Top 20 Must Visit Tourist Destinations in India By 2024
Incredible India is home to every types of natural beauty like desert, snow mountains, sea beaches, salt marshes, swamp, mangroves, forest, terrain, valleys, lakes and coral. Starting my bucket list from upper side of the country, These places are unique in terms of every aspect be in location, culture, festivals and more.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges people of India to visit top most tourist destinations within the country by 2022. Here is the list of most unique places in India one should visit, the iconic sites, monuments and national parks.
Gulmarg – Srinagar
Gauri Marg is now known as Gulmarg is a valley in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas, Known as heartland of winter sports in India and one of the best ski destination, bandy destination and snow destination in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mountain Passes – Ladakh
Ladakh is the youngest Union Territory of India, renowned for cold mountains, high altitude passes, remote valleys and great Himalayan beauty. The Union Territory of Ladakh is an important Tourist Destinations in north India and should be in your bucket list to visit before 2020.
The land of high passes offers list of most favorite tourist attractions such as river side camping,trekking destination, mountain range landscape, highest motorable roads like Khardungla, high mountain passes, Pangong Lake and sighting of snow leopards in Rumbak Valley.
Khajjiar – Himachal Pradesh
Khajjiar is a small plateau surrounded by meadows and forests at the foothills of the Dhauladhar ranges, can be reached from Dalhousie hill station. The hill station offers rare and unique combination of three ecosystems lake, pasture and forest, also offers numerous trekking opportunities.
Harmandir Sahib – Amritsar
The Golden Temple of Punjab is the most preeminent shrine in the Sikh Religion, Also one of five takhts of the Sikhs. It is part of the tentative list of UNESCO and one of the most visited religious site in North India along Mata Rani Vaishno Devi, Kedarnath, Badrinath and Sankat Mochan Temple of Shimla.
Jim Corbett National Park – Uttarakhand
Jim Corbett National Park in an ecotourism destination of Uttarakhand and falls under the sub-Himalayan belt geographical and ecological belt in Nainital district. It is the oldest national park of India and first to come under the Project Tiger with aims to protect Bengal tigers and habitats.
Recently PM Modi was seen in Man vs Wild with Bear Grylls show in Discovery, featuring Jim Corbett National Park and its big grasslands, riverine forest and flagship species endangered Bengal tiger.
Valley of Flowers is a richly diverse area of Uttarakhand and world famous for meadows of endemic alpine flowers, Himalayan landscape, rugged mountain wilderness and endangered animals such as brown bear, black bear, snow leopard and musk deer.
Thar Desert – Rajasthan
The Great Indian Thar Desert is one of the largest desert in the world, lies mostly in the state of Rajasthan and extends to Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.
Thar Desert offers most unique ecosystem for wildlife like caracal, great Indian bustard, blackbuck, chinkara and bird life also one of the most heavily populated desert areas in the world.
Rajasthan states with Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner are part of the Thar Desert and known for its custom culture colours, majestic forts, haveli, palaces, fairs festivals and Ranthambore National Park.
Rann of Kutch – Gujarat
Rann of Kutch is divided into two main parts and is the only large flooded grasslands zone in India. The grassland, mangroves ecosystems and deserts of the Rann of Kutch is home to some of the most endemic and endangered animal species including Indian onager, Indian bustard, Indian wolf, striped hyena and amazing list of bird of prey.
Gujarat Gir National Park is the only area in Asia where Asiatic lions are found in breeding numbers and the state also offers religious tourism such as Somnath, Dwaraka, Sun Temple, Palitana temples and sites like Fossil Park and world’s tallest Statue of Unity.
Ajanta Ellora Caves – Maharashtra
Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves are UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in Aurangabad and listed as most visited tourist attractions of Maharashtra. Aurangabad is not only a major tourism region in Marathwada but also tourism capital of Maharashtra state, surrounded by Bibi Ka Maqbara, City of Gates,Grishneshwar Temple, Devagiri fort and Kailasa temple at Ellora.
Maharashtra is visited by largest number of domestic tourist, especially from Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The state is second most visited Indian state by foreigners, And the tourist attractions of Maharashtra includes Amboli Ghat, Mahabaleshwar hill station, Hindu places of pilgrimage and majestic forts of Shivaji Maharaj.
