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It's not possible to see everything India has to offer in one trip, and we don't suggest you try. What follows is a selective taste of the country's highlights: outstanding buildings, natural wonders, spectacular festivals and unforgettable journeys. They're arranged in five colour-coded categories, which you can browse through to find the very best things to see and experience.
I start with oen of my favourite palce : The Manali-Leh Highway
I start with oen of my favourite palce : The Manali-Leh Highway
Since it opened to foreign tourists in 1989, the famous Manali-Leh highway has replaced the old Srinagar-Kargil route as the most popular approach to Ladakh. In summer, a stream of vehicles set off from the Kullu Valley to travel along the second-highest road in the world, which reaches a dizzying altitude of 5328m. Its surface varies wildly from fairly smooth asphalt through potholes of differing depths to dirt tracks sliced by glacial streams, traversing a starkly beautiful lunar wilderness. Depending on road conditions, the 485-kilometre journey can take anything from twenty-six to thirty hours. Bus drivers cover more distance on the first day than the second, stopping for a short and chilly night in one of the overpriced tent camps along the route. These, however, are few and far between after September 15, when the highway officially closes; in practice, all this means is that the Indian government won't airlift you out if you get trapped in snow, and consequently some companies run regardless until the passes become blocked in mid to late October.
Manali to Keylong
Once out of Manali, the road begins its long ascent of the Rohtang Pass (3978m). Buses pull in for breakfast 17km before the pass at a row of makeshift dhabas at Marhi (3360m). Though not all that high by Himalayan standards, the pass itself is one of the most treacherous in the region and every year Gaddis and mountaineers are caught unawares by sudden weather changes - hence Rohtang's name, which literally means "piles of dead bodies". The road descends from Rohtang to the floor of the Chandra Valley, finally reaching the river at Koksar, little more than a scruffy collection of chai stalls with a checkpoint where you have to enter passport details in a ledger - one of many such stops on the road to Leh. The next few hours are among the most memorable on the entire trip. Bus seats on the left are best, as the road runs across the northern slopes of the valley through the first Buddhist settlements, hemmed in by towering peaks and hanging glaciers towards Keylong.
Keylong to Sarchu Serai
Beyond Keylong, the Bhaga Valley broadens, but its bare sides support very few villages. By the time you reach Darcha, a lonely cluster of dry-stone huts and dingy tent camps, the landscape is utterly denuded. All buses stop here for passengers to grab a hot bowl of Tibetan thukpa from a wayside dhaba. There's little else to do in Darcha, though the Shingo La trailhead - the main trekking route north to Zanskar - is on the outskirts. If you are not on one of the through Manali-Leh buses, you're better off stopping at JISPA 7km south, a pleasant little hamlet with ample camping along the river as well as the upmarket Hotel Jispa (Telephone01900/233203; Rs1000-1500), whose breakfasts are legendary among passing cycle tourists; they also have dorm beds for Rs200. One kilometre before the Jispa, the Mountaineering Institute arranges mountaineering and rescue courses in summer through tour agencies in Manali, and may also provide accommodation.From Darcha, the road climbs steadily northeast to the Baralacha La pass. On the other side, buses stop for the night at SARCHU SERAI, where HPTDC's Tent Camp (Rs300-500), a rather ordinary affair, serves steaming plates of rice, dhal and veg, as do a handful of similarly priced dhabas nearby. There are several more expensive camps dotted along the road charging up to Rs800 per person including food. Note that Sarchu Serai is 2500m higher than Manali, and travellers coming straight from Manali might suffer from the higher altitude here.
Sarchu Serai to Taglang La
Sarchu Serai packs up for the season from September 15. Northbound buses thereafter press on over Lachuglang La (5019m), the second highest pass on the highway, to the tent camp at PANG (4500m), which stays open longer. Unfortunately, this means that the drive through one of the most dramatic stretches of the route, through an incredible canyon, is in darkness. North of Pang, the road heads up to the fourth and final pass, the Taglang La, a dizzying 5360m, the highest point on the Manali-Leh highway. Drivers pull in for a quick spin of the prayer wheels and a brief photo session alongside the sign exclaiming "Unbelievable! Is not it?". Staring north beyond the multicoloured tangle of prayer flags across Ladakh to the Karakoram Range, just visible on the horizon, you may well agree.
