Udaipur, In Golden Light

India

Best Time to Visit Ladakh: Month-by-Month Guide for 2026

The best time to visit Ladakh, month by month: weather, road openings, permits, festivals and what to expect from May to winter, for Indian travellers.

India

Varanasi 3 Day Itinerary: Ghats, Aarti, Sarnath and Food

A practical Varanasi 3 day itinerary covering the ghats, Ganga aarti, Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, Sarnath and what to eat, with logistics for Indian travellers.

India

North Goa vs South Goa 2026: Which Is Right for Your Trip?

North Goa vs South Goa: beaches, nightlife, stays, costs and airports compared, with a clear guide to which half of Goa suits your trip.

India

Rajasthan Itinerary 10 Days 2026: Jaipur to Udaipur Route

A Rajasthan itinerary for 10 days: Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur, with drive times, best season and an approximate rupee budget.

India

Kerala 7 Day Itinerary 2026: Kochi to Varkala, Day by Day

A Kerala 7 day itinerary for 2026: Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady, Alleppey and Varkala in one line, with road times, houseboat costs and best season.

India

Manali Travel Guide 2026: Best Time, Budget and Itinerary

A Manali travel guide for 2026: best time, how to reach, Solang, Atal Tunnel, Old Manali, snow season and an approximate budget in rupees.

India

7 Things to Do at Tso Moriri, Ladakh's Quieter High-Altitude Lake

At over 4,500 metres on Ladakh's Changthang plateau, Tso Moriri draws far fewer visitors than Pangong Tso, but pairs a 400-year-old monastery, migratory birdlife and Changpa nomad culture with some of the region's most dramatic high-altitude scenery.

India

7 Things to Do in Khonoma, India's First Green Village and Nagaland's Last Warrior Village

Twenty kilometres from Kohima, Khonoma turned a 19th-century Angami warrior stronghold into India's first officially recognised Green Village, with terraced fields, a tragopan sanctuary and stone forts standing in for its headhunting past.

India

7 Things to Do in Dhanaulti, the Quiet Hill Station Between Mussoorie and the High Himalaya

A deodar-forested hill station roughly two hours beyond Mussoorie, Dhanaulti trades that town's crowds for eco-park walks, a Shakti Peeth temple climb and wide Himalayan views, at a fraction of the footfall.

India

7 Things to Do in Jibhi, the Himachal Village That Grew Up Around a Waterfall

A small village in Himachal's Banjar valley, once known mainly to trout anglers, has become a favourite low-key escape thanks to a three-tiered waterfall, a fort-topped ridge nearby and a growing cluster of riverside cafés.

India

7 Things to Do in Hanle, India's Dark Sky Reserve in Changthang

A high-altitude village in eastern Ladakh, home to one of Asia's highest astronomical observatories, has become India's only officially designated Dark Sky Reserve, with strict lighting rules that keep its night skies genuinely black.

India

7 Things to Do in Yumthang Valley, Sikkim's High-Altitude Valley of Flowers

North Sikkim's Yumthang Valley sits at close to 3,600 metres, ringed by snow peaks and known for a rhododendron sanctuary that blooms briefly each spring, natural hot springs and a rough track on to Zero Point near the Chinese border.

India

7 Things to Do in Osian, Rajasthan's Desert Temple Town

Often called the Khajuraho of Rajasthan for its carved 8th- to 12th-century temples, Osian pairs a working pilgrimage town with camel safaris into dunes that see a fraction of Jaisalmer's crowds.

India

7 Things to Do in Varkala, Kerala's Cliffside Beach Town

A rare stretch of laterite cliff running straight above the Arabian Sea, a temple believed to wash away sins and a pilgrimage site tied to social reformer Sri Narayana Guru give this Kerala beach town a mix few of its coastal rivals can match.

India

7 Things to Do in Gandikota, India's Grand Canyon

A 13th-century fort and a red-rock gorge cut by the Pennar River have earned this small Andhra Pradesh village the nickname the Grand Canyon of India, with adventure sports now drawing visitors alongside the views.

India

7 Things to Do in Anjuna, Goa

North Goa's original hippie-trail village has grown into a mix of flea market, cliffside cafes and long-running beach shacks, without losing all of the loose, unhurried character that first drew travellers here.

