Places for this
DawkiA short river stop on the Bangladesh border. You come for dry-season boat rides on the Umngot.Bodh GayaThe village where the Buddha is said to have become enlightened, with the Mahabodhi Temple and monasteries from Buddhist countries.BundiPainted palace rooms, stepwells and a hill fort, in a small town much quieter than Rajasthan's big cities.KutchA white salt desert, craft villages and an ancient city site, in a remote district that's best from November to February.Anandpur SahibWhere the Khalsa, the Sikh order, began in 1699, with a Moshe Safdie museum that tells you the whole story.Bijapur (Vijayapura)A giant dome that carries your whisper across the room, and the tomb people call the Taj Mahal of the Deccan.GirYour shot at a wild Asiatic lion, on safari through the forest from the village of Sasan.MajuliA large Brahmaputra river island you can only reach by ferry, with villages, potters and Hindu monasteries called satras.Nanded (Hazur Sahib)The Takht built where Guru Gobind Singh died in 1708, after naming the scripture as the Sikhs' Guru forever.OrchhaPalaces, working temples and memorial domes on the Betwa river, with fewer crowds than Agra or Khajuraho.Parvati ValleyPine forests, a fast river and small hiking villages, with very little to do but walk.ShantiniketanRabindranath Tagore's university town in rural Bengal, with open-air classes, a UNESCO listing and almost no nightlife.SpitiA remote high desert of cliff-top monasteries and mud-brick villages, close to the edge of Tibet.SundarbansTidal creeks and mangrove forest in the Ganges delta, seen from a small boat. Bring patience and a permit.