Incredible India

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.