Rhino grasslands, living-root bridges, Himalayan monasteries and river islands — across all eight states.
Floodplain grassland on the Brahmaputra holding most of the world’s Indian one-horned rhinos, with elephants, swamp deer and wild buffalo in view from jeep and elephant-side tracks.
Forest and grassland park along the Manas river where tigers, golden langurs, pygmy hogs and wild water buffalo live, reached through a quiet Bodoland landscape.
One of the largest inhabited river islands, home to Vaishnavite monasteries (sattras) where monks keep mask-making, dance and boat-building traditions alive, shrinking each year through erosion.
Ahom-era royal sports pavilion and a multi-storey military palace with hidden tunnels, built by the dynasty that ruled Assam for six centuries.
Mound-burial grounds of Ahom kings and queens, inscribed by UNESCO in 2024, set in quiet fields around the dynasty’s first capital.
Hilltop Shakta shrine at the centre of Tantric worship in eastern India, crowded, intense and deeply local, with a beehive-shaped sanctum.
Small river island with a Shiva temple, reached by a short ferry from the city’s waterfront, with a chance of spotting Gangetic river dolphins.
Weaving village known for Assam silk, where muga and pat silk is woven on looms in nearly every home and workshop.
A small town where Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim shrines stand close together, including Hayagriva Madhava Temple and the Powa Mecca mosque on a hill.
Compact floodplain reserve with one of the densest populations of one-horned rhinos, an easy half-day from Guwahati with fewer visitors than Kaziranga.
Small grassland park on the Brahmaputra, sometimes called a mini Kaziranga, with rhinos, tigers, pygmy hogs and many birds, and few vehicles.
Riverine park of wet forest and sand islands, known for feral horses and for white-winged wood ducks and other wetland birds, entered by boat.
Hill village where night birds fly into lights on dark, misty post-monsoon nights, a puzzle that ornithologists still discuss. Visits are managed and respectful.
Assam’s only hill station, set around a calm lake in the Barail range, with Dimasa and Zeme Naga communities and views of forested ridges.
Lowland rainforest, known as the Amazon of the East, with gibbons, hornbills and leaf-litter birds, now a national park and an easy trek.
Ruins of stone temples dating to the Pala period, scattered over a wooded site with finely carved sculpture of deities and dancers.
Industrial heritage town where Asia’s first oil well produced from 1889, with a museum, an old refinery and war cemetery, plus golf on a historic course.
Forested reserve along the Jia Bhoroli river, known for white-winged wood ducks and for gentle rafting and birding on foot with a guide.
Tea country of long-established estates and bungalows, where visitors can follow tea from leaf to cup and stay in restored planters’ houses.
Multi-day river cruise past islands, sattras, sandbars and wildlife, with stops at Majuli, Kaziranga and Sivasagar; ships operate with Assam-based operators.
Living banyan roots shaped over generations by Khasi villagers into a bridge, reached by 3,500 steps from Tyrna.
Khasi village known for clean lanes, bamboo dustbins and flower gardens, with a living root bridge nearby and village homestays run by the community.
Clear, shallow river on the Bangladesh border where boats seem to float in air; also a working border trade town.
One of India’s tallest plunge waterfalls, falling into a deep turquoise pool, best seen on a clear morning when the mist lifts.
Lit limestone cave with stalactites, tight passages and an easy walk, a good first step into Meghalaya’s cave country.
Khasi sacred grove where no wood may be taken, with ancient trees, moss and rock monoliths, walked only with a local guide.
Grass ridges that fall away into deep valleys at the edge of the Khasi plateau, with a trail down to villages.
One of India’s longest explored caves, a system of river passages and chambers in the Shnongrim ridge, visited with a local guide.
Large field of standing and table stones raised by the Jaintia people, beside the Durga temple that marks an old ritual centre.
Limestone cave with a stream, bats and stalactites, near a bird reserve on the Simsang river, in a remote and little-visited Garo area.
