With regards to adventure tourism, the biggest draws in India are the Himalayan mountain ranges and the hundreds of wildlife parks. It is extremely hard for any amateur or expert mountain climbing aficionado to ignore the call and lure of the Himalayas. The highest undisputed point in India is the Kanchenjunga peak, piercing the skies at 8,598m. 

Other than mountain climbing, the Himalayan foothills are magnets for adventure tourists looking for winter sports and skiing and white water rafting in the rushing waters flowing down with the melting ice, which go on to roar out of the mountains in the form of the mighty Ganges river. The river also feeds the fertile plains below, giving rise to an unbelievable range and cacophony of flora and fauna. The Himalayan ranges span across 4 Indian states and an outdoor tourist can spend months just moving around in this mostly unpopulated area, discovering all the delights and hidden treasures that this ancient civilization and nature in the raw has to offer. Archeologists here are still discovering hidden artifacts from the Indus valley civilization. Click here to learn more about Himalayan Tours.

Moving down from the Himalayas into the central plains, a visitor is confronted by provinces dotted with wild life preserves and national parks housing elephants, tigers, rare deer species and other animals in all their glory, unfettered and flourishing in a natural eco-system. India has over 75 National Parks and 425 wildlife sanctuaries. The most famous amongst these are the Kaziranga National Park with the great one-horned rhinoceros and a sizeable population of elephants, tigers, water buffalos and swamp deer, the Bharatpur bird sanctuary in Rajasthan which hosts nearly 300 species of migratory birds including the Siberian Crane and the Corbett National Park with its wild elephants and lions. India also has 32,000 species of insects and plenty of rare herbs and other greenery which fascinates nature explorers. 

The plains give way to thousands of miles of verdant coastline. The entire western and southern parts of India are surrounded by three big water bodies – The Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. As such, tourist hotspots such as Goa, Kerala and Mumbai (formerly Bombay) provide 5 star treatments at beachfront resorts with water sports including snorkeling and diving. It is an added attraction that these beaches lie on the outskirts of urban metros which offer night-time watering holes to tourists looking to live it up and enjoy the night life. Goa is especially known for its anything goes attitude, with guests enjoying holidays with absolute privacy. 

While the exotic feel, the culture, the cuisine, the languages and religions of the Indian sub-continent are by themselves an adventure for first-time visitors to India, a true exploration of India’s vast landscape and it’s natural wonders always leaves travelers thirsting for more, and a short vacation is just the beginning to take in the breadth and scope of India’s outdoors. You will end up visiting India again and again, and India welcomes you with open arms.