Goa
Goa is the smallest state of India by area but has the highest GDP among all Indian states, Also ranked best place in India to live in terms of the best quality of life and visited by large numbers of tourist including both international and domestic tourist.
Tourism is the biggest industry in Goa, The state has list of world famous tourist attractions such as Historic sites, churches and convents of Old Goa, Dance and music, Goan cuisine, beaches, casino, temples and water sports is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Goa.
Western Ghats – Karnataka
Agumbe rainforest and hill station is also known as Cherrapunji of the South, offers best of Western Ghats in terms of tourism, medicinal plants,trekking, photography and wildlife. Agumbe lies in Western Ghat mountains and not only home to number of waterfalls but also endangered species such as King Cobra,flying lizard,purple frog,lion tailed macaque and popular destination for bird watchers.
Tourism in Karnataka can be divided as per geographical regions and place of interest like Hill Stations, protected monuments, sculptured temples, forests, beaches and World heritage sites.
The most and best places to visit in Karnataka also includes Mysore Palace, Hampi Monuments, Chikmagalur, Belur and Halebidu Temples, Jog and Sivasamudram Waterfalls,Beach at Gokarna and Karwar and Haveri and Gadag District.
The districts of Kodagu in the Western Ghats of Karnataka is the most popular eco tourism destination in South India, along with other popular locations such as Kudremukh, Dandeli, Kabini and Agumbe.
Besides the Coorg, Kabini is another secret destination in Karnataka, offers most unique wildlife experiences with the rare sighting of black panthers in India.
Brackish Backwaters- Kerala
Kerala backwaters is a network of linked lakes, flowing rivers, man made canals and brackish lagoons parallel to the Arabian Sea. The state is known as God’s own country and listed as one of the ten paradises of the world.
Tourism is the biggest industry of Kerala, especially famous for its Eco-tourism destinations, beautiful backwaters,popular temple festival, Theyyam ritual, beaches at Varkala, backwater tourism around Ashtamudi Lake, wildlife sanctuaries at Periyar,tea garden hill station of Munnar and Houseboat tourism at Alleppey.
Mahabalipuram – Kanchipuram
Mahabalipuram is a neighboring town of Chennai with list of notable tourist attractions on the Coromandel Coast such as Dharmaraja Ratha, Shore Temple, Cave temples and Descent of the Ganges.
Chennai is the most visited city in India by foreign tourists and known for historic buildings, long sandy beaches, Kapaleeshwarar Shiva temple and near by monuments, follow the link to see Historical Monuments of India in 2020.
The state of Tamil Nadu offers list of hassle free destinations such as Pondicherry, Madurai, Thanjavur temple, Kanyakumari,Yercaud Hill station, Rameshwaram, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Ooty – Kodaikanal, Mudumalai Sanctuary as a wildlife corridor connecting the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats.
Jagannath Temple – Odisha
Lord Jagannath is a form of lord Maha Vishnu and Puri of Odisha is an important pilgrimage destination in India. Puri is not only famous for temple of Lord Jagannath but also annual Ratha yatra, Puri sea beach, near by Konark Sun temple and world famous brackish water lagoon Chilika Lake.
Tourism in Odisha contributors to the economy of state and must visit place in Odisha includes long coastline, Konark sun temple, Chandipur on sea, Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves,Koraput, Chilika lake, Gahirmatha Olive ridley sea turtle, Barehipani Falls, Bhitarkanika mangroves and world famous Lord Shiva temples in Bhubaneswar.
Sundarbans Mangroves – Kolkata
Sundarbans is a riverine delta with combined waters of Brahmaputra river and Ganges river systems, nicknamed as the Green Delta. The delta is largest mangrove system in the world covered by mangrove habitat, designated as a Ramsar site and home to India’s most unique species of Bengal tiger called Swamp tigers.
Darjeeling along with Mirik, Kalimpong and Singalila Ridge are the notable region of tourism in West Bengal. Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Cathedral in Kolkata, Cooch Behar Palace, Victoria Memorial, Bishnupur Terracotta Temples, Belur Math and Darjeeling Himalayan Railway are the major tourist attractions in West Bengal.
