These two Indian places are among TIME’s ‘World's greatest destinations 2023’
On Ladakh, the TIME said, “with its astonishing alpine landscapes and Tibetan Buddhist culture, Ladakh—in the farthest-flung part of North India—has enough wonders to warrant multiple visits.”
In TIME magazine’s ‘50 extraordinary destinations to explore’ list, two Indian places namely Ladakh and Odisha’s Mayurbhanj were included. The magazine noted that the list was made from ‘solicited nominations of places from their international network of correspondents and contributors, with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences.’
The full list of ‘extraordinary destinations to explore’ in 2023:
1. Tampa, Florida
2. Willamette Valley, Oregon
3. Rio Grande, P. R.
4. Tucson, Arizona
5. Yosemite National Park, California
6. Bozeman, Montana
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Vancouver
9. Churchill, Manitoba
10. Dijon, France
11. Pantelleria, Italy
12. Naples, Italy
13. Aarhus, Denmark
14. St. Moritz, Switzerland
15. Barcelona
16. Timisoara, Romania
17. Sylt, Germany
18. Berat, Albania
19. Budapest
20. Vienna
21. Brisbane, Australia
22. Kangaroo Island, Australia
23. Dominica
24. Mexico City
25. Guadalajara, Mexico
26. Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
27. Pantanal, Brazil
28. Medellín, Colombia
29. Ollantaytambo, Peru
30. Roatán, Honduras
31. Ladakh, India
32. Mayurbhanj, India
33. Kyoto
34. Nagoya, Japan
35. Isan, Thailand
36. Phuket, Thailand
37. Jeju Island, South Korea
38. Luang Prabang, Laos
39. Giza and Saqqara, Egypt
40. Chyulu Hills, Kenya
41. Musanze, Rwanda
42. Rabat, Morocco
43. Dakar, Senegal
44. Loango National Park, Gabon
45. Freetown Peninsula, Sierra Leone
46. The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
47. Aqaba, Jordan
48. Jerusalem
49. Sharjah, UAE
50. Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia
On Ladakh, the TIME said, “with its astonishing alpine landscapes and Tibetan Buddhist culture, Ladakh—in the farthest-flung part of North India—has enough wonders to warrant multiple visits.”
In 2023, India designated its first Dark Sky Reserve, in Hanle village, about 168 miles southeast of Leh, Ladakh’s capital. The village has roughly 270 clear nights a year, making it ideal for astronomical splendor, it added.
While listing Mayurbhanj, the magazine noted, “the only place on earth to spot the exceedingly rare black tiger is open to visitors again. Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj, an under-the-radar region in India’s eastern state of Odisha, reopened in November with strict restrictions to the number of daily visitors—only 60 vehicle entry permits are available each day—in order to safeguard its sprawling delicate ecosystem, home to over 40 mammals including Asian elephants and Bengal tigers.”
