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33 places
Sikkim
Yumthang Valley, often called the Valley of Flowers of Sikkim, is an alpine meadow at around 3,500 metres in North Sikkim. In spring its slopes blaze with rhododendrons and primulas, and there are hot springs, the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary, and Zero Point higher up.
Nagaland
Khonoma is a historic Angami Naga village about 20 km from Kohima in Nagaland, celebrated as India's first green village. Famous for community-led conservation, terraced rice fields and a proud history of resistance, it is surrounded by the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary.
Manipur
Ukhrul is the highest hill town in Manipur and the home of the Tangkhul Naga people, set among rolling green hills in the state's northeast. It is famous for the rare Shirui Lily, a pinkish-white flower found only on nearby Shirui Peak, along with caves, waterfalls and Tangkhul Naga villages.
Arunachal Pradesh
Mechuka (Menchukha) is a remote, wide-floored valley in the Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh near the border, ringed by pine-clad mountains at around 1,900 metres. Long isolated and only recently opened to travellers, it is home to Memba and Tibetan Buddhist culture and the centuries-old Samten Yongcha monastery.
Lachung is a mountain village in North Sikkim at around 2,700 metres, set where the Lachen and Lachung rivers meet amid apple orchards and waterfalls. Home to the Lepcha and Bhutia communities and the century-old Lachung Monastery, it is the main gateway to the flower-filled Yumthang Valley.
Mizoram
Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, is a hill city draped across steep ridges at around 1,100 metres. Known for its warm Mizo culture, churches and lively markets, there are long views from Durtlang Hills and landmarks such as Solomon's Temple, all set among green northeastern hills.
Bomdila is a scenic Himalayan hill town in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, perched around 2,400 metres with sweeping views of snow-capped peaks. Home to the Monpa people and a large Buddhist monastery, it is a popular stop on the mountain road to Tawang, surrounded by apple orchards and craft centres.
Namchi, the district headquarters of South Sikkim, is a hill town famed for its giant religious landmarks. It is home to the towering Samdruptse statue of Guru Padmasambhava, the Siddhesvara Dham (Char Dham) pilgrimage complex with replica temples, and sweeping views over tea gardens and the Himalayas.
Rajasthan
Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, in the Churu district of Rajasthan's Shekhawati region, is a flat, saline grassland famed for its graceful blackbuck herds and as one of India's finest hotspots for raptors and migratory birds. The open plains make wildlife watching exceptionally easy and rewarding.
Jammu & Kashmir
Dachigam National Park, in the mountains just outside Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, is the last stronghold of the endangered Kashmir stag, or hangul, the state animal. Rising from riverine valley to alpine meadow, it also shelters Himalayan black bears, leopards, musk deer and a wealth of Himalayan birds.
Namdapha National Park, in the Changlang district of eastern Arunachal Pradesh, is one of India's largest and most biodiverse protected areas. Ranging from tropical forest to snow-capped peaks, it is the only park in India believed to host four big cats - tiger, leopard, clouded leopard and snow leopard - along with the rare red panda and hoolock gibbon.
Maharashtra
Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Western Ghats of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra, is one of the region's oldest protected areas and is known for its population of the Indian gaur (bison). Part of a UNESCO-listed Western Ghats site, its dense forests, plateaus and the Radhanagari Dam support gaur, leopards, sloth bears and rich birdlife.
Karnataka
Dandeli, part of the Kali Tiger Reserve on the Kali river in Karnataka's Western Ghats, is one of South India's top wildlife-and-adventure destinations. Its deciduous forests hold tigers, elephants, black panthers and one of India's richest hornbill populations, and the river has white-water rafting and kayaking.
Tamil Nadu
The Anamalai Tiger Reserve, also known as the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, lies in the Anaimalai Hills of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu near Pollachi and Valparai. Part of a UNESCO-listed Western Ghats landscape, its shola forests and grasslands shelter tigers, elephants, gaur, the endangered lion-tailed macaque and the Nilgiri tahr.
Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in the northern suburbs of Mumbai, is a rare protected forest within a megacity and one of the world's most-visited national parks. Its forests are famous for a resident leopard population living alongside the city, and the park also holds the ancient Kanheri Caves, lakes, a toy train and popular nature trails.
Kerala
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, in Kerala's Idukki district near Marayoor and Munnar, is an unusual rain-shadow reserve of dry thorny scrub and deciduous forest, very different from Kerala's usual rainforests. It is known for the grizzled giant squirrel, star tortoise, elephants and a landscape dotted with sandalwood trees and ancient rock art.
Assam
Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Morigaon district of Assam near Guwahati, is famed for having the highest density of one-horned rhinos in the world. Its compact grasslands and wetlands are packed with rhinos and are also excellent for wild buffalo, leopards and migratory birds.
