Uttarakhand travel guides

Plain-language guides to all 13 districts across Kumaon and Garhwal - what to see, where to base yourself, and the best time to go.

Almora

Almora draws visitors for Kasar Devi's ridge-top calm, Binsar's sanctuary views and the old bazaar's bal mithai.

Bageshwar is trekking country, the start of the Pindari and Kafni glacier trails, with Kausani's tea-garden views next door.

Chamoli holds the big names of Garhwal: Badrinath, Auli's ski slopes, Hemkund Sahib and the Valley of Flowers.

Kali Kumaon is the quiet corner of the hills, with colonial Abbott Mount, Lohaghat's forests and some of the region's oldest temples.

The capital district doubles as a weekend circuit, with Dehradun's institutes and cafés below and Mussoorie's mall road above.

Haridwar is the Ganga's doorway to the plains, where the evening aarti at Har Ki Pauri is one of India's great daily sights.

Nainital is India's lake district, with Naini Lake at its centre and Sattal, Bhimtal and Mukteshwar close by.

Pauri Garhwal keeps some of Garhwal's best-kept secrets: pine-wrapped Khirsu, cantonment-quiet Lansdowne and ridge-top Himalayan views.

The state's easternmost district is 'Mini Kashmir', home to Munsiyari's Panchachuli wall, the Johar valley and trails toward Milam Glacier.

Rudraprayag sits at the Alaknanda and Mandakini confluence and feeds the Kedarnath valley, Chopta's meadows and the temple at Tungnath.

Tehri pairs India's tallest dam and its vast blue lake with the ridge stations of Dhanaulti and Kanatal above Mussoorie.

The Terai gateway to Kumaon, with the gurudwara town of Nanakmatta and its Nanak Sagar lake, and Rudrapur as the transit hub.

Uttarkashi is the Bhagirathi valley, with Gangotri dham, apple-orchard Harsil and the beginner-friendly meadows of Dayara Bugyal.