Magnetic Hill, Ladakh
Magnetic Hill is a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces the optical illusion that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope. Thus, a car left out of gear will appear to be rolling uphill. There are hundreds of gravity hill locations around the world. The slope of gravity hills is an optical illusion, although tour guides may claim natural or even supernatural forces are at work. The most important factor contributing to the illusion is a completely or mostly obstructed horizon; without a horizon, judging the slope of a surface is difficult as a reliable reference is missing. Objects one would normally assume to be more-or-less perpendicular to the ground (such as trees) may actually be leaning, offsetting the visual reference. The illusion is similar to the well-known Ames room, in which balls can also appear to roll against gravity.
Majuli, Assam
Majuli, the largest riverine island in the world, nestles in the lap of the mighty Brahmaputra. This is where the 15th century saint and fountainhead of Assamese culture, Sankardeva, first established a Satra or neo-Vaishnavite monastery, born of insightful discourses with his spiritual successor, Madhabdeva. Today, Majuli is the principal seat of Vaishnavite faith, culture and practice. The treasures of Majuli are undoubtedly it's Satras. The first satra, set up by Sankardeva and Madhabdeva together, was Manikanchan Sanjog, now no longer extant. Subsequently, Majuli became the centers of 65 such satras. Of these, there are only 22 satras in Majuli today. Due to the annual floods and constant land erosion, Majuli today is only a fraction of its original size of 1256 sq. Km. Recorded by the Imperial Gazetteer 1901. This has forced many of the satras to shift base to Assam's mainland.
Nohkalikai Falls, Meghalaya
One of the most photogenic waterfalls in India, Nohkalikai in Meghalaya is the fifth highest waterfall in India. Nohkalikai, which means means Ka Likai's Leap in Khasi language, is located about seven km away from Cherrapunji, the second wettest place on the planet. The water plunges from a height of 1,100 ft uninterrupted from the highest point to the foot of the falls, making it a spectacular site. Nohkalikai Falls have been named so after a tragic Khasi legend. According to the legend, a woman named likai had to remarry after her husband, who was a porter by profession, died on a trip carrying iron to Sylhet. Ka Likai (Ka is the prefix given to the female gender in Khasi) was left with her infant girl with no means of income so she had to become a porter herself. Her work required her to leave her daughter unattended for long intervals, but when she would be at home, she would spend most of her time taking care of her infant. Ka Likai, who married a second time, couldn't pay attention to her second husband. The jealous husband killed the infant and cooked her meat after throwing away her head and bones.
Rann of Kutch, Gujarat
It is a symphony of salt and stones cuddled on one side by the sea and the other by desert. Rann of Kutch, a salt marsh, bedecks the western tip of Gujarat with its surreal charm. The name, that springs from the inherent geographical features of this land, literally means a "salt marsh" or "salty desert" of Kutch (Kutch is the district of which this region is a part of). This seasonally marshy land covers a region of more than 10,000 square kilometers and is divided into Little Rann of Kutch and Great Rann of Kutch.
The Sundarbans, West Bengal
Sunderbans, the world's largest estuarine forest and delta covered by mangrove forests and vast saline mud flats is situated on the lower end of Gangetic West Bengal. Â A land of 54 tiny islands, crisscrossed by innumerable tributaries of the Ganges that was once infested by Arakanese and Portuguese pirates is now the abode of varied flora & fauna population. Sunderban is bound on the west by river Muriganga and on the east by rivers Harinbhahga and Raimangal. Other major rivers flowing through this eco-system are Saptamukhi, Thakurain Matla and Gosaba.
Living Root Bridges of Cherrapunji, Meghalaya
The living bridges of Cherrapunji, India are made from the roots of the Ficus Elastica tree. This tree produces a series of secondary roots from higher up its trunk and can comfortably perch atop huge boulders along the riverbanks, or even in the middle of the rivers themselves. Cherrapunji is credited with being the wettest place on earth, and The War-Khasis, a tribe in Meghalaya, long ago noticed this tree and saw in its powerful roots an opportunity to easily cross the area's many rivers. Now, whenever and wherever the need arises, they simply grow their bridges.
Loktak Lake, Manipur
In Manipur, all rivers and rivulets, except for handful converge and meet at Loktak Lake. Like faithful, on pilgrimage; they run the length of the coarse mountain beds, collecting along the way- sediments and fertile soil before laying it on the altar of the largest freshwater lake in the Northeast. It is on this bed that a diverse range of aquatic plants and animals thrive without reservation. From a guest house on a small island, the lake looked tranquil and serene but there were too many small islands dispersed across the vast expanse of water. These many small islands protruding out of water like many hummocks are not hummock but floating masses of vegetation; created by an accrual of organic garbage and biomass with soil particles that have been thickened into a solid form called Phumdis. It is on these Phumdis that huts floated comfortably on the lake and are tossed around with the wind. On the other extreme, it is on these, that the world's only floating National park exists.
Borra Caves, Andhra Pradesh
Borra Caves are located at a distance of 92 Km north of Visakhapatnam. The caves open with 100 meters on horizontal plane and about 75 meters on vertical plane. These caves spread over an area of one square KM and the origin of the river Gosthani which flows through the district. This you must see if you are in Araku Valley or in Visakhaptanam. This location is at a height of 800 to 1300 meters from MSL. William King the British geologist discovered this million years old cave in the year 1807. Breath taking hilly terrain, beautiful landscape, semi-evergreen moist deciduous forests, and wild fauna of the area are a visual feast. This cave is the biggest in India considering the area it has spread geographically.
Lonar Crater Lake
Situated on the outskirts of Loanar town in Buldhana District, the Lonar Crater was first discovered in 1823 by British officers, J.E. Alexander. It is also written about in ancient scripts like the Skanda Puran, the Padma Puran and the Aaina-Akbari. Lonar is distinguished by the fact that it is the world's third largest crater. It had its genesis nearly 50,000 years ago, when a 2 million-ton meteorite impacted the earth to create a depression 1.83 kilometers in diameter and 150 meters deep. Since that cataclysmic event, Lonar has evolved into an idyllic expanse of sky blue water amidst a sprawling emerald forest that stretches around it as far as the eye can see. Today, it attracts casual tourists as well as members of the scientific community from across the world, including research agencies like the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, DC, the US Geological Survey, the Geological Society of India, and Sagar University, Jabalpur, and Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, which have conducted extensive studies about the site.