Section

Travel

Places worth the flight, and how to see them properly.

The 88 km Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Reaches 2,258 Metres on a 2 ft Track Through Six Zigzag Reverses and Three Loops, and UNESCO Listed It in 1999

UNESCO and IRCTC give different lengths and reverse counts for the Darjeeling toy train. Here is what each says, what runs on the line now, and what has stopped it.

Hampi Has More Than 1,600 Surviving Remains on 4,187 Hectares, and Here Are the Hours, Fees and Routes the Official Pages Give for Seeing Them

Opening times, the one ticket price an official page confirms, and the gaps in the record, from Virupaksha's two daily sessions to a sunrise climb up Matanga Hill. Each figure carries the date it was read.

The 96 km Kalka-Shimla Railway Climbs More Than 1,400 Metres on a 2 ft 6 in Track, and Its Tunnel and Bridge Counts Differ by Source

Search results quote 103 tunnels and 800-plus bridges for the Shimla toy train. UNESCO's advisers, a Himachal government page and a railway story on Google Arts each give another total, and this year's monsoon damage has stopped most services until the end of November.

Entry to the Khajuraho Temples Is Listed at Rs 40 for Indian Visitors and Rs 600 for Foreign Ones, and Here Are the Hours, Show Times and Routes the Official Pages Give

Which temples sit in which group, what the ASI page says about tickets and hours, when the evening show starts, and the gaps no official page fills. Every figure carries the date it was read.

Leh Sits at 3,500 Metres, Indian Visitors Have Needed No Inner Line Permit for Nubra, Pangong or Tso Moriri Since August 2021, and the Official Green Fee Is Rs 400 a Head

Who needs a permit, what the Rs 400 fee is, how long to rest in Leh, when the two highways run, and why no official page can tell you today's road status. Each rule is dated.

Guinness Lists Majuli at 880 Square Kilometres, While the Assam Government's Own Pages Give 421, 475 and 483 for the Same River Island

Four current areas for one island, a ferry that stops when the river runs too high or too low, and a bridge that has changed contractors. What the Assam pages say about Majuli, with the date each was read.

The 46 km Nilgiri Mountain Railway Climbs 1,877 Metres and Needs a Toothed Rail for Its Steepest Stretch

The Ooty train climbs at about 13 km/h because a toothed rail in the middle of the track has to grip the engine on the steepest part. Here is how the line was built, what pulls it, and how to ride it.

The Valley of Flowers Is 87.5 Square Kilometres, Only a Fifth of It Meadow, and Its 2026 Season Runs Until 31 October

The walk is 13 km to Ghangaria and a few more to the valley, and the figures for its height, its entry fee and its flower count change from page to page. Here is what the documents say, and where they disagree.

India's UNESCO Dossier Names 84 Ghats Along Varanasi's 6.5 Kilometre Riverfront and the District Website Says 88, and Here Is What Official Pages Give for the Aarti, Boats, Temple Hours and Routes

Which ghats matter and why, what the official pages say about the evening aarti and the dawn programme at Assi, when boats are stopped, and which temple timings the trust itself gives. Each figure carries the date it was read.

In the Wettest Place on Earth, People Grow Their Bridges Instead of Building Them

In Meghalaya, villages do not build bridges so much as grow them, coaxing a fig tree's roots across a river for a generation at a time. A 2019 survey of 74 of these crossings found they thicken and strengthen with every passing year.

Bhutan Charges Tourists to Visit. If You're Indian, It's About ₹1,200 a Night, Not $100.

The last Himalayan kingdom decided crowds were the problem, so it rations them by price. Most foreigners pay $100 a night. Indian nationals pay Nu 1,200, about ₹1,200, in rupees, and can hand it over at the border.