Nicknames of Places (India)
A geographical epithet is a descriptive name, phrase, or title connected with a place that helps to understand the important characteristics/aspects associated with it.

This post discusses the famous geographical epithets/sobriquets/nicknames of India of different cities, places, rivers etc in India. Most of these are often asked in PSC, UPSC, IBPS PO/Clerk, RRBs exams.


List of Famous Geographical Epithets of India

A
  • Abode of Clouds – Meghalaya.
  • Abode of God – Allahabad (old name: Prayag).
  • Auto Hub of India – Chennai.
  • Athens of the East – Madurai.
B
  • Banaras of South – Madurai.
  • Bangle City – Hyderabad.
  • Banking Capital of India – Chennai.
  • Bengal's Sorrow – Damodar River.*
  • Black Pagoda – Konark Sun Temple (Odisha).
  • Black River – Sharda River.**
  • Blue Mountains – Nilgiri Hills.
  • Brother of Seven Sisters of India – Sikkim.
  • Bone Marrow of North India – River Ganga.
  • Boston of India – Ahmedabad.
C
  • California of India – Nasik.
  • Cathedral City of India – Bhubaneswar.
  • City of Blood – Tezpur (Assam).
  • City of Bridges – Srinagar.
  • City of Buildings – Kolkata.
  • City of Castles – Kolkata.
  • City of Chillies/City of Spices – Guntur (Andhra Pradesh).
  • City of Destiny – Visakhapatnam.
  • City of Dreams – Mumbai.
  • City of Enlightenment – Gaya.
  • City of Festivals – Madurai.
  • City of Four Junctions – Madurai.
  • City of Ghats and Temples – Varanasi.
  • City of Golden Temple – Amritsar.
  • City of Handlooms – Panipat.
  • City of Hospitality – Siliguri.
  • City of Lakes – Bhopal, Udaipur, Srinagar.***
  • City of Joy – Kolkata.
    • Famous Geographical Epithets of India-GK
  • City of Kaja – Kakinada.
  • City of Nawabs – Lucknow.
  • City of Nizams – Hyderabad.
  • City of Palaces – Kolkata & Chandigarh.
  • City of Pearls – Hyderabad.
  • City of Prime Ministers – Allahabad.
  • City of Prawns – Bhimavaram (Andhra Pradesh)
  • City of Rallies – New Delhi.
  • City of Respectable Distances – Chennai.
  • City of Sages – Rishikesh.
  • City of Seven Islands – Mumbai.
  • City of Taj – Agra.
  • City of Temples & Ghats – Varanasi.
  • City of Textiles & Carpets/City of Weavers – Panipat.
  • City of Weavers – Panipat.
  • City of Wrestlers – Kolhapur.
  • Coal Capital of India – Dhanbad.
  • Coffee Land of Karnataka – Chikmagalur.
  • Constantinople of the East – Lucknow.
  • Cradle of Indian Banking – Mangalore.
  • Cradle of Indian Hockey – Kodagu.
  • Cradle of Temple Architecture – Aihole (Karnataka).
  • Cultural Capital of India – Kolkata.
D
  • Detroit of India/Asia – Chennai.
  • Diamond Harbor – Kolkata.
E
  • Electronic City of India – Bengaluru.
  • Engineering City of India – Coimbatore.
F
  • Financial Capital of India – Mumbai.
G

