Uttar Pradesh, India — Towns & Travel Guide

What is Uttar Pradesh known for?

Uttar Pradesh, whose name means the Northern Province, is known as the great plains state of northern India, bordering more states than any other in the country. It is the fourth-largest state by area. Lucknow serves as its capital, and Prayagraj as its judicial capital.

Its borders reach nine states and the country of Nepal.

Where is Uttar Pradesh?

Uttar Pradesh lies across the north of India, its name meaning the Northern Province. The state spreads over the great plains, a wide expanse of low, level land that runs on without a coast. Among India's states it ranks fourth in size, a very large block of the northern country.

It is a subtropical land, set well inland from any sea. Lucknow, the state capital, sits within it, with Prayagraj serving as the judicial capital. The plains reach out in every direction from the two seats.

No Indian state touches more neighbours. Uttar Pradesh borders nine states in all, along with the country of Nepal to the north and the territory of Delhi to the northwest. Rajasthan lies to the west, while Haryana and Himachal Pradesh sit to the northwest beside Delhi.

Uttarakhand and Nepal close the north, Bihar lies to the east, and Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand run along the south. Few states in the country sit at such a crossroads of regions. That web of borders marks its place in northern India.

The plains bind the whole together.

What is Uttar Pradesh like?

Uttar Pradesh is a state of the plains. The plains set the whole character of the land, a wide sweep of low, open country that runs on without hill or coast to break it. Its very name means the Northern Province.

That name places it at the top of India, on the great northern plain. Its plains form one of the great level lands of the country. Level ground reaches to every edge.

The state keeps two seats of its own, an unusual arrangement. Lucknow serves as the capital, while Prayagraj stands as the judicial capital, so that Uttar Pradesh carries two centres rather than one. Its place ties it to much of northern India, for it borders nine states and the country of Nepal.

To the north lie Uttarakhand and Nepal, to the west Rajasthan, to the east Bihar, and to the south Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. That makes it a crossroads of regions across the north. Few states touch so many others.

The plains hold it all, from the western edge by Rajasthan to the eastern edge by Bihar.

What is the history of Uttar Pradesh?

Uttar Pradesh took its modern form in 1950, set up as a state of India under the name that means the Northern Province. The plains are far older. The great northern plain has been settled and farmed across a very long history, long before the state drew its modern borders.

Lucknow has long served as its chief seat.

What is the climate of Uttar Pradesh?

Uttar Pradesh has a subtropical climate, set on the plains of northern India far from any sea. The seasons swing widely. Hot summers give way to a wet season, and the winters turn cool across the open plains, cooler than on any coast.

The plains take the full range. Away from the sea, the seasons run to extremes.

How do you get to Uttar Pradesh?

Most travellers reach Uttar Pradesh through Lucknow, the state capital and the main point of arrival. The plains lie open on every side. Overland routes cross in from more neighbours than any other Indian state can claim, among them Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and the territory of Delhi, with Nepal beyond the northern border.

There is no coast to arrive by. From Lucknow or Prayagraj, the rest of the plains opens out.