India

7 Things to Do on Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep), Andaman Islands

Smaller and quieter than Havelock, Neil Island, officially renamed Shaheed Dweep, packs coral-fringed beaches, a natural rock bridge and easy cycling distances into a compact stretch of the Andamans.

India

7 Things to Do in Jim Corbett National Park, India's Oldest Tiger Reserve

Established in 1936 as India's first national park and later the first reserve under Project Tiger, Corbett spreads across Ramganga river valleys and grassland in Uttarakhand's Kumaon foothills.

India

7 Things to Do in the Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand's UNESCO Meadow of Himalayan Blooms

A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Uttarakhand's Garhwal Himalaya, the Valley of Flowers turns into a carpet of over 500 documented alpine species each monsoon, reached by a trek through Ghangaria.

India

7 Things to Do in Kevadia, Home to the World's Tallest Statue

Built around the world's tallest statue and the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River, Kevadia has grown from a dam-construction town into a purpose-built cluster of viewpoints, gardens and eco-tourism activities in Gujarat's Narmada district.

India

7 Things to Do in Mandvi, Kutch's Royal Port Town on the Arabian Sea

Once a major shipbuilding port for the Kutch princely state, Mandvi pairs a working wooden shipyard with a beachfront summer palace and one of Gujarat's longest stretches of open coastline.

India

7 Things to Do in Sandakphu, the Highest Point in West Bengal

At 3,636 metres along the Singalila Ridge near Darjeeling, Sandakphu is West Bengal's highest point and one of the few places from which a stretch of Himalayan giants, including Kanchenjunga, lines up into the outline locals call the Sleeping Buddha.

India

7 Things to Do in Kanha National Park, the Forest Said to Have Inspired The Jungle Book

One of India's best-run tiger reserves, Kanha in Madhya Pradesh pairs sal forest and open meadow with a conservation story built around the Bengal tiger and the hard-ground barasingha, and is widely believed to have shaped the setting of Kipling's Jungle Book.

India

7 Things to Do in Nawalgarh, the Rajasthan Town With 600 Painted Havelis

Founded in 1737 by Thakur Nawal Singh, Nawalgarh grew rich on Marwari merchant fortunes that paid for more than 600 frescoed havelis, of which only a handful are restored and open to the public today.

India

7 Things to Do in Netarhat, the Hill Station Jharkhand Calls the Queen of Chotanagpur

Roughly 156 kilometres west of Ranchi, Netarhat sits at about 1,100 metres in Jharkhand's Latehar district, a former British-era summer retreat known for pine-covered ridges, sunrise and sunset viewpoints, and a scatter of waterfalls nearby.

India

7 Things to Do in Champaner-Pavagadh, Gujarat's Untouched Sultanate City

An hour from Vadodara, the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park pairs a hilltop Shakti Peeth temple with the largely intact ruins of a sixteenth-century Gujarat Sultanate capital at its base.

India

7 Things to Do in Dholavira, the 5,000-Year-Old Harappan City in the Rann of Kutch

On Khadir island in the Rann of Kutch, Dholavira's excavated ruins reveal one of the Indus Valley Civilization's largest cities, complete with a sophisticated water-harvesting system built for one of India's most arid corners.

India

7 Things to Do in Mandawa, Rajasthan's Open-Air Fresco Gallery

Mandawa in Rajasthan's Shekhawati region holds one of India's densest clusters of painted havelis, built by Marwari merchant families between the 18th and early 20th centuries and left largely unrestored.

India

7 Things to Do in Bishnupur, Bengal's Terracotta Temple Capital

Bishnupur in West Bengal's Bankura district was the capital of the Malla dynasty, whose 17th-century rulers built a cluster of brick-and-terracotta temples that remain among the finest examples of the region's distinctive architectural style.

India

7 Things to Do in Mechuka, the Himalayan Valley Arunachal Pradesh Keeps Mostly to Itself

Set at around 6,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh's Shi-Yomi district, Mechuka pairs a 400-year-old monastery and a wooden suspension bridge with some of the least-visited high-altitude scenery in the eastern Himalaya.

India

7 Things to Do in Binsar, Kumaon's Quietest Himalayan Wildlife Sanctuary

Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand's Kumaon hills pairs one of the region's best Himalayan panoramas with dense oak-and-rhododendron forest that sees far fewer visitors than Nainital or Ranikhet nearby.

