‘9’ Best Adventure Vacations & Wandering Places For American Visitors In India!

American loves adventure sports and activities. Therefore, it is not a surprise to see a number of best adventure vacations and wandering places across the world to try a new rushing activity. There is a number of best places for adventure travel or incredible adventure destination since India has been boasting a lot about its landscape and opportunity of several activities from white water rafting to sea diving and from paragliding to spelunking.

Here are some of the best Indian sites and places to visit for adventure as an American visitor.

  1. Gulmarg

Location: Baramulla, Jammu & Kashmir

Best For: Skiing

Skier Heaven, Meadow Of Blossoms and Skiing Capital Of India

Gulmarg is 53 km from Srinagar, has some of the finest gradients that are perfect for alpine, chutes, cornices and glacier skiing. The Gulmarg Gondola is one of Asia’s highest and largest cable car projects, which is in Kashmir. Gulmarg Ski Club organizes annual skiing competitions that you can participate in.

Best Time To Visit & For Skiing:

  • December to April: 10:00 AM – 01:00 PM
  • Skiing in Gulmarg to April: 02:30 PM – 04:00 PM

Other Things to Do In Gulmarg:                

  • Gandola cable car ride
  • Gulmarg Golf Club
  • Snow festival
  • Heli-skiing
  • Nagin Valley
  • Apharwat Peak
  1. Dzukou Valley

Location: Kohima, Nagaland.

Best For: Camping

Heaven On Earth

Like in the US, there are a number of places for camping. But, there are a few places that have an extra edge to them and make special in their own way. And Dzukou Valley in Northeast India is one of them. It is particularly charming in terms of unexploited landscape. The valley adorned with bamboo thicket and a cluster of oak and rhododendron forest. You can camp at the natural caves but carry along your sleeping bag and other gears for cooking and sustaining on a cold night.

Best Time To Visit:

The best time to visit this place is between June and September, i.e., the full bloom season.

Other Things To Do In Kohima:

  • Nameri National Park
  • Kaziranga National Park
  • Hornbill Festival
  • War Cemetery
  • State Museum
  1. Zanskar

Location: Zanskar, Ladakh

Best For: Whitewater Rafting and Chadar Trek

The Broken Moon land

Ladakh, one of the best adventure destinations in India invites you to its least inhabited region, Zanskar. It is known for adventure activities, Chadar trek, and white-water rafting. Trekking over a frozen river, this is a thick sheet of ice and makes it most adventures in India. However, the trek is seasonal and can be done only in the winter season. On the other hand, white water rafting in Zanskar can be enjoyed in the summer season when the water level in the Zanskar River increases.

Best Time To Visit:

Zanskar valley is accessible only during the summer month, i.e. May To July.

Other Things To Do In Zanskar:

  • Trekking
  • Monastery festivals
  • Chadar Trek
  • Baralacha Pass
  • Zanskar River
  • Zanskar valley
  • Karsha
  1. Andamans

Location: Bay Of Bengal

Best For: Snorkelling & Deep Sea Diving

Spell Of Magic

Exploring the underwater life in the Arabian Sea! The island has white sand beaches with a shade of blue tinged with green water. This tourist destination in India is an ideal place for snorkeling and scuba diving experience. It is known as the habitat for some exotic fishes and underwater creatures, which makes it a truly best destination. There are other water sports in Andaman that you can enjoy along but exploring the underwater universe is unparalleled.

Best Time To Visit:

You can visit anytime because it is a year round trip.

  • Summer – April to June
  • Monsoon – July to September
  • Winter – October to March

Other Things To Do In Andamans:

  • Radhanagar Beach, Havelock Island
  • Jet skiing
  • Parasailing and speed boating
  • Boat Ride or Trek to Elephant Beach
  • Coastal Ride to Kalapathar Beach
  • Scuba Diving
  • Historic Cellular Jail, Port Blair and Pay a tribute
  • Boat Ride To Jolly Bouy Island and Snorkeling
  1. Bir Billing

Location: Joginder Nagar Valley, Himachal Pradesh

Best For: Paragliding

Paragliding capital of India

Bir Billing is quite popular amongst paragliders. It is one of the highest places in the world for paragliding. Bir is a small town where the landing site is situated, Billing, which is situated some 16 to 18 km away from Bir is the place where the cliff from where paragliding is done is located. You can also enjoy paragliding at several places in Himachal like Solang Valley and Dalhousie. There are tandem rides available, but an experienced person can go solo as well.

