65 experiences
Culture in the Himalaya
Gompas, dzongs, old bazaars and the people who keep them
Guided walks, festival days and evenings with music: the history of each valley told on site.
Photo: MateenSalimBhat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The milk legend and Budgam's herders
Doodhpathri's name ties it to Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani, the Kashmiri saint known as Nund Rishi. A slow morning among …
Photo: Vinayaraj · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Meadow walk to the Maharani Temple and St Mary's
A gentle walk across the meadow links Gulmarg's two heritage buildings: the Maharani Temple, built by Maharaja Hari Sin…
Photo: Zahid samoon · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Evening below Habba Khatoon peak
The pyramid peak above Dawar carries the name of Habba Khatoon, the 16th-century poet-queen of Kashmir. An evening on t…
Photo: Venkygrams · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Avantipora's 9th-century temple ruins
About 15 km beyond Pampore, at Awantipora on the Jhelum, lie the ruins of two stone temples built by King Avantivarman …
Photo: ANSAR AHMAD · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mughal gardens of the Zabarwan, terrace by terrace
Four gardens line the foothills above Dal Lake: Shalimar, Nishat, Chashme Shahi and Pari Mahal. Visiting in a morning s…
Photo: Prof Ranga Sai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Alchi's painted temples with a local guide
Visit the Dukhang and Sumtsek at Alchi, whose paintings in a Kashmiri style are among the oldest surviving in Ladakh. W…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Likir Monastery and Basgo's royal ruins
Two stops on the way between Leh and Alchi: Likir Monastery, which administers Alchi, with its large outdoor Maitreya, …
Photo: Bernard Gagnon Canon EOS REBEL T4i · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Hemis Monastery courtyard and museum
Ladakh's richest monastery, hidden in a gorge above the Indus. See the courtyard where the festival is danced, the pain…
Photo: Jparande · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Mulbekh's Maitreya and the Shergol cliff gompa
Drive east from Kargil into Buddhist Purig to see the 9 m rock-cut Maitreya at Mulbekh, the cliff-top Mulbekh gompa and…
Photo: Narender9 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Drass and the war memorial on the Srinagar road
Drass, 60 km west of Kargil, is a high village known for hard winters. The war memorial beside the road remembers soldi…
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Leh old town and palace morning walk
A slow walk from Main Bazaar through the mud-brick lanes of the old town to Leh Palace, finishing on the palace roof. I…
Photo: Steve Hicks · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Korzok monastery and village at 4,522 m
A slow walk through Korzok, the only permanent village on Tso Moriri, up to its monastery of around 400 years, with vie…
Photo: This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Karsha Monastery and the Padum plain
Cross the Stod river from Padum to Karsha, the largest monastery in Zanskar, whose white buildings climb a steep cliff.…
Photo: Rakeshkdogra · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Kangra tea gardens and Baijnath temple
Walk through Bir's small tea estates, buy Kangra green or black tea, then drive 15 km to the stone Baijnath temple, bui…
Photo: Harvinder Chandigarh · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Stone temples and the Chaugan at dawn
A morning walk from the Chaugan meadow to the Lakshmi Narayan group of stone temples, then through the old lanes to sma…
Photo: Pratishkhedekar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Naggar Castle and the Jagatipatt shrine
Explore the timber-and-stone fort of the Kullu rajas, now an HPTDC hotel. See kath-kuni walls up close, the courtyard s…
Photo: Минеева Ю. (Julmin) · CC BY-SA 1.0 · Commons
Nicholas Roerich's house and paintings
Walk 1.5 km uphill from the castle to the hillside home where Nicholas Roerich lived from 1928 until 1947. See his Hima…
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Ocrambo a… · Public domain · Commons
Walk up to Kamru's fort-temple
Climb 2 km from Sangla through apple orchards and the old village of Kamru to its tall timber fort, an old seat of the …
Photo: NikkSingh · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Ride the Kalka–Shimla toy train
A UNESCO-listed narrow-gauge line from Kalka at about 650 m to Shimla at 2,076 m, with 102 tunnels, arched stone bridge…
Photo: Vworlikar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Walk from the Ridge to Viceregal Lodge
A 4 km walk along the Mall from Christ Church past the Gaiety Theatre, the old Town Hall and the Railway Board building…
Photo: John Hill · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Inside the cliff-top gompa of Dhankar
Climb through the narrow rooms of Spiti's old capital monastery, perched 300 m above two rivers, and see why conservati…