India

7 Things to Do in Bekal, Kerala's Quietest Fort Town

Built around Kerala's largest fort, Bekal in Kasaragod district pairs a 17th-century coastal stronghold with quiet beaches and backwaters that see a fraction of the crowds further south in the state.

India

7 Things to Do in Dawki, Where Meghalaya's River Turns Boats Invisible

A border town in Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills, Dawki is built almost entirely around the Umngot River, whose water runs so clear that boats on its surface appear to float in mid-air.

India

7 Things to Do in Khajjiar, the Meadow Himachal Calls Its Mini Switzerland

A saucer-shaped meadow ringed by deodar forest near Dalhousie, Khajjiar packs a floating-island lake, a 12th-century temple and one of India's more improbable golf courses into a single walkable circuit.

India

7 Things to Do in Chail, the Hill Town a Maharaja Built to Outrank Shimla

Built by the Maharaja of Patiala after he fell out of favour in Shimla, Chail keeps a royal cricket ground, a palace-turned-hotel and forested ridge walks that stay quieter than its more famous neighbour.

India

7 Things to Do in Panchgani, the Hill Station India's Boarding Schools Made Their Home

Set among five hills in Satara district, Panchgani has been a hill station since the British era, and its flat volcanic plateau, colonial-era schools and strawberry farms still make it a straightforward escape from Mumbai and Pune.

India

7 Things to Do in Kalpa, the Himachal Village That Stares Straight at Kinnaur Kailash

Set on a ridge in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district, Kalpa looks directly across the Sutlej valley at the Kinnaur Kailash range, and its old village lanes, temples and orchards make it worth more than a one-night stop.

India

7 Things to Do in Pachmarhi, the Hill Station the British Called the Queen of Satpura

Madhya Pradesh's only hill station, Pachmarhi sits on a plateau in the Satpura Range, ringed by waterfalls, sandstone gorges and caves that have drawn visitors since a British army captain stumbled on it in 1857.

India

7 Things to Do in Dzukou Valley, the Rolling Green Border Valley Between Nagaland and Manipur

Dzukou Valley's rolling green hills straddle the Nagaland-Manipur border and bloom with an endemic lily each June, reachable only on foot from either state.

India

7 Things to Do in Mawsynram, the Wettest Place on Earth

Mawsynram, a Khasi Hills village that records the highest average annual rainfall on Earth, packs limestone caves, sacred groves and monsoon waterfalls into a small stretch of Meghalaya.

India

7 Things to Do in Sangla Valley, Kinnaur's Apple-Orchard Gateway to the Indo-Tibet Border

Sangla Valley, carved by the Baspa River in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district, strings together apple orchards, a fortified wooden temple and some of the last villages before the Indo-Tibet border.

India

7 Things to Do in Lambasingi, the Eastern Ghats Village Known as Andhra Pradesh's Kashmir

Lambasingi, a small village in the Eastern Ghats above Visakhapatnam, occasionally sees frost and near-zero temperatures in December and January, an oddity in coastal Andhra Pradesh that has made it a small but growing cold-weather draw.

India

7 Things to Do in Ranikhet, the Kumaon Cantonment Town With a View of Nanda Devi

Ranikhet, a cantonment town in Uttarakhand's Almora district built up under British rule as the headquarters of the Kumaon Regiment, mixes pine-forested army land, apple orchards and wide Himalayan views with far fewer crowds than Nainital or Mussoorie.

India

7 Things to Do in Kumarakom, the Backwater Village on Kerala's Largest Lake

Kumarakom, a cluster of villages on the shore of Vembanad Lake in Kerala's Kottayam district, has grown from a quiet backwater settlement into one of the state's best-known houseboat and birdwatching bases, without losing the working paddy-field landscape around it.

India

7 Things to Do in Landour, the Cantonment Town That Keeps Mussoorie's Crowds at Arm's Length

Landour, the old British cantonment adjoining Mussoorie in Uttarakhand, has kept a slower pace than its busier neighbour, built around pine-shaded lanes, a handful of century-old institutions and views out to the high Himalaya.

India

7 Things to Do in Alibaug, Mumbai's Nearest Coastal Escape

Alibaug, a Konkan coast town a short ferry ride from Mumbai, pairs unhurried beaches and mango orchards with sea forts built by the Marathas, Portuguese and Siddis, and remains the city's most convenient weekend escape.

