Uttarakhand
Kedarnath is in the most dramatic location of the char dham temples, located at the base of 6970m peaks and 22km from the nearest road. The puja offered…
©Vivek_Renukaprasad/Getty Images
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand is a place of myth and mountains. Hindus think of it as Dev Bhoomi – the Land of Gods – and the dramatic terrain is covered with holy peaks, lakes and rivers. Twisting roads and high-altitude hiking trails lead to spectacular pilgrimage sites where tales from Hindu epics are set. Though the presence of Shiva and Parvati (in a few of her forms) tower over the state, the imprint of British colonialism is equally apparent: the legend of hunter Jim Corbett lives on in the famed tiger reserve that bears his name; popular holiday towns were once Raj-era hill stations; and the Beatles turned Rishikesh into a magnet for spiritual seekers and yoga practitioners worldwide.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
-
Valley of Flowers National Park
Uttarakhand
The bugyals (high-altitude meadows) of tall wildflowers in the Unesco World Heritage–listed Valley of Flowers are a glorious sight on a sunny day,…
Rishikesh
Just south of Swarg Ashram is what’s left of the original Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram, where the Beatles stayed and wrote much of the White Album (and a…
Haridwar
Har-ki-Pairi (The Footstep of God) is where Vishnu is said to have dropped some divine nectar and left behind a footprint. Every evening, hundreds of…
Uttarakhand
This pretty lake is Nainital’s centrepiece and is said to be one of the emerald-green eyes of Shiva’s wife, Sati (naina is Sanskrit for eye) that fell to…
-
Mussoorie
Only 3km northwest of town, this scenic outlying region of Mussoorie is famous as the site where the Dalai Lama and fellow exiles arrived in 1959, after…
-
Uttarakhand
This famous reserve was established in 1936 as India’s first national park. Originally called Hailey National Park, then Ramganga National Park, it was…
-
Uttarakhand
Badrinath Temple, in a superb setting below the sacred, snow-topped pyramid-shaped peak of Nilkantha, is holy to Lord Vishnu. Vividly painted, this is the…
Plan with a local
