KUMAON VILLAGE WALKS:

One problem with hills, you will admit, is the hill stations. Chock-a-block with hotels, guesthouses and restaurants; cars and truck roaring up the roads, spewing diesel fumes. The guesthouses and homestays in the kumaon hills in uttarakhand-village-run enter-prises-show visitors the genuine life lived pahadi style. What they offer is simple: spectacular beauty. Silent, deep pine forests, rhododendron blooms and majestic snowcapped high peaks in the distance. Village ways offers customizable stays. Indicative rates:a 3N TRIP costs Rs 16,800 for two persons, all-inclusive.

 

SRINAGAR:

Shalimar, nishat, chashma-e-shahi. no place carries marks of the mughal ideyll like Srinagar does.chinars tower in all elegance, fragrant drug the air and tall perches, the eye is drawn irresistibly to the dal lake frined by mountains. But Srinagar's cosmopolitan ruins hint at its longer history: the shankaracharya temple the jama masjid, countless other mosques and ziyarats and the city's old houses that abound from maharaj gunj to ail kadal. Rent a houseboat are moored at the dal and nagin lakes and on the jhelum river and range from luxurious to basic.

NAINITAL:

The lake that gives this hill station its name has now cleaned up its act, and nainital is welcomed once again into the top-10 lists of hill destinations. The observatory, mallital bazaar, naina peak and the famous high-altitude zoo are cool again. wander its charming hill streets, buy yourself some fresh buns, examine the town's colonial-era buildings,take a boat out into the lake or settle for hour or two by the 'flats, and watch local clubs take each other on in a civilized game of cricket.nainital is 35 km/8hr from delhi. The 1876-built abbotsford/prasada bhavan provides fancy accommodation.

 

OOTY:

The tode name for this high point in the nil iris is othakal-mund or 'house I the mountain' it became a more complicated udhagamandalam before the British cut the verbal contortions and came up with a rather cutesy abbreviation: ooty it was called and ooty it stays. The backdrop of innumerable film shoots; it became embedded in the minds of cinemagers as a paradise long before India took to travel. it gets bad press now for being crowded but ooty isn't just another hill-station-it's a classic. Tour the botanical gardens, hire a horse, visit the tribal research centre, buy chocolate fudge and eucalyptus oil.ooty is 290km/8hr from Bangalore. Stay at fern hills palace.

MASHOBRA:

A LITTLE WAY OUT OF THE BUSTLE OF SHIMLA, THIS UNEXPECTED HAVEN CALLED MASHOBA IS THE QUIETEST WAY TO ENJOY THE HILLS. A clutch of charming cottages let you retreat from the world.some even let you own meals and stir your coffee as you stare out at the hills of thedauladhar in the distance.mashobra is 11km/30min from shimla on the naldhera road. Stay: forest hill villas; violet hill; inayat.

 

OLD MANALI:

Say manali and you get quite a few grimaces. It is one of the few hill staton the British did not develop: they laid no TRAIN routes; they didn't set up schools and churches or the obligatory mall road. Is it the lack of this guardianship that leaves manali so higgledy-piggledy and full of underbelly-tourists? But be scratched the surface down to old manali and found still scope for words such as tranquillty and beauty. Manali is 565km/14hr from delhi.rockway cottage on the banks of Manalsu River is an old backpacker's favourite.

NUBRA:

The high-altitude desert of ladakh has its meager portion of green in nubra, its most ferile valley. Accessed only by the khardung la, the world's highest motorable pass, and surrounded by the imposing ladakh and karakoram ranges, nubra was once part of the network of caravan trails that formed the silk roué. Remnants of this history-the two-humped Bactrian camels-still rom the white sands near hundar. Nubra valley is 150km north of leh.several leh hotels have camps in the nubra valley; try silk route cottages in summer.

 

GULMARG:

It is here, we are told repeatedly-that fabled paradise on earth. And crowning this paradise in this hamlet. When sultan yusuf chak, Kashmir's ruler in the 16th century, saw the meadow here ablaze with wild flowers in spring, he is said to have named it gulmarg.but this hill station is equally loved for its carpets of winter snow. India's premier ski resort, its attractions are the off-piste possibilities, deep powder snow and its long runs of varying difficulty. Gulmarg is 50km/3hr from Srinagar.

CHAMBA REST HOUSES:

The rest houses the British built in remote, inaccessible patches of Indian forest must be some of the most romantic marks OF THE RAJ.A TREKKING CIRCUIT OF SUCH EXTANT BUNGALOWS-all built in the 1920a and '30s-is an unforgettable way to see the woods of chamba.indeed, to see it the way forest officers did back then, touring their jurisdiction on foot and horseback, staying overninght in these rustic dwellings. Deodar, oak and spruce. Birdcalls, moss and hot smoky tea. And the way it was. Far permission to stay chamba's forest rest houses, cantact the divisional forest office.

 

MISHMI HILLS, ARUNACHAL:

IN the easternmost tip of India's outstretched arm, the mishmi hills lie slumberous under early suns. The river lohit runs through the valley, the alluvial soil shifts to the river's whims and the hills ring to the cacophony of over 600 species of birds. The mishmis themselves have made a fine art of the simple life that has a few staples; bamboo, millet, mithuns and opium. Domestic tourists need an inner-line permit, which can be obtained from government office at New Delhi or Dibrugarh. The best accommodation in the district are still inspection bungalows or circuit houses.

MALNAD:

The hills of this tract in southwestern Karnataka are so obvious a feature; they're heralded by its name malnad, truncated from male and nadu. Malnad is where coffee was first planed in India, and indeed, still is the source of our finest coffee. Helped by abundant rain, the hills are dotted by places that sound as romantic as they actually are: chikmagalur, kudremukh, kemmangudi.this is walking territory: pack a pair of sturdy boots, some salt to stymie the abundant leeches and a picnic to experience your personal version of heaven. Mangalore is the biggest is the city I the area with an airport and railway station. Chikmagalur has the nicest stay option and accommodation else where is more basic. September to march is a good time to visit, although the monsoon months have their own unique allure.

 

DALHOUSIE:

It might not atteract the hordes that throng shimla or Darjeeling but Dalhousie is attractive for that very reason-its untouristed hill-stationness.named after lord Dalhousie, the viceroy of India when it was founded, and discarded by Lahore during the partition, this resort has a wealth of things to do. Walk around town, explore its stately churches, stop by Snowdon residence where rabindranath Tagore is said to havestayesd in 1873.or take a picnic out to the beautiful meadow of khajjiar.Dalhousie is 75km/3hr from pachinko. Stay at silverton estate guest house, a colonial - style house built in 1937.