5 Tips to Get Off the Beaten Track in India

If you are a person who is not happy with travelling to the usual tourist places or indulging in the regular activities, you can always get off the beaten track in India. The culture and landscape of India is very diverse.

Every corner of the country will offer you with something different, which could easily be unique to that part of the world. The magic of India lies in the fact that the country can cater to the taste of all kinds of tourists. If you are ready to leave off your luxuries behind, you can experience something unique and different in India, which will remain with you forever.

Here are 5 tips to get off the beaten track in India:

1. Taste the hottest pepper in the world

You can travel to the North Eastern states of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur, where you can taste the hottest pepper in the world, called the Bhut Jolokia. The pepper was officially Guinness World Records as the hottest pepper in the world in the year 2007. It is even used by the Indian Army for creating pepper sprays, and is also used in the fight against poachers in the world famous Kaziranga National Park of Assam. Although we must warn you that the Scoville rating of this the Bhut Jolokia is more than a million and it would probably be the hottest thing that you would ever taste in your life.

2. Travel to the valley famous for being the suicide point for birds

There is a valley, known as the Jatinga Valley, located in the Dima Hasao district of Assam in North Eastern India. During the monsoon seasons, birds which travel from various places come to this valley. During the moonless and foggy nights the birds start behaving abnormally and they jump in to the grounds, as they are attracted to lights emitted by the villages nearby. When they do so, they collide against trees and die. You can explore this unique and intriguing phenomenon on your own.

3. Live with the nomads of Rajasthan and encounter their way of life

There is a community of gypsies in the state of Rajasthan in India and these communities are known as the Banjaras. They have a unique way of life and culture. They travel from one place to the place throughout their lives and have been continuing this way of life, for centuries. You can travel to the city of Bikaner in India and get a chance to spend some time with these people. Their food is very different and is known to be very spicy. In the evenings, the Banjaras sing and dance, in order to appreciate the gifts bestowed on them by nature.

4. Travel to the place where the poetry of Tagore was born

The poems of Rabindra Nath Tagore, the Nobel Laureate, and the famous Bengali poet, are loved and appreciated by people across the globe. Tagore has influenced countless writers, authors and poets, and if you would like to encounter the culture which he has helped in developing, you can visit the town of Shantiniketan in West Bengal. The town is the home to the university founded by Tagore, known as the Visva-Bharati University. It is one of the most prominent centers of learning arts in the planet.

5. Travel by train to various parts of the country

Most of the tourists who come to India, only travel by flights and private cabs. However, if you want to encounter the scenic beauty of the country, or the way of life of its people, you should travel by train. Apart from the inter city and domestic trains, there are a few luxury trains like ‘Palace on Wheels’ which can provide you with a unique experience of India.