Best Time To Visit:

October to June is the season for paragliding. Paragliding experience during December, January is different as mountains are covered with snow.

Other Things To Do In Bir Billing:

  • Visit Sherab Ling monastery
  • Hand gliding
  • Visit the Himalayan film school
  • Camping with Bir Billing camping
  • Shantideva homeopathic research institute
  • Chowgan tea gardens
  • Hills of Dhanaari
  1. Meghalaya

Location: Destination in Northeast India

Best For: Spelunking/Caving

Scotland of the East

If you want to explore the deepest and longest caves in South Asia, then visit the state Meghalaya.  The natural caves give ample to explore. The most popular caves are Siju, Mawsmai, Mawsynram, and Syndai. There are also caves like Krem Liat Prah, which is India’s longest cave; Krem Mawmluh, India’s 4th largest cave; Krem Chympe, India’s 5th largest cave; and Krem Ri Blai, offer rewarding views of waterfalls.

Best Time To Visit:

You can visit anytime because it is a year round trip.

  • Summer – April to June
  • Monsoon – July to September
  • Winter – December to February

Other Things To Do:

  • Double Decker Living Root Bridge
  • Laitlum Canyons
  • Roots Bridges
  • Nohkalikai Falls
  • Dawki River
  • Mawkdok Dympep Valley
  • Mawjymbuin Cave
  • Mawlynnong Waterfall
  • Seven Sisters Falls
  1. Spiti

Location: Himachal Pradesh

Best For: Motorbike Riding

Land Of Lamas

Spiti is a land of bare mountains where the weather is moody. Most of the adventure lovers head to Spiti for a motorbike adventure, which is the reason being the challenging landscape. Spiti is a paradise for some rough adventure and it will feed your adventurous.

Best Time To Visit:

Summer season during the months of May to October is the best time to visit.

Other Things To Do:

  • Chandra Taal
  • Kunzum Pass
  • Bara-lacha la
  • Key Monastery
  • Pin Valley National Park
  • Suraj Tal
  • Shingo La
  • Enjoy camping at Chandratal
  1. Rishikesh

Location: Uttarakhand, India

Best For: Bungee Jumping & Swinging

Gateway To The Char Dham

Rishikesh in the northern India state of Uttarakhand is a popular river rafting destination. The city has also famous for extreme adventure activities like bungee jumping, giant swing as well as flying fox. In fact, Rishikesh has the highest bungee (83 m) and giant swing (83 m) in India and it has Asia’s longest flying fox. An incredible view of India’s holiest river, Ganga is also relished.

Best Time To Visit:

  • For River Rafting, from late September – October to mid-November
  • The best time to visit Rishikesh is from early March – April to the first week of May.

Other Things To Do:

  • River Rafting & Tubing
  • Triveni Ghat
  • Yoga & Pilates
  • Neer Garh Waterfall
  • Lakshman Jhula
  • The Beatles Ashram
  • Swarg Ashram
  1. The Western Ghats

Location: Range runs through 6 states in India

Best For: Trekking

Sahyadri (Benevolent Mountains)

The 1600 km long chain of mountains, Western Ghats can give the mountains in North India a good run for their money. This UNESCO recognized World Heritage Site is amongst the 8 topmost hotspots. The range runs through 6 states in India, which has 7402 species of flowering plants, 1814 species of non-flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, 179 amphibian species, 6000 insects’ species and 290 freshwater fish species and 325 globally threatened species.

Best Time To Visit:

Monsoon peak in July and August.

Other Things To Do:

  • Kudremukh Trek
  • Tadiyandamol Trek
  • Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary-Mainapi-Savari Waterfalls Trek
  • Ravan Dongar Peak Trek
  • Dudhsagar Falls Trek
  • Kodachadri Trek

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