[takeaways] • India has 28 states and 8 union territories, each with its own capital – all 36 are covered in the full reference tables below.
• States are governed by elected legislative assemblies; most union territories are run directly by India's central government, except Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir, which also have their own legislative assemblies.
• Chandigarh is unusual – it's both a union territory in its own right and the shared capital of two neighboring states, Punjab and Haryana.
• Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh both split their governance across two hubs: Jammu and Kashmir alternates between Srinagar (summer) and Jammu (winter), while Ladakh is jointly headquartered in Leh and Kargil.
• Popular states for tourists include Uttar Pradesh (the Taj Mahal), Maharashtra (Mumbai), Rajasthan (forts and temples), and West Bengal (Kolkata's colonial heritage and Darjeeling's tea country).
• A SIMOVO eSIM for India keeps you connected wherever your trip across the states takes you. [/takeaways]
If you've never visited India before, you'll likely be forgiven for not being too familiar with how the country splits up into different states, cities, towns, and other areas. However, if you are intent on heading here for your next vacation, it likely makes sense that you'll want to know where states lie, and where the most commonly visited places are.
There are 28 states in India, along with eight different union territories. There are states designated to every capital, and are officially governed via legislative assemblies. Most union territories, meanwhile, are run by India's central, overall government. The only three exceptions to this latter rule are Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir, which, like the states, also have their own legislative assembly and Chief Minister.
While that might sound a little confusing at first, don't worry. We're about to dive into what each of the states of India are, what the capital cities are, and which areas are considered best (and most popular) for tourists to visit.
India's 28 states and their capitals
In alphabetical order, here are the 28 states of India, along with their official, administrative capitals, and other major cities:
| State | Capital | Other notable cities |
|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Amaravati | Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar | – |
| Assam | Dispur | Guwahati, Jorhat |
| Bihar | Patna | Gaya, Bhagalpur (the "Silk City") |
| Chhattisgarh | Raipur | Bhilai-Durg, Bilaspur |
| Goa | Panaji | Margao, Vasco da Gama, across its two halves |
| Gujarat | Gandhinagar | Ahmedabad, Surat |
| Haryana | Chandigarh (shared with Punjab) | Faridabad, Ambala |
| Himachal Pradesh | Shimla | Dharamshala, Solan (the "Mushroom City") |
| Jharkhand | Ranchi | Jamshedpur (the "Steel City"), Dhanbad |
| Karnataka | Bengaluru | Hubballi-Dharwad, Mysuru |
| Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram | Kochi, Thrissur |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal, the "City of Lakes" | Indore, known as "Mini Mumbai" |
| Maharashtra | Mumbai | Pune, Nagpur (the "Orange City") |
| Manipur | Imphal | Thoubal, Kakching |
| Meghalaya | Shillong | Tura, Jowai |
| Mizoram | Aizawl | Lunglei, Champhai |
| Nagaland | Kohima | Dimapur – home to the Nagaland Hornbill Festival |
| Odisha | Bhubaneswar, the "Temple City" | Cuttack, the "Millennium City" |
| Punjab | Chandigarh (shared with Haryana) | Ludhiana, Amritsar |
| Rajasthan | Jaipur | Jodhpur (the "Blue City"), Udaipur, known by many as the "Venice of the East" |
| Sikkim | Gangtok | Namchi, Gyalshing |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai | Madurai, Coimbatore |
| Telangana | Hyderabad | Warangal, Nizamabad |
| Tripura | Agartala | Udaipur, Dharmanagar |
| Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow | Kanpur, Agra, where you will find the Taj Mahal |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun | Haridwar, Roorkee |
| West Bengal | Kolkata | Howrah, Asansol |
India's eight union territories
As with India's states, here's a quick rundown of each of the country's union territories, their capitals, and cities and areas of interest.
| Union territory | Capital | Other notable areas |
|---|---|---|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Port Blair | Garacharma, Mayabunder |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh | Daria, Behlana |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Daman | Silvassa, Galonda |
| Delhi, or National Capital Territory (NCT) | New Delhi | Saket, Rohini |
| Jammu and Kashmir | Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter) | – |
| Ladakh | Leh and Kargil (joint capitals, one per district) | Drass |
| Lakshadweep | Kavaratti | Andrott, Amini |
| Puducherry | Puducherry | Villianur, Ozhukarai |
If you're confused by the fact that Chandigarh appears as both a union territory as the capital of Haryana and Punjab, don't worry – it's a common headscratcher if you're new to India's territorial history.
As a result of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, Punjab was split in two, and Chandigarh was also split between the state and Haryana. There have been occasional disputes over land ownership across the years.
Which Indian states are most popular with tourists?
With 28 different states and eight UTs to choose from, it's probably not easy to pinpoint exactly where to go in India if you're looking at it from an outside perspective.
However, states such as Uttar Pradesh remain immensely popular with tourists from all over the world thanks to the fact it has some of the most stunning spiritual points in the region, with the Taj Mahal in Agra naturally being a must-see for many tourists heading to India.
Elsewhere, there are states such as Maharashtra, which is home to the fabulous city of Mumbai, and also offers intriguing wine tours and cave adventures. Then, there's West Bengal, which is immensely popular with tourists looking to learn more about the colonial heritage of Kolkata, and the tea trade history in Darjeeling, which named a type of tea of its own.
For people looking for religious pilgrimage, states such as Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are home to several vital sites and temples. Tourists interested in taking in temples and royal culture, meanwhile, may wish to take a look around Rajasthan.
Ultimately, India is a truly huge country which, thanks to its separate states and UTs, has a diverse culture and history. Traveling between the states and zones means you can always expect a new experience no matter where you head across the country.
And, if you are set on visiting the country any time soon, it's always a good idea to invest in an eSIM for India. SIMOVO's eSIMs give you prepaid data bundles that allow you to connect to the best available mobile networks wherever you land. That means no more worrying about finding reliable WiFi, and it also means you can kiss goodbye to high roaming bills.
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India is a truly mindblowing adventure when you try to take it all in at once, so take the time to build an itinerary that samples a state or two at a time. You can't possibly see it all in a week to ten days, so if you enjoy your initial stay here, make sure to book flights and accommodations ahead of time for your return trip. And, activate a new eSIM when you do!
[faq] [q]How many states are there in India?[/q] [a]India has 28 states and 8 union territories, each governed differently – states by elected legislative assemblies, and most union territories directly by the central government.[/a] [q]Which union territories have their own legislative assembly?[/q] [a]Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir are the three exceptions – unlike the other union territories, they each have their own legislative assembly and Chief Minister.[/a] [q]Why is Chandigarh both a state capital and a union territory?[/q] [a]Following the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, which split Punjab in two, Chandigarh became a union territory while also serving as the shared capital of both Punjab and Haryana.[/a] [q]Which Indian states are most popular with tourists?[/q] [a]Uttar Pradesh (home to the Taj Mahal), Maharashtra (Mumbai), Rajasthan, and West Bengal are among the most visited, though each state offers something different.[/a] [q]What's the capital of Ladakh?[/q] [a]Ladakh has two joint capitals – Leh and Kargil, one for each of its two districts.[/a] [/faq] [esim flag="🇮🇳" label="India" data="10GB · 30 days" price="$18.50" href="/products/india" benefits="Instant QR setup · Reliable 4G/5G · No contract"]Grab an India eSIM and travel with one less thing to worry about[/esim]