India

7 Things to Do in Munsiyari, the Johar Valley's Gateway to the Panchchuli Peaks

Munsiyari, a small town in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district set beneath the five Panchchuli peaks, has long served as the trailhead for high Himalayan treks while staying largely overlooked as a destination in its own right.

India

7 Things to Do in the Sundarbans, India's Tidal Mangrove Tiger Reserve

The Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage mangrove forest straddling the Ganges delta in West Bengal, is explored almost entirely by boat, its tidal creeks home to the Royal Bengal tiger and a striking density of birdlife.

India

7 Things to Do in Yercaud, the Shevaroys' Quiet Coffee Hill Station

Yercaud, set in the Shevaroy Hills above Salem in Tamil Nadu, has stayed a low-key coffee and orange-growing hill station even as nearby Ooty and Kodaikanal have grown crowded.

India

7 Things to Do in Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh's Coffee-Growing Hill Country

Araku Valley, tucked into the Eastern Ghats above Visakhapatnam, is one of India's few significant coffee-growing regions outside the south, its hillsides worked largely by Adivasi communities and reachable by one of the country's most scenic train routes.

India

7 Things to Do in Tirthan Valley, Himachal's Trout-Stream Escape

Tirthan Valley, bordering the Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh, has stayed largely free of the commercial sprawl found in nearby Manali, built instead around trout streams, forest trails and homestays.

India

7 Things to Do at Loktak Lake, Home to the World's Only Floating National Park

Loktak Lake in Manipur, the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India, is covered in floating phumdi islands that support fishing villages, a national park and the endangered Sangai deer.

India

7 Things to Do in Shimla, the Himalayan Town That Was British India's Summer Capital

Shimla, the summer capital of British India from 1864 to 1947, pairs colonial-era landmarks like Christ Church and the Viceregal Lodge with the UNESCO-listed Kalka-Shimla toy train and Himalayan views.

India

7 Things to Do in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh's Quietest Colonial Hill Station

Dalhousie, founded in 1854 and named for a Governor-General of India, is spread across five hills in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, and has kept a slower, less commercial pace than better-known hill stations nearby.

India

7 Things to Do in Chitkul, India's Last Village Before the Tibet Border

Chitkul, at around 3,450 metres in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district, is the last inhabited village on the Indian side of the Indo-Tibet border road, set along the Baspa River and reached roughly 250 kilometres from Shimla.

India

7 Things to Do at Chilika Lake, Asia's Largest Brackish Water Lagoon

Chilika Lake in Odisha, Asia's largest brackish water lagoon and a Ramsar-listed wetland, pairs Irrawaddy dolphin sightings with island temples, migratory bird colonies and fishing villages, all within a couple of hours of Bhubaneswar and Puri.

India

7 Things to Do in Gulmarg, Home to One of the World's Highest Cable Cars

Gulmarg, a former royal summer meadow in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, is built around the Gulmarg Gondola, Asia's highest cable car, and switches between a winter ski resort and a green-meadow hill station within the same calendar year.

India

7 Things to Do in Lansdowne, the Himalayan Cantonment Tourism Forgot

Lansdowne, a Garhwal Rifles cantonment town in Uttarakhand founded in 1887, has stayed largely free of the commercial sprawl that has reshaped nearby hill stations, thanks to the building restrictions that come with still being an active military station.

India

7 Things to Do in Kausani, the Himalayan Town Gandhi Compared to Switzerland

Kausani, a ridge-top town in Uttarakhand’s Kumaon hills, is built almost entirely around one thing: an uninterrupted panorama of the Himalayas, from Trishul and Nanda Devi to the Panchchuli peaks.

India

7 Things to Do in Mawlynnong, Asia’s Cleanest Village

A Khasi village in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills, Mawlynnong has been called Asia’s cleanest village since 2003, and pairs its bamboo-dustbin cleanliness system with a living root bridge, a bamboo skywalk and the clear waters of the Umngot River nearby.

India

7 Things to Do in Bandhavgarh, India's Highest-Density Tiger Reserve

A former hunting ground of the Rewa royal family in Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh has one of India's highest densities of Bengal tigers, a hilltop fort dotted with ancient rock-cut caves, and the origin story of the world's captive white tigers.

India

7 Things to Do in Chopta, Uttarakhand's Miniature Alpine Meadow

A cluster of high-altitude meadows in the Garhwal Himalayas, Chopta is the base for the world's highest Shiva temple, a sunrise summit trek and one of Uttarakhand's most photographed alpine lakes.

