Goa is passé, people. I mean, if you haven't been there yet (WHAT? You haven't been to GOA yet?) then that's the first place you should visit. But then there are others who have been there and done that so many times that they're sick of Goa now. The point is, there are a lot of other beautiful places you can choose to visit this holiday season.

Some of these places are beautiful, some absolutely breath-taking. And you owe it to yourself as a traveller to visit all of them at least once in your lifetime.

1. Kerala



God's own country, Kerala, has a charm that is hard to put into words, but I shall try. The backwaters, a network of five large lakes linked by canals, both man-made and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of the Kerala state, is absolute gold. About 1900 kms of water around you to give you the break you've been yearning the entire year.

2. Pondicherry, Puducherry



A 3-hour drive from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, will lead to this sweet surprise called Pondicherry or Puducherry. The French quarters, in particular, is a city in itself. With colonial townhouses painted in yellow and orange, the roads spic and span, the cobbled streets, the sea navy blue, it truly feels like you've entered a European Coastline. Must visit!

4. Rann of Kutch, Gujrat




The arid lands of Kutch creates a mosaic of exquisiteness which reflects the identity and spirit of the region. The flat, tortoise-shaped land (kachbo means tortoise in Gujarati), edged by the Gulf of Kachchh and Great and Little Ranns, is a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar desert. It is the salt collected on the marshy land that gives the desert it's beautiful white colour. If you plan to take a trip to this part of the country on a full moon in December, you will be witnessing Rann Utsav, a three-four day carnival arranged by the locals at various locales within Kutch.