Chakrata

Chakrata is one of Uttarakhand's best-kept secrets, a high cantonment town set deep in the tribal Jaunsar-Bawar region west of Mussoorie. Established by the British as a military base in the 1860s and still an army town today, it has remained almost entirely off the mass-tourism circuit — there are no big resorts or crowds here, just dense deodar forest, deep silence and a distinctively local culture.

The Jaunsari people who live in these valleys have their own dialect, dress, architecture and traditions, said to trace back to the Pandavas and Kauravas of the Mahabharata, giving the region a character quite distinct from the rest of Garhwal. The nearby cave temples and rock carvings of Lakhamandal, dedicated to Shiva, reach back well over a thousand years.

For nature lovers, Chakrata is a quiet wonderland: the spectacular Tiger Falls, one of the tallest in the region, plunges through forest a short trek from town; the Deoban ridge offers cathedral-like deodar woods and clear Himalayan views; and viewpoints like Chilmiri Neck reward the effort of getting to this remote, restful corner.

March–June and September–November; snowfall possible in winter.