India

7 Things to Do in Kalimpong, the Hill Town Darjeeling's Fame Passed By

A former Himalayan trade post turned mission-school town, Kalimpong pairs Kanchenjunga views with a cluster of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and a noticeably slower pace than its more famous neighbour.

India

7 Things to Do in Cherrapunji, One of the Wettest Places on Earth

Also known by its older Khasi name, Sohra, this Meghalaya hill town is built around record monsoon rainfall, living root bridges grown by hand over decades, and some of India's tallest waterfalls.

India

7 Things to Do in Kasol, the Parvati Valley's Backpacker Capital

Set along the Parvati River in Himachal Pradesh, Kasol has grown from a sleepy riverside hamlet into the trekking and cafe-hopping base for the entire valley, without losing the mountains around it.

India

7 Things to Do in Turtuk, India's Last Village Before the Line of Control

Captured from Pakistan in 1971 and closed to outsiders until 2010, Turtuk remains Ladakh's only Balti-populated village and one of its least commercialised corners.

India

7 Things to Do in Coonoor, the Nilgiris' Quieter Hill Station

Twenty minutes from Ooty by road, Coonoor pairs the same Nilgiri tea-estate scenery with noticeably thinner crowds and one of India's last working mountain railways.

India

7 Things to Do in Vagamon, Kerala's Quiet Answer to Munnar

Rolling grassland meadows, a working pine forest and a cliffside monastery sit within a few kilometres of each other in this lesser-visited Idukki hill station.

India

7 Things to Do in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir

Set where the Lidder River meets pine-forested slopes in Kashmir's Anantnag district, Pahalgam pairs an easy riverside town with valleys and meadows that spread out in every direction.

India

7 Things to Do in Lakshadweep, India's Own Coral Atolls

India's smallest union territory is a scatter of coral atolls off the Kerala coast, where lagoon colour and limited access, rather than any single monument, are the actual draw.

India

7 Things to Do in Matheran, India's Only Vehicle-Free Hill Station

Roughly two hours from Mumbai, Matheran bans motor vehicles entirely, leaving a red-earth plateau of viewpoints, forest trails and a century-old toy train to be explored on foot, horseback or hand-pulled rickshaw.

India

7 Things to Do in Pelling, Sikkim

Perched on a ridge in West Sikkim with an uninterrupted view of the Kangchenjunga range, Pelling trades Gangtok's bustle for a quieter base built around monasteries, ruins and a glass-floored skywalk.

India

7 Things to Do in Ranthambore, One of India's Best Tiger Reserves

A former royal hunting ground in eastern Rajasthan, Ranthambore National Park pairs some of India's most reliable tiger sightings with a 10th-century fort standing inside the reserve itself.

India

7 Things to Do in Konark, Home to India's Great Stone Chariot

A 13th-century temple built in the shape of a colossal stone chariot for the sun god Surya, Konark's UNESCO-listed complex anchors a compact stretch of Odisha coast easily paired with Puri.

India

7 Things to Do in Kumbhalgarh, Home to the World's Second-Longest Wall

A 15th-century Mewar fort in the Aravalli hills, Kumbhalgarh is ringed by a 36-kilometre wall often described as the world's second-longest continuous wall after the Great Wall of China.

India

7 Things to Do in Ziro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh

Home to the Apatani people and their distinctive rice-and-fish paddy fields ringed by pine-covered hills, Ziro Valley is one of Northeast India's most quietly striking landscapes.

India

7 Things to Do in McLeod Ganj, Home to the Dalai Lama in Exile

A hill town above Dharamshala has been home to the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration since 1960, giving it a monastery-and-mountain character unlike anywhere else in Himachal Pradesh.

India

7 Things to Do in Mount Abu, Rajasthan's Only Hill Station

Rajasthan's only hill station pairs a marble Jain temple complex ranked among India's finest with a cool-climate lake town that has drawn escapees from the desert heat for centuries.

India

7 Things to Do in Bundi, Rajasthan's Town of Stepwells and Painted Palaces

A fraction as visited as Jaipur or Udaipur, Bundi packs a hilltop fort, a mural-covered palace and dozens of stepwells into a small town most Rajasthan itineraries still skip.

