The soul of India lives in its villages. These villages are some of the best if you are looking for spending alone time with nature. Go on, get back to your roots !
Touphema Tourist Village
Touphema Tourist Village is about 100 kms from Dimapur and 41 kms from Kohima and is situated on a hillock surrounded by lush green valley. It is set up to showcase the traditional Nagaland lifestyle and culture, and educate visitors about their history, myths and the importance of preserving their ancient culture. Visitors can relish local Naga specialities and enjoy traditional Naga dance and celebrations. There is a museum housed within the village and guided walks to nearby hills, and visits to paddy fields are available.
Purushwadi
Located in the forested Western Ghats, between river Kurkundi and river Mula, in the Akole district of Maharashtra, Purushwadi is inhabited by the Hindu Mahadeo Koli tribe. The local folklore connects the village to the legend of goddess Zakobhai who took it upon herself to protect this village and four others nearby without help from any of the male Gods. It is believed that the goddess lifted up five Hanuman statues from these villages and hurled them down in the Mula River, a feat she repeats every year when the statues are put upright. Cultivation and animal husbandry are the main sources of livelihood for the local tribes. Every year, a firefly festival is organised in the village.
Mawlynnong
Mawlynnong Village is located in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, also referred to as ‘God’s own garden’. It has won the acclaim of being the cleanest village in Asia in 2003. The village known for its cleanliness is located around 90 kms from Shillong and is a community based eco-tourism initiative. The community has made collective effort to maintain the ambience of a clean village. The village offers picturesque natural beauty, a trek to the living root bridge at a neighbouring village Riwai. The village also offers a sight of natural balancing rock, a strange natural phenomenon of a boulder balancing on another rock. The adage ‘Neighbours envy, owners pride’ is apt for Mawlynnong as it has earned the distinction of being one of the cleanest villages in Asia, a fact that every Mawlynnong villager is proud of and other villagers are envy of.
Wai
A popular temple town with ancient mythological links, Wai is a favourite tourist destination because of its scenic ambience and the fact that it can be a stop-over on the way to the hill-stations of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar. With its more than 100 temples, it is rightly known as the ‘Dakshin Kashi’ of Maharashtra. And if that’s not all, it is also the place where some of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters have been shot.
Ziro
Ziro (167 km from Itanagar) is a beautiful plateau and the headquarters of Lower Subansiri District. It is one of the oldest towns in Arunachal Pradesh.
This beautiful hill station is located 1500 metres above sea level. The place has an imposing landscape of beautiful lush green forest, rivulets and elevated patches. It is famous for paddy-cum-pisciculture cultivation. The area is renowned for the terrace paddy fields where the unique system of poly-culture and water management is practised by the local people.
Kumaon
The word Kumaon is believed to have been derived from “Kurmanchal,” meaning land of the Kurmavatar (the tortoise incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Preserver of the Hindu Trinity). The region extends from the northern end of the Gangetic plains right up to Tibet. The snow-clad mountains, crystal-clear lakes, and the plethora of flora and fauna not only enable one to constantly think about the Himalayas but to behold their pristine magnificence time and again.
Kumaon hills provide vast attraction for the tourists, trekkers, and pilgrims. The beautiful scenery and the colourful cultural life of Pithoragarh, Mukteshwar, Chaukori, Binsar, Kausani, Sitalakhet, Champawat, besides many other popular hill stations, are waiting to be discovered.
Chitkul
Chitkul is the last inhabited village of India. A place surrounded by massive snow covered peaks of Himalyas, lush green forests of oak and deodar and river Baspa which flows through it. It is undoubtedly a destination of a lifetime.
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