Homestays

Homestays in different parts of India

1. Namchi, South Sikkim.
2. Thalathoor Heritage, Kasaragod, Kerala.
3. Gitanjali Heritage, Kasargod, Kerala
4. Capella Homestays, Bardez, Goa.
5. Jai Vilas, Jaipur.
6. Cloud End Villa, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
7. Koppal, Karnataka.
8. Rosaville, Shillong, Meghalaya.
9. Manali Meadows, Himachal Pradesh.
10. Cafe Shillong Bed and Breakfast, Shillong.
11. Daragaon Village Retreat, Pelling, Sikkim.
12. Kewzing VillageHomestay, Ravangla, West Sikkim.
13. Bon Farmhouse, Ravangla, West Sikkim.
14. Tathaghata Farm, Mineral spring, Darjeeling.
15. Kuflon Basic House, Uttarkashi.
16. Darang Tea Estate, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh,
17. Sanjivs Aira Home Retreat, Shimla.

Sikkim

Western Sikkim is ideal for trekking owing to high altitudes. It also has many monasteries. here is a list of them.
1. Pemayangtse Monastrey:- 137 kms from Gangtok. One of the oldest monasteries.

2. Pelling: It is a town in the district of West Sikkim at an altitude of 2,150 m. The Himalayas and the    Kanchenjanga may be viewed at close quarters from here.
Pelling Youtube Video

3. Rabdentse ruins . Location: Western Sikkim.close to Pelling.

4. Sanga Choling Monastrey: The Monastery is at a distance of 7 kilometres from Pemayangtse Monastery

5. Kecheopalri Lake
Location: It is located near Khecheopalri village, 147 kilometres (91 mi) west of Gangtok and 34 kilometres (21 mi) to the northwest of Pelling town

6. Yuksom.
Yuksom is the base camp for many treks in Sikkim. One can trek to Tashiding/Dzongri peak/Goecha La from here. You can also trek to Kachupuri lake from Yuksom. Wiki Travel.
7. Dubdi Monastrey

8. Tashiding Monastrey.

9. Ghegzing and  Legship.

Places to visit in Sikkim

The best part of Sikkim is North Sikkim. But remember this place was ravaged by earthquake in 2011.

The places to visit are:

1. Zero Point
2. Gurudongmar Lake
3. Pelling lake
4. Changu Lake

Festivals, Fairs and Music in Indian.

Lo Sar festival- Heralding in year in the Himalayas.  Ladakh

Sikkim snow and cultural festival, Sikkim

Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan.

Hornbill, Nagaland

Sunburn Goa

Rajasthan International folk Festival

NH7 Weekender Goa

Indian Art Fair New Delhi

Singhe Khababs Spring Festival - Sindhu Darshan, Leh Ladakh.

Festivals of Ladakh

Mountain echoes

Desert Festival Jaisalmer: A good article from Times Crest.
Held every year from February 23rd  to 25th.

Attractions:Camel polo, camel dressing, a turban tying competition, and 'Mr Desert' and 'Mr Moustache' contests, Camel race. The festival, however is the Jaisalmer festival is low on glamour quotient. . While Pushkar's Mela attracts about 5 lakh tourists every year, the Jaisalmer Desert festival attracts just about 50, 000 people.

The camel rides at Sam desert and safaris deep into the Thar are favorite with visitors.

For Rs 1, 000-1, 500 you can spend a night in the desert, under the starlit sky, with makeshift bedding and basic cooking. Some local hotels, like Suryagarh, take their guests out for dinner on the dunes. With bonfires blazing, the guests are entertained by Manganyaar singers and Kalbelia dancers even as the hotel staff feeds them the choicest grilled Rajasthani foods.

The walls of cubbyhole houses are painted a bright blue, green and even pink, and the narrow cobbled lanes are refreshingly cool, windy and winding. They are crammed with souvenir shops, cows, bikes and bicycles. If you want to buy something pick up a 'dahi' bowl made from 'fossil stone'. You can apparently curdle milk in it without adding curds.

A number of fossils have been unearthed from here. The collection which include sea shells tree trunks have been housed at a nearby village at Akal.

Music Festivals

Escape Festival: Music by the lake! It is a potpourri of music, art, comedy, photography and painting held in the cool environs of  The Lake Resort, Naukuchiatal, in the month of May.

India's largest festival for Bikers. It is a festival of bikes, bikers and music.

lShad Suk Mynsiem festiva- Shillong

A three day dance festival the  Shad Suk Mynsiem (Dance of Happy Hearts) takes place i n the month of April. This year was the 102nd anniversary of the festival which started in the year 1911.

Shad Suk Mynsiem is an annual thanksgiving dance festival performed by the people of the Khasi tribe. With the departure of winter the tribe offer prayer to God for a bumper harvest. Both men and women, in traditional dresses, dance to the beat of the drums and Tangmuri- a musical pipe popularly considered as a queen of musical instruments.