India

7 Things to Do in Gir National Park, Home of the Asiatic Lion

Gir National Park in Gujarat is the only place on earth where the Asiatic lion still roams wild, a population brought back from the edge of extinction over the past century.

India

7 Things to Do in Bir Billing, India's Paragliding Capital

A Tibetan refugee settlement with tea gardens below it and one of the world's best paragliding takeoff sites above, Bir Billing in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district offers far more than the flight it is known for.

India

7 Things to Do in Chikmagalur, the Birthplace of Indian Coffee

A district in Karnataka's Western Ghats where a 17th-century Sufi saint is said to have introduced coffee to India, Chikmagalur pairs plantation stays with some of the state's highest peaks and quietest waterfalls.

India

7 Things to Do in Alleppey, Kerala's Backwater Capital

Alappuzha, known widely as Alleppey, gave its name to Kerala's houseboat tourism and remains the easiest base for exploring the state's network of backwaters, canals and Vembanad Lake.

India

7 Things to Do in Udaipur, Rajasthan's City of Lakes

Built around a chain of artificial lakes in southern Rajasthan, Udaipur pairs the largest palace complex in the state with narrow old-city streets, island palaces and hillside viewpoints.

India

7 Things to Do in Kanyakumari, Where Three Seas Meet at India's Southern Tip

Kanyakumari, at the very southern point of the Indian mainland, pairs a rock memorial to Swami Vivekananda and a giant statue of the poet Thiruvalluvar with the rare sight of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean meeting in one view.

India

7 Things to Do in Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra's Strawberry Hill Station

Once the summer capital of the Bombay Presidency, Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra's Western Ghats pairs colonial-era hill station charm with strawberry farms, viewpoints over the Konkan and a fort linked to Chhatrapati Shivaji.

India

7 Things to Do in Gokarna, Karnataka's Quieter Answer to Goa

A pilgrim town turned backpacker favourite on Karnataka's coast, Gokarna strings together an ancient temple, a chain of cliff-backed beaches and a scatter of unusual rock formations inland.

India

7 Things to Do in Shillong, Meghalaya's Hill Capital

Long nicknamed the Scotland of the East for its pine-covered hills and rolling mist, Shillong pairs colonial-era lakes and waterfalls with one of India's liveliest live-music scenes.

India

7 Things to Do in Kohima, Nagaland's Hill Capital

Built across a ridge in the Naga Hills, Kohima pairs a significant Second World War history with Nagaland's tribal culture, from the Kisama Heritage Village to the trek into Dzukou Valley on the Manipur border.

India

7 Things to Do in Puri, Odisha's Temple Town on the Bay of Bengal

Home to the Jagannath Temple and the annual Rath Yatra, Puri pairs a major pilgrimage centre with a long Bay of Bengal beach, a UNESCO sun temple nearby at Konark and a brackish lagoon famous for its dolphins.

India

7 Things to Do in Kaziranga, Assam's Rhino Stronghold

Kaziranga National Park in Assam holds around two-thirds of the world's Indian one-horned rhinoceros population, spread across grassland and wetland ranges best explored by jeep, elephant-back and watchtower.

India

7 Things to Do in Auli, Uttarakhand's Himalayan Ski Slope

A high alpine meadow above Joshimath developed into India's best-known ski resort, Auli pairs winter slopes with year-round views of Nanda Devi and one of Asia's highest cable car rides.

India

7 Things to Do in Mandu, Madhya Pradesh's Monsoon Capital

A fortified plateau town that once seated the independent Malwa Sultanate, Mandu spreads its palaces, tombs and mosques across a hilltop that turns green and fills its lakes each monsoon.

India

7 Things to Do in Ooty, the Nilgiris' Colonial Hill Station

Founded as a British hill station in the early 19th century, Ootacamund still runs on a colonial-era template of a lake, a botanical garden and a mountain railway, set inside Tamil Nadu's Nilgiri hills.

India

7 Things to Do in Diu, India's Small Portuguese-Era Island

A small island union territory off the Gujarat coast, Diu stayed under Portuguese rule until 1961, leaving behind a 16th-century sea fort, baroque churches and quiet beaches with almost none of the crowds of Goa.

India

7 Things to Do in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh's Quiet Colonial Hill Town

A small cantonment town founded by the British in 1842, Kasauli sits at a lower, more accessible altitude than Himachal’s bigger hill stations, with colonial-era lanes and Himalayan views toward Chandigarh.