Once out of Manali, the road begins its long ascent of the Rohtang Pass (3978m). Buses pull in for breakfast 17km before the pass at a row of makeshift dhabas at Marhi (3360m). Though not all that high by Himalayan standards, the pass itself is one of the most treacherous in the region and every year Gaddis and mountaineers are caught unawares by sudden weather changes - hence Rohtang's name, which literally means "piles of dead bodies". The road descends from Rohtang to the floor of the Chandra Valley, finally reaching the river at Koksar, little more than a scruffy collection of chai stalls with a checkpoint where you have to enter passport details in a ledger - one of many such stops on the road to Leh. The next few hours are among the most memorable on the entire trip. Bus seats on the left are best, as the road runs across the northern slopes of the valley through the first Buddhist settlements, hemmed in by towering peaks and hanging glaciers towards Keylong.
Keylong to Sarchu Serai
Beyond Keylong, the Bhaga Valley broadens, but its bare sides support very few villages. By the time you reach Darcha, a lonely cluster of dry-stone huts and dingy tent camps, the landscape is utterly denuded. All buses stop here for passengers to grab a hot bowl of Tibetan thukpa from a wayside dhaba. There's little else to do in Darcha, though the Shingo La trailhead - the main trekking route north to Zanskar - is on the outskirts. If you are not on one of the through Manali-Leh buses, you're better off stopping at JISPA 7km south, a pleasant little hamlet with ample camping along the river as well as the upmarket Hotel Jispa (Telephone01900/233203; Rs1000-1500), whose breakfasts are legendary among passing cycle tourists; they also have dorm beds for Rs200. One kilometre before the Jispa, the Mountaineering Institute arranges mountaineering and rescue courses in summer through tour agencies in Manali, and may also provide accommodation.From Darcha, the road climbs steadily northeast to the Baralacha La pass. On the other side, buses stop for the night at SARCHU SERAI, where HPTDC's Tent Camp (Rs300-500), a rather ordinary affair, serves steaming plates of rice, dhal and veg, as do a handful of similarly priced dhabas nearby. There are several more expensive camps dotted along the road charging up to Rs800 per person including food. Note that Sarchu Serai is 2500m higher than Manali, and travellers coming straight from Manali might suffer from the higher altitude here.
Sarchu Serai to Taglang La
Sarchu Serai packs up for the season from September 15. Northbound buses thereafter press on over Lachuglang La (5019m), the second highest pass on the highway, to the tent camp at PANG (4500m), which stays open longer. Unfortunately, this means that the drive through one of the most dramatic stretches of the route, through an incredible canyon, is in darkness. North of Pang, the road heads up to the fourth and final pass, the Taglang La, a dizzying 5360m, the highest point on the Manali-Leh highway. Drivers pull in for a quick spin of the prayer wheels and a brief photo session alongside the sign exclaiming "Unbelievable! Is not it?". Staring north beyond the multicoloured tangle of prayer flags across Ladakh to the Karakoram Range, just visible on the horizon, you may well agree.
Taglang La to Leh
From Taglang La, 40km of switchbacks deliver you from the windswept pass through a purple-hued gorge to the neat, kidney-shaped barley fields and the white chortens of Ladakhi villages. At Upshi, the road reaches the dramatic Indus Valley, tracing the Indus River past slender poplars, sprawling army camps and ancient monasteries. Traffic builds as you approach Choglamsar, then climb the final dusty kilometres to Leh - past the world's highest golf course - through the modern outskirts to the haberdashers, canny traders and wrinkled apricot-sellers of Leh's Main Bazaar.
From Taglang La, 40km of switchbacks deliver you from the windswept pass through a purple-hued gorge to the neat, kidney-shaped barley fields and the white chortens of Ladakhi villages. At Upshi, the road reaches the dramatic Indus Valley, tracing the Indus River past slender poplars, sprawling army camps and ancient monasteries. Traffic builds as you approach Choglamsar, then climb the final dusty kilometres to Leh - past the world's highest golf course - through the modern outskirts to the haberdashers, canny traders and wrinkled apricot-sellers of Leh's Main Bazaar.