Plateau park of canyon, forest and grassland known in Garo belief as the land of departed spirits, with elephants and red pandas reported.
Montane forest in the Garo Hills, home to the wild citrus Citrus indica, red pandas and hoolock gibbons.
Seven-floor museum documenting the cultures of the northeast through objects, dress and photographs, with a skywalk over Shillong.
One of the northeast’s oldest markets, where Khasi women sell dried fish, bamboo shoots, local rice and pork dishes.
Khasi village where each person has a personal tune, known as jingrwai iawbei, used to call each other across the valley.
Largest Buddhist monastery in India, in a mountain town close to the Tibet border, with a large golden Buddha and prayer halls full of murals.
High mountain pass at about 4,170 m on the road to Tawang, with alpine lakes, snowfields and prayer flags.
Tall waterfall on the Tawang road, near a memorial to the soldier Jaswant Singh Rawat and the 1962 battle.
High-altitude lake formed after the 1950 earthquake, with dead tree trunks in the water and snow peaks above.
Plateau of rice fields and pine ridges where the Apatani people practise rice-and-fish farming, a UNESCO tentative-list landscape.
Remote valley on the Siyom river, home to the Memba people, with a monastery and a swinging bridge.
One of India’s largest forest reserves, with tigers, leopards, red pandas, hornbills and one of the few places holding four big cat species.
Forest reserve on the Kameng river, known for hornbills, tigers, elephants and the Nyishi community’s hornbill conservation work.
River valley of Monpa villages, apple and kiwi orchards and a dzong, with black-necked cranes in winter at Sangti.
Orchid centre and sanctuary holding many native orchids from across the northeast, a quiet stop on the road to Bomdila.
Pilgrimage site on the Lohit river that draws sadhus and families for a winter holy dip on Makar Sankranti.
Ruins of a fortified settlement linked to the Idu Mishmi region, with brick walls and mounds in a forest setting.
Temple ruins with carved sculpture from about the 14th century, a hilltop site in Siang district.
Birdwatchers’ reserve in the eastern Himalayas that protects the Bugun liocichla, found only here, with high ridge forest.
Oldest town in the state, on the Siang river where it enters the plains, with a river-rafting base and Adi community festivals.
Pine-fringed pass above Roing with views over rivers and ridge forest, little visited outside the winter fair.
Gelug monastery above the town with prayer halls, a monks’ school and views over the Kameng valley, a common halt on the road to Tawang.
Brick fort of the 14th to 15th centuries that gave the capital its name, with a museum and the Buddhist Gyakar Sinyi temple nearby.
Cemetery set on a former tennis court where British and Indian troops fell in 1944, with the epitaph “For your tomorrow we gave our today”.
Open-air village of Naga morungs built for the Hornbill Festival, with each tribe’s architecture and dances shown in early December.
Angami village known for terraced rice fields, warrior history and for a community-led ban on hunting that created a conservation area.
Alpine valley carpeted in flowers and grass, reached by a steep trek, with a rest hut and sweeping ridges.
Konyak village where the chief’s house straddles the international border, with elders who have facial tattoos from headhunting days.
Angami village run for visitors, with traditional-style huts and a view of the Kohima ridge.
One of the oldest Ao Naga villages, with a long history of leadership, wooden log drums and a village museum.
Sacred Pochury lake in a forested landscape, where local belief and ceremony shape how visitors behave.
Mushroom-shaped sandstone pillars left by the Dimasa Kachari kingdom at Dimapur, a quiet site in a busy market city.
Forest reserve near the Assam border, with hornbills, elephants and rare primates.
UNESCO-listed mixed site around the world’s third highest mountain, with a trek from Yuksom to Dzongri and Goecha La.
First capital of Sikkim, where the first chogyal was crowned in 1642, with the oldest monastery in the state a short climb above.
Nyingma monastery from the 17th century, with a wooden model of a heavenly palace, with views of Kanchenjunga.
Hilltop monastery at the meeting of two rivers, known as the holiest in Sikkim, with a field of chortens.
