Best of India: 60 Cool Holidays

India's rich diversity never goes out of fashion; it's always cool to travel in this country. Here's a guide that's as full of ideas, variety and fun - in fact, as cool - as India itself. Great for family holidays, romantic getaways and discover-India trips

• Snow Holidays: Srinagar-Gulmarg, Manali, Shimla-Kufri-Narkanda, Auli, Nathu La
• Coastal Circuits: Orissa Coast, Kerala Coast, Karnataka Coast, Goan Beaches, Konkan Coast
• Wildlife Parks: Corbett, Kaziranga, Keoladeo Ghana (Bharatpur), Ranthambhore, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Nagarhole
• Hills for Winters: Mount Abu, Pachmarhi, Lonavla-Khandala, Matheran-Mahabaleshwar, Coorg, Ooty, Kodaikanal
• Editor's Choice (the Heritage): Agra- Fatehpur Sikri, Best of Rajasthan, Ajanta-Ellora, Hampi, Tamil Nadu Temple Circuit

With:
• Sightseeing - location, timings, ticket costs and more
• Getting there Where to stay: including hotel contacts, tariff range and facilities
• Detailed accommodation listings
• Where to eat
• Shopping
• Route guides
• Tourist offices and travel agents to help plan your holiday

Much as we specialise in theme-based and state-based guides to holidaying in India, periodically the itch to address the sheer rich and bewildering diversity of this land gets too strong. And fitting it is too. Since you are a rich and diverse lot yourself. You love natural beauty, You enjoy the wilds, you are tickled by the thought of adventure, You appreciate heritage…Thankfully, there’s no dearth of destinations and experiences that are just right for cool travelers like you.

In India, the traveller's top priority is usually Goa's beaches, Kerala's backwaters, or Rajastans forts, palaces and gorgeous and gorgeous heritage hotels, and we doff our editorial hat to these veterans. But if going to these popular destinations means you have to book month in advance, try our other coastal choices-Orissa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which are beautiful as well as less crowded. Head Himalaya-wards-in summer for the cool breeze, in winter for the gently falling snow from the sky. Now that the government of Uttarkhand and Himachal Pradesh have been promoting slopes as sking and adventure-tourism destinations, you have a lot of choices between plese like Gulmarg, Auli, Narkanda, Manali and Kufri. Too much of chattering teeth and wet socks? Go South and enjoy the climes usually described by travel as 'salubrious' (we plead guilty ourselves).

There is, of course, more - wildlife parks offering the thrill of the fun of riding an elephant, the low hills of the Nilgiris combining picturesque mistiness with just the right temperatures, and the best of our heritage, such as the Taj or Ajanta-Ellora.

Go ahead. It's cool to travel.