Manali has witnessed a flurry of activity related to hydroelectric power and tourism. Unplanned and rampant construction has led to severe depletion of forests and pollution of river bodies, along with garbage being disposed on the side of the mountains. There has been a loss of habitat to various species of fauna, not limited to the Himalayan Monal, incidentally the state bird of Himachal Pradesh. This prompted the National Green Tribunal to intervene and limit vehicular movement on the popular Manali - Rohtang Pass highway, as well as Solang Valley. This has somewhat arrested the damage. However, a lot still needs to be done.

Jaipur is the capital of India’s Rajasthan state. It evokes the royal family that once ruled the region and that, in 1727, founded what is now called the Old City, or “Pink City” for its trademark building color. At the center of its stately street grid (notable in India) stands the opulent, colonnaded City Palace complex. With gardens, courtyards and museums, part of it is still a royal residence.

Ajmer is a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. South of the city's artificial Ana Sagar Lake is Ajmer Sharif Dargah, the domed shrine of the Muslim Sufi saint Garib Nawaz. Nearby, a 16th-century palace built by the Mughal emperor Akbar now houses the Ajmer Government Museum, displaying armor and stone sculptures. A museum at the Indo-Saracenic–style Mayo College exhibits art and taxidermied birds.

Nainital is a Himalayan resort town in the Kumaon region of India’s Uttarakhand state, at an elevation of roughly 2,000m. Formerly a British hill station, it’s set around Nainital Lake, a popular boating site with Naina Devi Hindu Temple on its north shore. A cable car runs to Snow View observation point (at 2,270m), with vistas over the town and mountains including Nanda Devi, Uttarakhand’s highest peak.