India

7 Things to Do in Gangtok, Sikkim's Himalayan Capital

Built across a steep Himalayan ridge overlooking the Kanchenjunga range, Gangtok pairs a pedestrian-only high street with Buddhist monasteries and cable-car views that make Sikkim's capital worth more than a stopover on the way to the mountains.

India

7 Things to Do in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu's Rock-Cut Port Town

A 7th-century Pallava dynasty port on the Bay of Bengal, Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) packs a UNESCO-listed shore temple, monolithic rock-cut shrines and one of India's largest bas-reliefs into a town small enough to cover on foot.

India

7 Things to Do in Chettinad, Tamil Nadu's Mansion Country

Built on fortunes made trading across Burma, Ceylon and Malaya, Chettinad's merchant mansions pair Belgian glass and Burma teak with a spice-heavy cuisine and a 1,600-year-old rock-cut temple, all a few hours from Madurai.

India

7 Things to Do in Bikaner, Rajasthan's Desert Fort City

Built around a 16th-century fort that was never taken by siege, Bikaner pairs red sandstone architecture with a working camel research centre and a temple where rats are worshipped as sacred, a desert detour most Rajasthan itineraries skip.

India

7 Things to Do in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu's Misty Hill Station in the Palani Hills

Built as a retreat from the plains' heat by American missionaries in the 1840s, Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu's Palani Hills is centred on a star-shaped lake and a cooler, forested landscape unlike much of the state around it.

India

7 Things to Do in Coorg, Karnataka's Coffee Country in the Western Ghats

Often called the Scotland of India for its misty hills, Coorg (Kodagu) in Karnataka's Western Ghats is built around coffee estates, waterfalls and a Tibetan monastery settlement rather than any single monument.

India

7 Things to Do in Wayanad, Kerala's Highland Plateau of Tea, Caves and Waterfalls

A highland district in Kerala's Western Ghats, Wayanad trades the state's backwaters for tea and coffee plantations, prehistoric caves and waterfalls, all at a cooler elevation than the coast below.

India

7 Things to Do in Nainital, Uttarakhand's Lake-Filled Hill Station

Built by the British around a crescent-shaped lake in the 1840s, Nainital remains one of Uttarakhand's most visited hill towns, with a compact centre and several viewpoints reached by cable car or a short trek.

India

7 Things to Do in Pushkar, the Rajasthani Lake Town Built Around a Single Sacred Ghat

A small town in Rajasthan's Ajmer district, Pushkar is built almost entirely around its sacred lake and its rare temple to Brahma, with the surrounding desert never far away.

India

7 Things to Do in Khajuraho, Home to India's Most Intricately Carved Temples

A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Madhya Pradesh, Khajuraho's sandstone temples, built by the Chandela dynasty over a thousand years ago, carry some of the finest stone carving anywhere in India.

India

7 Things to Do in Darjeeling, the Queen of the Hills

Famous for its tea estates and views of Kanchenjunga, Darjeeling pairs a UNESCO-listed toy train with colonial-era hill station charm in the West Bengal Himalayas.

India

7 Things to Do in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan's Golden City

Built from the same honey-coloured sandstone throughout, Jaisalmer centres on one of the world's few still-inhabited forts, with desert dunes and merchant havelis close by.

India

7 Things to Do in Mysore, Karnataka's City of Palaces

Home to one of India's grandest palaces and a hilltop temple overlooking the city, Mysore rewards two unhurried days far more than the usual overnight stop.

India

7 Things to Do in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh's Palace Town on the Betwa

A 16th-century Bundela capital of palaces, temples, and river cenotaphs, Orchha rewards a slow two days far more than the day trip most visitors give it.

India

7 Things to Do on Majuli, the World's Largest River Island

Sitting in the middle of the Brahmaputra in Assam, Majuli holds a concentration of centuries-old Vaishnavite monasteries and craft traditions found nowhere else in India.

India

7 Things to Do in Tawang, India's Most Dramatic Border Town

Tucked into Arunachal Pradesh near the Bhutan and Tibet borders, Tawang holds India's largest monastery and some of the Himalayas' most dramatic scenery, with a fraction of Ladakh's crowds.

