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State in northern India
Photo: Yann; edited by Jim Carter, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Uttar Pradesh (UP, Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश, Urdu: اتر پردیش), literally the "Northern Province", is a large state in the Plains of India. With around 240 million inhabitants in 2021, it is not just more populous than other states of India, but all other sub-national regions in the world. If UP were a country, it'd be the fifth most populous country, just behind Indonesia and ahead of Pakistan.
The northwestern part of the state, covering the eastern part of the National Capital Region (NCR).
Between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, in the southwestern part of the state. It is home to Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal, as well as the twin pilgrimage sites of Mathura and Vrindavan.
On the upper Ganges alluvial plain, in the northern part of the state.
By train
Uttar Pradesh is served by multiple trains from both New Delhi and Kolkata. The major rail hubs include Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj and Varanasi.
By car
There are four expressways from New Delhi to Uttar Pradesh: the DND Flyway to Noida, the Hindon Elevated Road to Ghaziabad, the Delhi–Meerut Expressway (NE 3) to Meerut and the Delhi–Dehradun…
By train
UP's rail network is the largest in India. The Northern Railway (NR) covers the New Delhi–Lucknow–Varanasi corridor, whereas the North Central Railway (NCR) covers the Agra–Kanpur–Varanasi one.
By bus
The bus network of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) is also very extensive, but services can be unreliable.
By car
Uttar Pradesh also has the densest road network in India with 42 national highways and 83 state highways.
By metro
Five cities in Uttar Pradesh are served by metro systems, the highest of any province in India. The cities are Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Noida.
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Lucknow (Hindi: लखनऊ Lakhnaū, Urdu: لکھنؤ Lakhnaū) is the capital of Uttar Pradesh and one of the most populous cities in northern India. Lucknow, the "City of the Nawabs", thrives along the banks of Gomti River.
Agra (Hindi: आगरा Āgrā, Urdu: آگرہ Āgrā), a city around 200 km from Delhi, is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. There are also many other buildings and tombs from Agra's days of glory as the capital of the Mughal Empire, as well as the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri outside town, itself a World Heritage Site.
Ayodhya (अयोध्या Ayodhyā) is an ancient city in the Awadh region of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya is one of the major holy cities of Hinduism.
Jhansi is a city in the Northern Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is very close to the central state of Madhya Pradesh and is overall more similar culturally to much of Madhya Pradesh than the rest of Uttar Pradesh.
Kanpur (कानपुर Kānpur) is the largest city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It was known as Cawnpore in colonial times and is a major industrial centre of the Plains.
Mathura (मथुरा Mathurā) is a Hindu holy city at the banks of the Yamuna River, in the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is a famous pilgrimage city as Krishna was believed to born here as an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu.
Prayagraj (प्रयागराज Prayāgrāj), formerly Allahabad (इलाहाबाद Ilāhābād), is one of the holiest cities in India, is in Uttar Pradesh. The city is famous for being the site of the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges and Yamuna; and also the Hindu pilgrimage Kumbh Mela, the largest gathering of humans on the planet holding hundreds of millions of pilgrims every 12 years.
Sarnath (सारनाथ Sārnāth) is a holy town in Uttar Pradesh, India, about 13 km north-east of Varanasi. It's famous as the site of the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma and also where the original Sangha was formed.
Varanasi (वाराणसी Vārāṇasī), also known as Banaras (बनारस Banāras) or Kashi (काशी Kāshī), is a holy city at the banks of the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh, India. Being the most sacred city in Hinduism and Jainism, and important in the history of Buddhism, Varanasi is India's most important pilgrimage destination.
Dudhwa National Park, in Lakhimpur-Kheri District of Uttar Pradesh, adjacent to Nepal border, is one of the major projects for wildlife preservation in India. Spread over an expanse of approximately 811 km² of marshes, grasslands and dense forests, it is a home for over 38 species of mammals, 16 species of reptiles and numerous species of birds.
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