Photo: Nrr1729 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Old Kaza and Sakya Tangyud morning walk
An easy first-morning walk through the mud-walled lanes of Kaza Khas to the Sakya Tangyud monastery, perfect for acclim…
Photo: This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Shashur Gompa and the Bhaga view
Climb or drive about 3 km above Keylong to Shashur, a 17th-century gompa looking over the Bhaga valley, where monks per…
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Post a card from Hikkim post office
Write a postcard at one of the highest post offices in the world, a one-room office at about 4,400 m that has served Hi…
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Nako's 11th-century temple halls
Step into the dim halls of Nako's temple complex, founded in 1025 CE and named for the translator Rinchen Zangpo, to se…
Photo: Arup1981 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The thousand-year-old halls of Tabo
Walk through the mud-walled temples of Tabo, founded in 996 CE, to see painted walls and clay deities that have survive…
Photo: Nrr1729 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The mummy of Gue, a detour from Tabo
In the small village of Gue, a shrine holds the seated mummy of a monk thought to have died in the 1500s. A half-day si…
Photo: Paul Hamilton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Landour heritage walk from Char Dukan
A slow morning loop round the Landour ridge: St Paul's Church at Char Dukan, the old Sisters Bazaar, Kellogg Church and…
Photo: Paul Hamilton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Happy Valley's Tibetan quarter and kitchens
Below the Library end of the Mall lies Happy Valley, where Tibetan refugees settled after 1959. Walk past prayer flags,…
Photo: Guy P Atkinson · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Beatles Ashram walk in Rajaji forest
Walk through the overgrown academy where the Beatles studied meditation in 1968. Stone meditation domes, a graffiti-cov…
Photo: Alexkom000 · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Kasar Devi and the Crank's Ridge walk
Climb to the Kasar Devi temple, where Swami Vivekananda meditated in the 1890s, then walk the pine ridge beyond it that…
Photo: Subhrajyoti07 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Bhimtal lake walk, island and old shrine
Walk the shore of Kumaon's largest lake, take a boat to the island aquarium, and end at the Bhimeshwar Mahadev shrine b…
Photo: Mayankthapliyal1988 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
The ASI museum and Dandeshwar temples
See the carved stone figures that the Archaeological Survey of India has moved from the temples into its site museum, t…
Photo: Kinkhab · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sunrise and silence at Anasakti Ashram
Watch the peaks light up from the garden of the house where Gandhi stayed in 1929, then see the small exhibition on his…
Photo: Shikharsaxena1618 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Baijnath temples in the old Katyuri capital
Drive 17 km down from Kausani to Baijnath on the Gomti river, where a group of stone temples marks the old Katyuri capi…
Photo: Kasyap · CC0 · Commons
Johar's story at the Tribal Heritage Museum
This small private museum in Munsiyari gathers the objects and records of the Johari Shauka traders: salt and wool bags…
Photo: Incorelabs · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
A dawn row to the Naina Devi temple
Start before the town wakes: a hand-rowed boat from Tallital across the still lake, the ridges lit from the east, then …
Photo: rohit gowaikar · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Jim Corbett's house at Kaladhungi
Jim Corbett, hunter of man-eaters and later a conservationist, spent his winters at Chhoti Haldwani near Kaladhungi, 35…
Photo: Ibn Batoota · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Kumaon Regiment museum and cantonment walk
Visit the museum of the Kumaon Regimental Centre to understand the regiment that recruits from these hills, then walk t…
Photo: Bijay Chaurasia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Bandipur bazaar and its Newar houses
Walk the car-free main street of Bandipur at dusk, reading the story of a trading town in its brick and timber: shopfro…
Photo: Hari Paudyel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Morning puja at Nyatapola and Taumadhi
See Taumadhi Square wake up: puja trays at the Bhairab temple, vegetable sellers, tea stalls, and Nyatapola's five roof…
Photo: Artha at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Durbar Square and the Kumari Ghar
A morning in Kathmandu's royal square with a licensed guide: the Hanuman Dhoka palace, Kasthamandap, the Kumari's house…
Photo: Wimbex · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
A morning inside the walls of Lo
Walk the lanes of Lo Manthang as the town wakes: herders driving goats out through the gate, women at the water point, …
