Explore Uttarakhand

Tehri is home to one of the world's tallest embankment dams and the vast turquoise Tehri Lake that backs up the Bhagirathi. Jet-ski pontoons, the ropeway over the gorge and hilltop views make it an unexpected adventure stop.

Bhimtal wraps its lake around an island aquarium, calmer and greener than Nainital nearby. Boathouses, forest walks and butterfly-rich slopes make it a gentle lake holiday.

Naini Lake, the eye-shaped heart of Nainital, glows green beneath the hillside houses and lights of Mall Road. Evening boating with the temple bells across the water is the Kumaon experience.

Bhimtal Lake spreads wider and quieter than Naini, with an island aquarium at its centre and forested arms running up the slopes. Duck boats, lakeside cafés and morning mist make it a gentle day out.

Sattal, the 'seven lakes', pools beneath a forested bowl that is one of India's richest birdwatching corners. Kayaks, hides and forest trails keep it wild and quiet.

Naukuchiatal, the 'nine-cornered lake', is the deepest of the Kumaon lakes, wrapped in oak forest and paraglider thermals. It's the calmest of the lake circuit and a favourite of paddlers.

Deoria Tal mirrors the entire Chaukhamba range in a single still frame — the most rewarding short trek in Garhwal. Campsites on the meadow rim make sunrise unforgettable.

Dodital, the 'Ganesh lake', is a hidden forest pool of the Assi Ganga beneath the Bandarpunch massif. Golden mahseer legend, deep oak forest and a night at the lakeshore make it a trekker's quiet classic.

Roopkund, the mysterious 'skeleton lake' at the Shila Samudra glacier below Trishul, holds centuries-old remains preserved in ice. One of the Himalaya's great trekking legends — and one of its most regulated.

The Hemkund glacial lake sits in a bowl of seven peaks, its water mirror-flat and freezing even in July. Pilgrims and trekkers share the shoreline with Brahma Kamal blooms.

Tehri Lake, the emerald reservoir behind one of the world's tallest dams, has become Uttarakhand's water-sports playground — jet-ski circuits, banana boats and a lakeside festival each winter.

Vasudhara drops a silver ribbon down a wall of moraine above Mana village — legend says the water turns away from the wicked. The trail up the Alaknanda is as beautiful as the falls.

Kempty Falls has been Mussoorie's great picnic cascade since colonial days — a 40-foot-ish drop into a natural bathing pool, ringed by ridge-top stalls and viewpoints.

Sahastradhara, the 'thousand-fold springs', tumbles limestone terraces east of Dehradun — sulphur water, ropeway rides and waterfalls in a green gorge. A classic Doon-valley half-day.

Robber's Cave is a strange, wonderful gorge where a river vanishes into a limestone cave and re-emerges a kilometre downstream — legend says the outlaw Sagar hid here from the British.

Tiger Falls drops in a single white thread through deodar forest near Chakrata — one of Uttarakhand's loveliest wild cascades, with a cold pool and picnic rocks below.

Bhatta Falls tucks into a jungle gorge below the Mussoorie road — a favourite local splash spot with a small ropeway, pools and cliff-side cafés.

Neer Garh (Neer Gaddu) is Rishikesh's jungle waterfall — a series of cold pools and small cascades hidden above the Ganga, reached on a shady footpath popular with yoga-school crowds.

Birthi Falls drops 125 m-ish through a wall of green on the road to Munsiyari — a dramatic roadside cascade and the first taste of the Johar valley's wildness.

Jim Corbett, India's oldest national park, folds sal forest, grassland and the Ramganga reservoir into the best tiger habitat on earth. Dawn jeep safaris from Dhikala and Bijrani are the stuff of lifelong memories.

Asan Barrage, the wetland where the Asan meets the Yamuna, is a migration magnet for waterfowl — red-crested pochards, coots and waders by the thousand in winter, right on the Dehradun–Paonta road.