Uttarakhand
Nanda Devi National Park, in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, surrounds Nanda Devi, India's second-highest peak, in a high-Himalayan glacial basin. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it shelters snow leopards, Himalayan musk deer, bharal (blue sheep) and Himalayan tahr amid dramatic peaks, glaciers and alpine meadows.
Desert National Park, spread across the Thar desert near Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan, is one of India's largest protected areas and the last stronghold of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. Its dunes, scrub and rocky expanses shelter desert foxes, chinkara, desert cats and raptors, along with ancient fossils.
Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Gondia and Bhandara districts of eastern Maharashtra, is a compact, lake-dotted forest that forms part of the Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve. Its teak and bamboo forests shelter tigers, leopards, gaur, wild dogs and abundant birdlife around scenic lakes.
Nameri National Park, in the Sonitpur district of Assam at the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh, is a birdwatcher's paradise along the Jia Bhoroli river. Famed for the rare white-winged wood duck, it also shelters elephants, tigers, leopards and clouded leopards, and has gentle rafting down the Jia Bhoroli through forest.
Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve, set around the Bhadra reservoir near Chikmagalur in Karnataka's Western Ghats, is a lush tiger reserve known worldwide for a successful, voluntary relocation of villages that helped its wildlife rebound. Its forests shelter tigers, leopards, elephants, gaur and rich birdlife.
Madhya Pradesh
Pench Tiger Reserve, straddling Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra along the Pench river, is the landscape that inspired Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Its teak and sal forests are rich in tigers, leopards, wild dogs, gaur and abundant deer, and it was home to the celebrated Collarwali tigress, one of India's most prolific.
Mudumalai National Park, in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu, is a key part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, adjoining Bandipur, Nagarhole and Wayanad. Its mix of deciduous forest, grassland and swamp supports tigers, elephants, gaur, leopards and rich birdlife, and it lies on the scenic route between Ooty and Mysuru.
Odisha
Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha protects one of India's largest mangrove ecosystems, a maze of tidal creeks and forests fed by several rivers. It is famed for its huge saltwater crocodiles, along with king cobras, water monitors and vast numbers of birds; nearby Gahirmatha beach is a major nesting site for Olive Ridley sea turtles.
Simlipal National Park, in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, is a tiger reserve and biosphere reserve set among rolling sal forests, plateaus and waterfalls. It is one of the few places associated with rare melanistic (black) tigers, and also shelters elephants, leopards and gaur, along with the Barehipani and Joranda waterfalls.
Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world's finest bird sanctuaries. A man-made wetland created by a former ruler, it hosts hundreds of resident and migratory bird species, from painted storks and herons to wintering waterfowl, and was historically a rare wintering ground of the Siberian crane.
Panna Tiger Reserve, on the banks of the Ken river in Madhya Pradesh, is a celebrated conservation success story, having rebuilt its tiger population after the cats were lost from the park. Its plateaus, gorges and forests shelter tigers, leopards, gharials and abundant birdlife, and its location near Khajuraho makes it an easy add-on to a heritage trip.
Manas National Park, in the Himalayan foothills of Assam on the border with Bhutan, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, tiger reserve, elephant reserve and biosphere reserve in one. Its grasslands and forests along the Manas river shelter tigers, rhinos, wild elephants and rare species such as the pygmy hog, golden langur and Bengal florican.
Uttar Pradesh
Dudhwa National Park, part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in the Terai grasslands of Uttar Pradesh near the Nepal border, protects one of India's finest surviving stretches of tall wet grassland and sal forest. It is a stronghold for tigers, the rare swamp deer (barasingha) and reintroduced one-horned rhinos, along with elephants and rich birdlife.
Satpura Tiger Reserve, set in the rugged Satpura hills of Madhya Pradesh along the Denwa river, is one of central India's most distinctive parks. Less crowded than its neighbours, it is known for walking safaris, canoe safaris and boat rides, with sightings of leopards, sloth bears, tigers, gaur and the Indian giant squirrel amid dramatic gorges and forests.
Rajaji National Park, spread across the Shivalik foothills of Uttarakhand near Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun, is a tiger reserve best known for its large population of Asian elephants. The Ganga flows along its edge, and its sal forests and grasslands shelter elephants, tigers, leopards, deer and over three hundred bird species.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, on islets in the Kaveri river near Srirangapatna and Mysuru, is the largest bird sanctuary in Karnataka. Its riverine islands host large breeding colonies of painted storks, pelicans, herons, ibises and cormorants, while marsh crocodiles bask along the banks, all easily seen on a short boat ride.
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