Incredible India

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.