The forests of Jharkhand. Caravan tours in Maharashtra. Premium properties at the picturesque hill stations of Kerala. Adrenaline rush in Himachal Pradesh.

Foreign locales are always much coveted at the biggest travel fest in eastern India. But Indian destinations are not to be left behind.

The second day of Anandabazar Patrika Tourist Spot 2025 saw many enquiring about domestic trips for Puja and winter vacations.

The three-day fest has more than 160 stalls, most of them set up by tour operators.

The fest is supported by the Union tourism ministry and the IRCTC and partnered by the Travel Agents Association of Bengal.

The tourism boards of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala and Telangana are participating in the fair.

At the Jharkhand Tourism stall, the top enquiries were about Netarhat, Ranchi and Betla.

“We are mainly getting queries about hilly areas, forests as well as waterfalls in Jharkhand. There is a good response for these places,” said Shankar Roy, managing director at Ghoom Ke Dekho, a Jharkhand-based tour operator.

At the Jharkhand stall, visitors were given 3D glasses for a virtual tour of the places.

Surendar Bhattacharya, owner of Maa Jagadhatri Tours and Travels, said Himachal Pradesh was a crowd-favourite. The most enquired destinations in Himachal Pradesh were
Shimla, Kullu-Manali and Kinnaur, he said.

“People of every age are coming and are inquiring about Shimla and Kullu-Manali. We provide adventure sports also in our tour package, which includes river rafting at Kullu, paragliding and horse riding,” he said.

Manish Sen, 39, who came from Dum Dum with his wife Leena and five-year-old son, said Himachal was on their bucket list.

“The last tour we had was in December 2024 to Darjeeling and Kalimpong. We are looking for some destinations in Himachal Pradesh now,” said Sen, who is an IT employee at Webel.

“We want to go in December. We have a large group that includes senior citizens as well,” he added.

Vijay Jadhav, deputy director of tourism for Maharashtra, said the state has introduced caravan tours to make travel more flexible and comfortable.

“On a caravan, tourists can spend quality time together. They don’t need hotels to stay. A caravan also has a kitchen. Tourists can cook food if they want,” said Jadhav.

Many enquiries at the Maharashtra stall were about Pune, Lonavala and Ellora. “It is the monsoon season that attracts tourists to Lonavala,” he added.

Aurangabad, home to the Unesco World Heritage Sites of the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, is also very popular among tourists from Bengal, he said.

Ramprasad Haldar, 55, an LIC employee who recently visited Kashmir before the Pahalgam terror attack, said his next travel destination is north Bengal.

“We are planning to visit north Bengal, especially the Dooars region. Darjeeling is also in the wishlist,” he said.