple dedicated to rats in Rajasthan.
Thousands of rats call the temple home, which makes it one of the most unique attractions in the world. Many pilgrims visit the temple on their own religious journeys every year, so when visiting, make sure to be respectful of local customs.
You can drive on the highest motorway in the country
The Ladakh road is the world’s highest motorized road, at over 19,300 feet. Before embarking on this particular adventure, make sure you pack a warm jacket!
Also Read, Famous Street Foods of India
House of a strange lake with skeletons
The glacial Lake Roopkund, situated in the Himalayas at around 16,470 feet, has become famous for the human skeletons found in the lake and surrounding areas.
It is assumed that the skeletons are the remains of 9th-century individuals who died during an extreme storm of hail.
“In India, the famous game “Snakes and Ladders” originated from
This board game, now sold internationally (sometimes translated as “shoots and ladders”), traces its origins back to India. In a way that young children can understand and recall, it was first designed to teach values and lessons about karma.
The first country to mine diamonds was India
India was the world’s only source of diamonds from the 4th century BC for about 1,000 years. It was in the Krishna River Delta that the original diamonds were discovered.
More diamond deposits were found in Brazil in the 18th century, and soon after, in South Africa, they were introduced to the diamond market.
Hinduism is the world’s oldest faith and is not a true polytheism
With records dating back as early as 5,500 BCE, Hinduism is known as the world’s oldest religion.
There is no known founder of Hinduism, and, because Hinduism is a way of life, no one cares to know who initiated Hinduism.
Hinduism is actually the world’s third-largest faith, serving more than 1 billion people.
Hinduism is not a pure polytheism with respect to gods. Hindus believe in one god, Brahma, who expresses itself through thousands of other gods.
Two other gods make up Trimurti, along with Brahma as the primary god. Brahma is the creator of the universe, Vishnu is the preserver of the universe and, in order to recreate it, Shiva destroys the earth.
Each Hindu is responsible for determining which god they worship.
And here’s another interesting thing about Hinduism; the most sacred number for Hindus is the number 108. This is the ratio of the distance of the Sun from Earth to the diameter of the Sun, as well as the ratio of the distance of the Moon from Earth to the diameter of the Moon.
There are 22 recognized languages in India.
Santali, Kashmiri, Bengali, Tamil, and Urdu are among the various languages spoken across India. English and Hindi, however, are the official languages.
India also has the second largest population of English speakers in the world (the United States is the first), as most Indians speak their own regional language for easier communication, as well as English.
Sanskrit is considered the world’s oldest language, the “mother of all languages.” Every Hindu book is written in Sanskrit, and the language of the demi-Gods is said to be Sanskrit.
