The be-all, end-all guide to yogis and gurus, ashrams and temples -- the lowdown on food, facilities, and bringing your own mosquito net, as well as when to go, what to pack, and how to get there -- the first comprehensive book on the art of the pilgrimage in the subcontinent.The Lonely Planet may help you get your shots and visa, and get you from palace to restaurant, but until now there has been no in-depth guide devoted exclusively to spiritual India. Whether you are a curious beginner or a seasoned pilgrim, From Here to Nirvana is your essential companion. They provide detailed directions and contacts that cannot be found anywhere else -- lists and sidebars, photos and maps -- everything you need to know. Interspersed with personal stories, quotes from gurus, and local legends, this readerly guidebook is as funny, inspiring, and fascinating as it is useful.Now that Americans have become as devoted to yoga as they are to jogging, and Buddhism seems as familiar as Catholicism, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are headed to India by the thousands each year. They are going to ashrams and yoga centers, to meditate with a famous guru, or simply to sit under the Bodhi Tree as the Buddha himself did twenty-five hundred years ago. These aren't really vacations they're taking, they are journeys.

And From Here to Nirvana is the book they all must have.