Firmly ensconced in the budget travel canon, Lonely Planet: Indiahas become as essential to sub-continental backpacker culture as the Himalayan hill stations, Arabian sea beaches and crafty rickshaw drivers it describes. Beyond the frank, thorough coverage of the country's highlights and pitfalls, indispensable maps and a snazzy full-colour guide to India's religions make this sturdy tome an endlessly useful one-stop reference. Though the emphasis is on "budget" travel, there are hotel and restaurant picks to accommodate you whether your budget is US$10 or US$500 a day. The book's only problem is that to some degree, it's a victim of its own success--it can be difficult to get off the beaten path when every English-speaking backpacker in South Asia is carrying the same guide. Fortunately, given India's (and the book's) seemingly endless charms, there's still enough to go around. --Andrew Nieland

2007-11-24 the best LP guide

and the best guide I've come across for India. Packed with detail and a reasonable cultural/ historical introduction. Maps are great, the timetables are pretty accurate, the opening times and prices are correct...

There are some very bad LP guides out there. Vietnam springs to mind. But LP India has been consistently good throughout the years. I think I've used 4 versions of the guidebook and have been pleased with the improvements everytime.

Obviously the negativities are that it is pretty big but how else are you supposed to cram in all that information.