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About Haryana
 Haryana is proud of a rich cultural heritage. The state is
rich in folklore. The people have their own traditions. The
age old customs are still observed by the masses. The seasonal
and religious festivals glorify the culture of this region.
The dance is said to be the mother of all arts. Music and
poetry exist in tune, painting and architecture in space.
The
dance is just not a form of recreation but something needed to
release the physical and emotional energy. Folk dances, like
any other creative art, helps in sublimating the performer's
worries and cares.Haryana has a total of 81 cities and towns.
It has 6759 villages. For administrative purpose the whole
state is divided into four divisions - Ambala, Rohtak, Gurgaon
and Hissar.
There are a total of 19 districts,
47 sub-divisions, 67 tehsils, 45 sub-tehsils and 116 blocks.
Haryana is situated in the north between 27 deg 37' to 30 deg
35' latitude and between 74 deg 28' to 77 deg 36' longitude.
Haryana has Uttar Pradesh on its eastern border, Panjab on its
western border, Himachal Pradesh and Shivalik Hills on its
northern border and Delhi, Rajasthan and Aravali Hills on its
southern border. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 ft
to 900 ft above the sea level. An area of 1,553 sq kms is
covered by forest. Haryana has four main geographical
features.
Shivalik Hills: altitude varying between 900 to 2300 meters. These hills are
the source of the rivers like Saraswati, Ghaggar, Tangri and
Markanda. Parts of Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar
districts.
Ghaggar Yamuna
Plain: It is divided into 2 parts - the higher one is
called 'Bangar' while the lower one is called 'Khadar'. This
alluvium plain is made up of sand, clay, silt and hard
calcareous balls like gravel the size of nuts known locally as
kankar.
The semi-desert sandy
plain: This area borders the state of Rajasthan and
includes the districts of Sirsa and parts of Fatehbad, Hissar,
Bhiwani and MahenderGarh district.
Aravali hills: This is a dry area
with uneven, irregular landscape.
Climate of Haryana is
similar to other states of India lying in the northern plains.
It is very hot in summer (up to a high of 50 deg Celsius) and
cold in winters (down to a low of 1 deg Celsius). The hottest
months are May and June and the coldest being December and
January. Rainfall is varied with Shivalik Hills region being
the wettest and the Aravali Hills region being the driest.
About 80% of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season
(July-September) and sometimes causes local flooding.Rivers of
Haryana: The river Yamuna flows along its eastern boundary.
The ancient Saraswati river was thought to have flowed throw
Haryana but it has now disappeared. The river Ghaggar is its
main seasonal river. It rises up in the outer Himalayas
between the Yamuna and the Sutluj and enters Haryana near
Pinjore, district Panchkula. Passing through Ambala and Hissar
it reaches Bikaner in Rajasthan and runs a course of 290 miles
before finally disintegrating in the deserts of
Rajasthan.
 The Markanda river's ancient name was Aruna.
A seasonal stream like the Ghaggar, it originates from the
lower Shivalik hills and enters Haryana near Ambala. During
monsoons, this stream swells up into a raging torrent
notorious for its devastating power. The surplus water is
carried on to the Sanisa lake where the Markanda joins the
Saraswati. An important tributary is the Tangri. The Sahibi
originates in the Mewat hills near Jitgarh and Manoharpur in
Rajasthan. Gathering volume from about a hundred tributaries,
it reaches voluminous proportions, forming a broad stream
around Alwar and Patan. On reaching Rohtak it branches off
into two smaller streams, finally passing reaching the
outskirts of Delhi and flowing into the Yamuna. There are
three other rivulets in and around the Mewat hills ? Indori,
Dohan and Kasavati and they all flow northwards from the
south.
Haryana has always been a state of diverse races, cultures
and faiths. It is on this soil that they met and fused into
something truly India. The people of Haryana have preserved
their old religious and social traditions. They celebrate
festivals with great enthusiasm and traditional fervor. Their
culture and popular art are Saangs, dramas, ballads and songs
in which they take great delight.
Haryana has set up many
tourist complexes, motels and camping sites in landscaped
gardens to promote tourism. A total of 65 lakh tourists
visited Haryana in the year 2001-2002.
Haryana has one
of the most successful tourist development programs led by
Haryana Tourism department. The tourist complexes are named
after birds found in Haryana. Some of these places have
dormitories and all of them have restaurants. Hotel Rajhans
(Surajkund) and Badkal Lake are on the Delhi Agra highway.
Karna Lake (Karnal), Skylark, Parakeet and Kingfisher (Ambala)
are on Delhi Chandigarh. Yadavindra Gardens at Pinjore, on the
Chandigarh Shimla road are a must see. Surkhab (Sirsa) and
Flamingo (Hissar) complexes are on the Delhi-Fazilka national
highway.
Kurukshetra is a great pilgrimage for Hindus and tourists
from all over the country who visit the venue of the
Mahabharat war and the birth place of the Bhagvad Gita, for
its holy places. Building on its, historical and cultural
traditions, Kurukshetra has developed in to a modern city
having the Brahmsarovar, Sri Krishna Museum and the Science
Museum (Panorama). Kurukshetra district is a tourist delight,
and there are about 360 Tirthas of religious and historic
importance. Out of these about 134 tirthas are being
maintained by Kurukshetra Development Board,
Kurukshetra.
The Delhi-Alwar highway boasts of a unique
hilly attraction Sohna, in Gurgaon district. Standing on the
Aravali Hills, Sohna looks out at a wide panoramic view of the
plains below it. Sohna has been provided with landscaped
gardens and an exclusive Barbet Hut complete with its own
sitting area and an attached kitchen. A motel wing has been
built here, where air-conditioned rooms are available for
stay. In February the Statesman Vintage Car Rally vends it way
to the Sohna hill and Haryana Tourism celebrates the day with
a Mela event.
Panchkula district has the Morni Hills - the only hill
station of Haryana. A charming and peaceful place to rest and
savor the nature. During the monsoons a carpet of grass covers
the hills which makes them excellent grazing ground for black
buck and Neelgai (blue bull). A lone tiger or panther can be
spotted on occasion, while foxes, mongooses, jackals and wild
dogs are aplenty.
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