Kaziranga Park – Guwahati, Assam
Kaziranga National Park of Awesome Assam in a dream destination for tourists and wildlife lovers. The park is a World Heritage Site and home to Big Five wild animals of India, Also house large populations of Indian rhinoceroses, high density of tigers, breeding wild water buffalo, healthy number of elephants and wild deers, hoolock gibbons, golden langur and avifaunal species.
Maujli river island of Assam is the first island district of India, listed as largest river island in the world and formed by the Brahmaputra river with only accessible by ferries from the Jorhat.
Assam is the gateway to the Seven Sister States of India, has a rich cultural heritage and notable tourist destinations such as Kamakhya Temple, Sivasagar monuments of Ahom era, Manas Sanctuary, Cruise on Brahmaputra river, Haflong hill station and salix swamp forest in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.
Nohkalikai Falls – Shillong, Meghalaya
Nohkalikai Falls from height of 340 metres is the tallest plunge waterfall in India, One of the must see waterfalls of Meghalaya and prime attractions in Cherrapunji along with Kynrem Falls and Mawsmai Falls.
Meghalaya is the most beautiful and must visit states in hilly state in northeastern India, Home to Living root bridges, Dawki rivew view, Sacred groves,natural limestone and sandstone caves, home to rare clouded leopard and offers adventure tourism and also most important ecotourism circuits in India.
Lake Tsomgo – Gangtok, Sikkim
Changu Lake or Tsomgo Lake of Sikkim is located at an elevation of 3,753 m, around 40 km from the city of Gangtok. The glacial lake remains frozen during the winter season and surrounded by snow capped mountains, enroute from Alpine forest and also known for joy rides on decorated yaks.
Mahabodhi – Bodh Gaya
Bodh Gaya and Mahabodhi Temple are the most important pilgrimage sites of Buddhists along with Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Sarnath. The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya is not part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, destination for both Hindus and Buddhists.
Kashi – Banaras – Varanasi
Varanasi is the holiest of the seven sacred cities of India, lies along National Highway 2 and one of the must visit place of Uttar Pradesh, on the banks of the river Ganga. Varanasi, Kanpur, Agra, Allahabad and Lucknow are the top five major cities of Uttar Pradesh and home of India’s most visited Taj Mahal, as well as Ayodhya and Mathura plus Kushinar and Sarnath.
Khajuraho Monuments – Madhya Pradesh
Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh is world famous for their erotic sculptures and also home to famous nagara-style temples of Kandariya Mahadeva, Lakshmana, Matangeshwar and Vishvanatha.
Madhya Pradesh is located in the geographic heart of India, home to not only the list of heritage monuments, rock carved temples, Dhuandhar Falls, stupas but also offers a unique panorama of wildlife with natural surroundings in Kanha National Park and Bandhavgarh National Park.
+ Places As Per Interest
Port Blair capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal is one of nine most beautiful Union Territory of India, home to the Andamanese, Jarawa Sentinelese tribes. The islands of Andaman are developing as a major tourism hub with pristine beaches, exotic snorkelling, and adventure sports like Scuba diving.
Brahmaputra River Cruise is best way to explore the beauty of mighty Brahmaputra river of Assam, The river cruise is not only offers luxury stay but also cover most of the top tourist attractions of Awesome Assam.
Ziro Valley of Arunachal is one of the lesser know tourist destination for 2020, located in the remote area of Arunachal Pradesh offering stunning landscape, natural beauty and a town of World Heritage Site.
Lakshdweep islands are the most popular honeymoon destinations of India, Islands are known as a tourist attractions for Indian and now become a major destination for international tourism.
Tawang town of Arunachal Pradesh offers un-discovered experiences of extraordinary world of natural beauty and known for famous monasteries, picturesque valley, tranquil hills, Snow Tigers and unexplored mountains passes.
Araku Valley hill station in the Eastern Ghats of India is one of the less explored place and inhabited by different tribes. The valley and Borra Caves are well connected with Visakhapatnam city by road and rail, only place of coffee plantations in Andhra Pradesh.
Loktak Lake of Manipur state is not only one of the its kind but also home to only floating national park in the world and natural home of the endangered Sangai deer, Also famous for the phumdis and is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India.