  • Ganges of South – Kaveri.
  • Garden of India – Kashmir.
  • Garden City of India – Bengaluru.
  • Granary of India – Punjab.
  • Granary of South India – Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu).
  • Gateway of India – Mumbai.
  • Gateway of Bengal / Key of Bengal – Teliagarhi. (Previous Year PSC Questions: LDC, Water Authority, 2019) 
  • Gateway of Eastern India – Kolkata.
  • Gateway of North East India – Guwahati.
  • Gateway of South India – Chennai.
  • Gateway of Karnataka – Mangalore.
  • Glory of Rajasthan – Chittorgarh.
  • God's Own Country – Kerala.
  • Golden City of India – Jaisalmer.
  • Grape City of India – Nasik.
  • Green City – Gandhinagar.
    • graphical Epithets of India-.GK
H
  • Heart of India – New Delhi.
  • Heaven of the Aged – Kolkata.
  • Heaven on Earth – Kashmir.
  • Heritage City – Mysore.
  • Hitech City – Hyderabad.
  • Hollywood of India – Mumbai.
I
  • IT Capital of India – Bengaluru.
J
  • Jewel of the East Coast – Visakhapatnam.
  • Jewel of Karnataka – Mysore.
  • Jeweled Land – Manipur.
K
  • Kashmir of South India – Munnar (Kerala), Lambasingi (Andhra Pradesh).
  • Kashmir of Rajasthan – Udaipur.
L
  • Land of Black Diamond – Asansol (West Bengal).
  • Land of Dawn – Arunachal Pradesh. (Previous Year PSC Question: Computer Assistant, 2016)
  • Land of Dawnlit Mountain – Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Land of Festivals – Nagaland.
  • Land of Five Rivers – Punjab.
  • Land of Kings – Rajasthan.
  • Land of the Nagas – Nagaland.
  • Land of Red Rivers and Blue Hills – Assam.
  • Land of Sunrise – Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Land of Warriors – Zunheboto (Nagaland).
  • Leather City of the World – Kanpur.
  • Little Tibet – Ladakh.
M
  • Manbhum City – Purulia (West Bengal).
  • Manchester of India – Ahmedabad.
  • Manchester of South India – Coimbatore.
  • Manchester of North India – Kanpur.
  • Mango City – Malda (West Bengal).
  • Maximum City – Mumbai.
  • Milk Pail of India – Haryana.
  • Mini Mumbai – Indore.
  • Mini Switzerland of India – Khajjiyar (Himachal Pradesh).
  • Motor City of India – Chennai.
O
  • Orange City – Nagpur.
  • Orchid State of India – Arunachal Pradesh. 
    • Famous Geographical E.pithets of India-GK
P
  • Paradise on Earth – Kashmir Valley.
  • Paradise of the Botanists – Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Paris of India – Jaipur.
  • Paris of the East – Pondicherry.
  • Pensioners Paradise – Bengaluru.
  • Pink City – Jaipur.
  • Pittsburgh of India – Jamshedpur.
  • Poorman's Ooty – Yercaud.
  • Power Hub City – Mundi (Madhya Pradesh).
Q
  • Queen of Arabian Sea – Cochin (Kerala).
  • Queen of Deccan – Pune.
  • Queen of the Hills – Darjeeling.
  • Queen of the Hill Stations – Ooty.
  • Queen of the Mountains – Mussoorie.
R
  • Ratna Garbha – Andhra Pradesh.
  • Rome of the East – Mangalore.
  • Royal City – Patiala.
  • Ruhr of India – Durgapur.
S
  • Sandal City – Mysore.
  • Sangam City – Allahabad.
  • Scotland of the East – Shillong.
  • Scotland of India – Coorg.
  • Science City of India – Bengaluru.
  • Second Bardoli of India – Bhimavaram (Andhra Pradesh).
  • Seven Sisters of India – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland & Tripura.
  • Shiraz-e-Hind – Lucknow.
  • Silent Coast – Ladakh.
  • Silk City of India – Bhagalpur.
  • Silicon Valley of India – Bengaluru.
  • Sleepless City – Madurai.
  • Small Pox Island – Islet of Viringili, Minicoy Islands, Lakshadweep.
  • Sorrow of Assam – Brahmaputra.
  • Sorrow of Bihar – Kosi River.
  • Sorrow of Odisha – Mahanadi.
  • Space City – Bengaluru.
  • Spice Garden of India – Kerala.
  • Steel City of India – Jamshedpur.
  • Sugar bowl of India – Uttar Pradesh.
  • Switzerland of India – Jammu & Kashmir.
T
  • Tea City of India – Dibrugarh.
  • Tea Garden of India – Assam.
  • Temple City of India – Bhubaneswar.
  • Textile City of India – Coimbatore.
  • Tiger State of India – Madhya Pradesh.
  • Turmeric City of Maharashtra – Sangli.
  • Twin Cities – Hyderabad-Secunderabad.****
V
  • Venice of East – Alappuzha (Kerala).
W
  • Wine Capital of India – Nasik.
  • White City – Udaipur.
  • White Pagoda – Jagannath Temple (Puri, Odisha).

SideNotes

*Sorrow of Bengal – Damodar River was earlier known as the Sorrow of Bengal but nowadays because of the construction of various dams the river doesn't cause much destruction during the annual flood season.
**Sharda River – River flowing between India and Nepal
***City of Lakes – Too many cities in India are given this nickname like Thane, Nainital, Bengaluru, etc
****There are many cities in India with the epithet "Twin Cities" even triplet cities are counted among them, most popular or widely known in this category is Hyderabad-Secunderabad.