Uttarakhand

A thick, green dish of spinach and fenugreek leaves thickened with rice paste and slow-cooked in an iron pan, a Garhwali staple.

Black soybeans roasted and cooked in a dark, thick gravy with rice paste in an iron pan, a classic of Kumaon.

A rich, nutty dal made from roasted and coarsely ground black urad, cooked slowly in an iron pan.

A sharp, yellow raita of grated hill cucumber, curd and ground mustard seeds that tingles the nose.

A thick gravy of soaked and ground lentils, usually horse gram, cooked with greens and spices; a Garhwali comfort food.

Horse gram dal tempered with ghee or mustard oil, a winter favourite across Kumaon and Garhwal.

Boiled potatoes tossed in mustard oil with jakhiya seeds and red chillies, a Kumaoni snack and side dish.

Hill radish or potatoes crushed with a stone, not cut, and cooked in a spicy gravy; a Garhwali home dish.

A creamy pudding of barnyard millet (jhangora) cooked in milk with sugar and cardamom.

Almora’s famous fudge of browned khoya, rolled in tiny white sugar-coated balls.

A khoya and coconut sweet wrapped in a cone of malu leaf, which gives it a light, fresh fragrance; a speciality of Almora.

Fried sweets of soaked rice flour and jaggery, sent by Garhwali families to a daughter’s new home after marriage.

A sword-and-shield dance of Kumaon, performed by men leading wedding processions with mock fights to the beat of drums.

A circle dance of Kumaon in which men and women link arms and move together at fairs, open to all who wish to join.

A group folk dance of the Jaunsari community of Jaunsar-Bawar in Dehradun district, performed at festivals and fairs.

A ritual dance-drama of Garhwal that retells the Mahabharata, in which performers are believed to be possessed by the Pandavas.

A religious festival and ritual theatre of the twin villages of Saloor-Dungra in Chamoli, with masked dances and episodes from the Ramayana.

A Jyotirlinga high in the Garhwal Himalaya near the source of the Mandakini, and one of the Chota Char Dham and Panch Kedar. It is open from about April–May to Diwali.

The northern dham of the Char Dham, one of the Chota Char Dham and the first of the Panch Badri, sacred to Vishnu as Badrinarayan. It is open from about April–May to November.

The shrine of Goddess Yamuna near the river's source, the first stop of the Chota Char Dham. Pilgrims cook rice in the hot spring Surya Kund.

The shrine of Goddess Ganga on the Bhagirathi; the glacier at Gaumukh, the river's source, lies about 19 km beyond.

The Maya of the Sapta Puri and a Kumbh Mela city, known for the evening Ganga aarti at Har Ki Pauri.

A Shakti Peetha at Champawat district (identifications differ), where Sati's lower teeth is said to have fallen. The Goddess is worshipped here as Varahi.

The second of the Panch Kedar and the highest Shiva temple in the world, where Shiva's arms are worshipped.

The third of the Panch Kedar, where Shiva's face is worshipped, reached by a long Himalayan trek.

The fourth of the Panch Kedar, where the navel of Shiva is worshipped.

The fifth of the Panch Kedar, where Shiva's matted hair is worshipped; the only one open all year.

One of the Panch Badri, where Vishnu is worshipped in meditation; Badrinath's winter seat.

One of the Panch Badri; tradition holds that it will become the seat of Badrinarayan in a future age.

A World Heritage Site in Chamoli district: the wild basin around Nanda Devi, one of India’s highest peaks, and an alpine valley that blooms with hundreds of wild flowers in the monsoon.

India’s first national park, set up in 1936 as Hailey National Park, in the foothills of Nainital and Pauri districts and known for its tigers.

A stone temple of Shiva high in the Garhwal Himalaya near the source of the Mandakini, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and one of the Char Dham.

A brightly painted temple of Vishnu as Badrinarayan on the Alaknanda river, one of the four dhams of India.

The temple of the goddess Ganga on the Bhagirathi river, and the snout of the Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh, the source of the river.

An ancient pilgrim city where the Ganga leaves the hills, known for the evening Ganga aarti at Har Ki Pauri and the Kumbh Mela.

A town of ashrams and temples on the Ganga at the foot of the Himalaya, known for yoga, meditation and river rafting.

A hill town built around a crescent-shaped lake in Kumaon, once the summer seat of the United Provinces.

More than a hundred stone temples of Shiva in a deodar forest near Almora, built over several centuries in the early medieval period.

High Himalayan wilderness and alpine meadows of rare flowers.

Masked festival of the Saloor-Dungra villages, Chamoli.