India

7 Things to Do in Spiti Valley, India's Next Ladakh

A cold desert valley behind the main Himalayan range, Spiti is picking up the crowd Ladakh used to keep to itself, with cliffside monasteries and a crescent-shaped lake to show for it.

India

8 Things to Do in Varanasi Beyond the Sunrise Boat Ride

India's oldest living city rewards travellers who go beyond the postcard sunrise boat ride, from the evening aarti to a fort across the river most visitors skip.

India

8 Things to Do in Rishikesh for First-Time Visitors

Suspension bridges over the Ganges, white-water rapids, and a hilltop sunrise, Rishikesh works well beyond the yoga-retreat reputation it's best known for.

India

Pondicherry's French Quarter Is India's Most Unlikely European Corner

Two centuries as a French colonial port left Pondicherry with a genuine European quarter of pastel villas and street signs in French, a short flight from anywhere in South India.

India

Munnar's Tea Gardens Are the Closest India Gets to Endless Green

Terraced tea bushes wrap every hill in Munnar for as far as the eye can see, and the plantation roads make for one of South India's most underrated scenic drives.

India

Radhanagar Beach and the Case for Flying Further Within India

A two-hour flight past Chennai and a ferry ride beyond that, Havelock's Radhanagar Beach still surprises Indian travellers who assume this kind of water is only found abroad.

India

The White Rann of Kutch Is India's Strangest Landscape, and Winter Is the Only Time to See It

A seasonal salt marsh in Gujarat turns into 7,500 square kilometres of blinding white crust every winter, and most of India has still never seen it in person.

India

Ladakh Beyond the Bike Trip: Pangong Lake and Thiksey Monastery Done Right

Skip the group convoy to Pangong and back in a day. Ladakh's monasteries and its famous lake both reward a slower, better-altitude-managed route.

India

The Golden Temple, Amritsar: What to See Beyond the Sanctum

Harmandir Sahib's gilded sanctum is only part of what makes the Golden Temple worth more than a rushed afternoon, the langar and the late-night calm matter just as much.

India

Indore's 10 Best Street Food Stops, and Exactly Where to Find Each One

From Sarafa Bazaar's night stalls to the poha-jalebi vendors outside Rajwada Palace, ten of Indore's best street food stops, each with a direct Google Maps link.

India

Coorg Is India's Coffee Country, and Monsoon Is When It Actually Shows

Coorg's shade-grown coffee estates and waterfalls are built for the monsoon months most travellers write off, when the whole district turns a saturated, unreal green.

India

Hampi's Boulder-Strewn Ruins Are India's Most Cinematic UNESCO Site

Hampi's Vijayanagara-era ruins are scattered across giant granite boulders that look deliberately placed, making it India's most visually singular UNESCO site.

India

The Beaches Beyond Goa Quietly Having Their Moment

Goa's good stretches are booked out and priced up months ahead. Three Indian beaches picking up the travellers looking for what Goa felt like before it got crowded.

India

Meghalaya in the Rain: Why India's Wettest State Is Having a Moment

Most of India plans a trip around dodging the monsoon. Meghalaya is the one state where the monsoon is the entire reason to go.

India

Where to Actually Go in India This July, and Where to Skip

July splits India into two completely different trips: the hills turning their deepest green, and the rain-shadow deserts staying dry through it all.

India

Jorhat Is India's Most-Searched New Destination — Here's the Trip That Actually Works

Searches for Jorhat are up nearly 500% this year, and the northeast is finally getting the domestic travel attention it deserves.

India

Rajasthan's Palace Circuit Is the New Indian Honeymoon Route

Jaipur, Udaipur, and Jodhpur are pulling Indian couples away from beach honeymoons toward palace stays and bazaar afternoons.

India

The Right Way to See the Taj Mahal Without the Crowd Shot

Sunrise entry and a same-day Agra Fort stop are turning the most photographed monument in India into a calmer half-day.

India

Udaipur's Lake Palace Hotels Are India's Answer to Lake Como

Boat transfers, lake-facing suites, and rooftop dinners are making Udaipur the most requested add-on to any Rajasthan trip.

India

Why Goa Is Quietly Becoming India's Soft-Luxury Beach Capital

Design-led stays and a calmer North-South split are turning Goa into a proper long-weekend escape.

India

Kerala's Backwaters Are India's Answer to Slow Travel

Houseboats, Ayurveda, and village-paced mornings are pulling travelers back to Alleppey and Kumarakom.