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Attraction
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
Built in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal at a crossroads of trade routes that fed into the old silk roads, and the second-oldest fort in Rajasthan. It is one of the very few living forts left anywhere: around a quarter of the old city still lives inside the walls, alongside shops, guesthouses and the Jain temples in the middle, which are the best thing in it. The yellow sandstone reads tawny at midday and honey at sunset, which is where the golden fort name comes from. Seepage from the plumbing of all those households is undermining the foundations, which is why staying inside is discouraged.
Tirthan Valley, Himachal Pradesh
A small fall a short walk through deodar from the village, on a path that gets slippery in the rain. Ten minutes each way, and busy through the afternoon.
Bikaner, Rajasthan
Begun in 1589 and never taken, which is why the painted and gold-leaf interiors survive as well as they do. The walls and moat went up between 1589 and 1594 under Karan Chand, prime minister to Rai Singh of Bikaner. It was called Chintamani until the early twentieth century, when the ruling family moved out to Lalgarh Palace and this became simply the old fort. Unusually for Rajasthan it stands on flat ground rather than a hill, so the city grew around it instead of below it. The museum holds a First World War biplane, which is not what anyone expects in a desert fort.
Experience
Mount Kailash
The sacred 52-km circumambulation trek around the base of the mountain.
Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
The largest temple at Khajuraho, built around 1030 and thirty-one metres high, with close to nine hundred carvings on it. Only a small fraction are erotic, which surprises most first-time visitors.
Imphal, Manipur
The historic seat of Manipur's former kingdom in the city centre.
Hidden Gem
Tarkarli (Malvan), Maharashtra
The scenic junction where the Karli river loops into the sea, popular for luxury houseboats and dolphin tracking tours.
Viewpoint
Devbagh & Tarkarli Sangam, Maharashtra
The confluence sandbar where river and sea meet.
Zanskar Valley, Leh & Ladakh
The largest Buddhist monastery complex in Zanskar, cascading beautifully down a steep rocky mountain slope above Padum.
Kasar Devi (Almora), Uttarakhand
An ancient hilltop temple set in a zone known locally for an unusual geomagnetic field.
Food
Kasol, Himachal Pradesh
The buzzing main-market strip famous for Israeli and global backpacker food, bakeries and bonfire lounges.
Kaup (Kapu) Beach, Karnataka
A century-old lighthouse with sunset views over the coast.
Kausani, Uttarakhand
A scenic organic tea garden where visitors can walk the rows and buy fresh Kumaon tea.
Kavaratti Island, Lakshadweep
A sheltered lagoon for kayaking, glass-bottom boats and snorkelling.
Loktak Lake, Manipur
The world's only floating national park, last refuge of the rare brow-antlered Sangai deer.
Spiti Valley (Kaza), Himachal Pradesh
Spiti's largest monastery, a thousand-year-old fort-like complex perched at 4,166 m.
Khajjiar, Himachal Pradesh
A 12th-century traditional wooden temple featuring intricate wood carvings of the Pandavas and dedicated to serpent deities.
A small lake in the middle of the meadow with a floating mat of weed drifting across it. It is silting up and smaller than it was, so temper any expectation set by older photographs.
Kohima, Nagaland
The venue of the Hornbill Festival, showcasing Naga tribal life.
Morjim Beach, Goa
One of Goa's prime spots for kitesurfing in season.
Kodachadri, Karnataka
The grassland summit with the Sarvajna Peetha shrine and panoramic cloud-sea sunrise views.
Some fourteen hundred graves on the slope where the Japanese advance into India was halted in 1944. The white lines of the tennis court the fighting is named for are still marked out on the terrace. The epitaph at the foot of the cross is what people come to read.
Tso Moriri, Leh & Ladakh
A steep path up the ridge behind Korzok, and from the top you see the whole length of Tso Moriri at once, which you cannot from the shore. A hard twenty minutes at 4,500 metres.
An ancient multi-century old Buddhist monastery overlooking the lake, serving as the cultural heart for the local nomads.
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