Punjab is a state located in northwest India. The Indian state borders the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, Chandigarh to the southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest. The total area of the state is 50,362 square kilometres. Punjab's capital is Chandigarh, which is administered separately as a Union Territory since it is also the capital of neighbouring Haryana. Other major cities of Punjab include Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala.

The word "Punjab" is a combination of the Persian words 'Panj' means Five, and 'ab' means Water, giving the literal meaning of the Land of the Five Rivers. The five rivers after which Punjab is named are the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Sutlej - all tributaries of the Indus River.

Enterprise and endeavour, these two words symbolize the essential spirit of the people of Punjab. Since Independence, over 5 decades, the state has earned its epithet: "of Granary India" through the enterprising spirit, and untiring toil of its people. The average growth rate of Punjab is 10%, which is amongst the highest in India, clearly reflecting the progressive economy of the state. Punjab also boasts a 58% literacy rate and the highest per capita income in India. Today Punjab has become a land of boundless opportunities, offering distinct advantages for investment and industry.

Privileged by nature and the dynamism of its people, Punjab is a land of rivers, fertile soils and steady achievement. With its inimitable style of transforming every potential opportunity into a success story, the state was the first to translate agricultural technology into the "Green Revolution", recording highest growth rate in food production.

Punjab has over 2 lakhs of small and medium industries and about 600 large scale industries. Agriculture is the largest industry in Punjab. Others major industries include the manufacture of scientific instruments, electrical goods, financial services, machine tools, textiles, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, tourism, fertilizers, bicycles, garments, and the processing of pine oil and sugar. Punjab is considered to have the best infrastructure in India, this includes road, rail, air and river transport links that are extensive throughout the region. Punjab also has the lowest poverty rate in India at 6.16% (1999 - 2000 figures), and has won the best state performance award, based on statistical data compiled by the Indian Government.

Punjabi culture is one of self-dependence, self-reliance and hard work, which have made Punjabis statistically on average the wealthiest in India.

Tourism in Punjab

Tourism is a swiftly expanding area and many analysts predict huge potential. Tourism of Punjab is principally suited for the tourist interested in culture, civilization, spirituality and epic history. More specifically tourism is particularly suited for the person who is interested in epic history, they celebrates Punjabi culture, royal Punjabi palaces, historic battles and of course the world-renowned examples of Sikh Architecture, shrines and temples.

From tourism point of view, Punjab is a land hallowed by saints and scarred by battles, an ancient land yielding archaeological treasures, a land of palaces and museums. A visitor to Punjab can see the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the sword of Hazrat Ali at Anandpur Sahib, the world's highest straight gravity dam at Bhakra, India's Steel City - Gobindgarh, and the world's biggest grain market at Khanna.

As Punjab is close to the hills, is an ideal base for treks in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. For the less adventurous, the hill stations of Shimla and Dalhousie are within driving distance from any part of Punjab.

In Punjab, three star or four star hotel facilities are available at Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. Smaller towns like Patiala, Ferozepur or Bhatinda offer two to three star facilities while in very small towns like Hoshiarpur, Sangrur and Ropar, it would be advisable to either depend on the facilities of the Tourism Corporation or the Government Dak Bungalows. The bigger towns have noteworthy restaurants and caterers. The Punjab Tourism Development Corporation has developed picnic spots at Ropar, Neelon (near Ludhiana), Ludhiana, Kartarpur (near Jalandhar), Sirhind (near Patiala), Pathankot and operates well-run restaurants on the Grand Trunk road and other highways as part of its highway tourism facilities. Almost all the district headquarters have excellent clubs; Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala have outstanding clubs offering all standard facilities of a club in any metropolis such as tennis and squash courts, libraries, card rooms, entertainment, billiards and bar. Punjab is also known for sports. Almost every district town offers facilities for tennis but a few like Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Chandigarh have resources for track/field, squash, horse-riding, indoor sports and swimming pools. There are golf courses at Chandigarh, Patiala, Jalandhar and Amritsar.

Access to Punjab

It's easy to reach Punjab by Road, Rail and by Air.

All the villages in the state are linked by all-weather roads and major towns of all adjoining states are connected by national highways. One can drive from one extreme end of the state to the other in six hours. Road travel time from Delhi is about four hours. All districts and sub-divisional towns have direct bus services to the state capital, Chandigarh. All villages have bus services linking them with the sub-division and district headquarters towns. Air conditioned luxury buses runs at almost hourly intervals between New Delhi and Chandigarh. Taxi services between various towns and Chandigarh and to New Delhi are dependable and comfortable.

All the major towns and district headquarters have excellent rail links for both passenger and goods traffic. Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Jalandhar are on the main line and have excellent daily train services to New Delhi including convenient overnight trains. Super fast Shatabdi Express trains connect Delhi to Chandigarh (a comfortable three-hour trip) and Delhi to Amritsar via Ludhiana (equally comfortable and just a little less than six hours).

There is an international airport at Amritsar located in Rajasansi, which is about 11 kilometers from the city. Outside the aiport, you would find cabs that are not necessarily painted yellow and black. The word "Taxi" would be written on each cab. Other domestic airports are located at Chandigarh, Ludhiana, and Pathankot.