Photo: Super Trekkers · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Namche's Saturday market
See how the Khumbu shops for the week: porters and traders from lower valleys lay out rice, vegetables, eggs, cloth and…
Photo: Bijay Chaurasia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Patan Museum and the Durbar Square line
Start in the Patan Museum for the background, then walk the row of temples in Durbar Square with new eyes: Krishna Mand…
Photo: Souviksen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Toy train joy ride to Ghum and Batasia Loop
A 2-hour round trip on the 2 ft gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, climbing from Darjeeling to Ghum station at about 2…
Photo: Subhrajyoti07 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dr Graham's Homes and old Kalimpong walk
Trace Kalimpong's mission and trading history: the campus of Dr Graham's Homes, founded in 1900 below Deolo, the Kather…
Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Kurseong station, DHR museum and bazaar walk
Walk the heart of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in its headquarters town: the dead-end station with its one-room mus…
Photo: Ravi Dwivedi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Netaji's house at Giddapahar and Eagle's Crag
Visit the Bose family house at Giddapahar, 4 km from Kurseong, where Subhas Chandra Bose spent seven months under house…
Photo: Vishalrai03 · CC0 · Commons
Tagore's house and cinchona at Mungpoo
Drive to Mungpoo, about 20 km from Sittong, to visit Rabindra Bhavan, the bungalow where Rabindranath Tagore stayed bet…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Takdah cantonment heritage walk
Walk the lanes of the old British cantonment at Takdah, past colonial-era bungalows, the abandoned club house among ced…
Photo: Drmarathe · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Tibetology museum and the Do Drul Chorten
Spend a morning with Sikkim's best collection of Buddhist art at the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, then walk five mi…
Photo: Pankaj.biswas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Walk to the ruins of Rabdentse
Walk about 2 km through forest to the ruins of Rabdentse, Sikkim's royal capital from 1670 to 1814. Low stone walls, ch…
Photo: Joydeep · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Ralang monastery and its masked dances
Visit Ralang, about 13 km from Ravangla, home to an old Kagyu monastery and the large Palchen Choeling monastic institu…
Photo: Kailas98 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Norbugang and Kathok lake at dawn
Walk from the bazaar to Norbugang, where the first Chogyal was consecrated in 1642, and the small Kathok lake beside it…
Photo: dhaag23 · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Druk Wangyel Tshechu on 13 December
A modern festival held each 13 December on the ground in front of the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang, with dances performed by t…
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Gasa Dzong and its round watchtowers
Visit the 17th-century Trashi Thongmön Dzong on its ridge above the Mo Chhu, built to defend Bhutan's northern frontier…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Rinpung Dzong and the National Museum on foot
Walk from the town across the covered cantilever bridge, up through the dzong's courtyards and on to the round Ta Dzong…
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Permit morning and a walk through the Bhutan Gate
For Indians entering by road, the first Bhutan experience is practical: meeting your guide, collecting the entry permit…
Photo: L Shyamal · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Punakha Dzong and the rivers that meet below it
Cross the cantilever bridge over the Mo Chhu, walk through the three courtyards of Bhutan's most photographed dzong and…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tashichho Dzong at flag-lowering time
See the seat of Bhutan's government and the summer home of its monk body in the hour after offices shut, when the natio…
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Trongsa Dzong and the Ta Dzong museum
Start in the round watchtower museum above town for the story of the Wangchuck penlops, then walk down to the dzong's t…
Photo: The Department of History, United States Milit… · Public domain · Commons
Stilwell Road, Jairampur and Pangsau
Follow the Second World War road from Ledo towards Burma through Jairampur and Nampong, stopping at the war cemetery ne…
Photo: Arunachal2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The brick ruins of Bhismaknagar
Walk the fortifications, gateways and palace mound of a medieval Chutiya town in the forest near Roing, a site that loc…
Photo: Prof Ranga Sai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Urgelling, birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama
A small, old temple a few kilometres below Tawang where Tsangyang Gyatso, the 6th Dalai Lama, was born in 1683. Quiet, …
Culture by hive