Forest lake held sacred by Buddhists and Hindus, kept so clean that birds are said to remove fallen leaves.
Major seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage, with a large prayer hall, golden stupa and a monastic school.
Research museum with manuscripts, thangkas and ritual objects, a quiet complement to the city’s monasteries.
Sacred high lake at about 5,100 m, frozen in winter, reached by a long drive from Lachen, with views of the Tibetan plateau.
Flower valley of rhododendrons and hot springs at about 3,500 m, along the Lachung river, with views of snow peaks.
Zigzag road on the old trade route to Tibet, with terraced slopes, small villages and views of Kanchenjunga at dawn.
High glacial lake near the Tibet border, with a pass to China that Indian citizens can visit under permit.
Sikkim’s only government tea estate, with terraced bushes above the Rangit valley, and Ravangla’s Buddha Park nearby.
Largest freshwater lake in the northeast, with floating islands of vegetation (phumdi) and the world’s only floating park, home to the Sangai deer.
Former seat of the Meitei kings, now a riverside heritage park with shrines, a gateway and a museum.
Women-run market of several thousand stalls selling textiles, fish, vegetables and handmade goods, reportedly one of the largest of its kind.
Museum and memorial to the Indian National Army, where the tricolour was first raised on Indian soil in 1944.
Peak in the Tangkhul homeland where the Shirui lily blooms in May, with a festival and local trails.
Memorial to the 1891 Anglo-Manipur war, built where Manipuri soldiers held a hilltop against British forces.
Small village museum of Meitei and tribal crafts, with pottery, huts and a small cultural centre.
Hill capital of terraced homes and churches, with a museum introducing Mizo history, dress and the Chapchar Kut festival.
Reconstructed Mizo village on a ridge, with trails to the peak and views of forest hills.
Highest peak in Mizoram at about 2,157 m, with orchids, rhododendrons and a plateau reportedly home to the Mizo spirits.
Largest protected area in Mizoram, with hoolock gibbons, elephants, tigers and rich birdlife in hills of bamboo and evergreen forest.
Tallest waterfall in Mizoram, plunging more than 200 m through forest near Thenzawl, a weaving town.
High-altitude forest park near the Myanmar border, with a reputation among birders for Hume’s pheasant and rare mammals.
Forested hill with a tourist resort, trails and views over Mizoram’s ridges, an easy day trip from Aizawl.
Mizoram’s rice-bowl valley and border town, with the Myanmar border trade post and wide views of fields.
Early 20th-century royal palace, now the state museum, with domes, courtyards and gardens in the centre of Agartala.
Palace built in the 1930s in the middle of a lake, reached by boat, mixing Hindu and Mughal styles.
Hillside of rock-cut Shaiva sculpture, including a giant carved head, set in forest by a small waterfall; the main carving dates from about the 8th to 12th century.
One of the Shakta shrines, with a turtle-shaped hill, a tank full of turtles and an annual Diwali fair.
The highest range in the state, with orange orchards, Mizo and Reang communities and views over Bangladesh and Mizoram.
Easy sanctuary with a zoo, a botanical garden and a lake, with the endangered spectacled langur.
Reservoir with forested islands and in winter migratory birds, reached by boat from Narikel Kunja.
Ruins of Buddhist and Hindu sculpture dating from about the 8th to 12th century, with terracotta plaques and stone images.
Rock carvings of deities along a bend in the Gomati river, reached by boat through steep forest gorge.
Kali temple beside a large lake, with the Bangladesh border fence close by, a quiet spot known for its sunsets.
No place matches — try clearing a filter.
How we chose. This is an editorial selection, in no particular order and not a ranking. Places are grouped by state. Descriptions are written in our own words from public sources; seasons, permits, access and safety advisories change — approximate, verify before you travel. Last reviewed 2026-11-10. Your ticks are saved only on this device.
Tell us which places call to you. We'll shape them into a private itinerary with the right season, permits and pace.
Start planning All four lists