It?s that time of the year when you make plans to head for cooler climes to beat the heat of the plains. Find out which are the destinations corporates and inveterate travellers root for when they think of a holiday in India.

Madhabi Puri Buch,

Executive Director,

ICICI director, ICICI Bank Ltd, says the Buchs are a beach family. ?However, the hill station I am fond of is Coonoor in the Nilgiris. I love the journey to get to Coonoor. After touching down at Coimbatore airport, one drives down past wooded hills, flowing streams with the cool wind blowing on the face. There are lovely forest pathways that one can go walking on for hours and stumble upon spectacular greenery and flowers. If one likes to see manicured nature, there are the tea gardens, but I prefer going for long walks. The best food available here is in the small unpretentious restaurants which serve clean, good and some delectable fare.?

Ashwini Kakkar,

Executive Vice Chairman,

Mercury Travels

reels off his favourite hill stations in quick succession. Yet, there are favourites. ?There are a number of beautiful places in India to travel to during the summer. If you go up north to Kashmir, there is this beautiful stretch of Srinagar and Gulmarg where there is snow for most parts of the year. Kashmir is truly the Switzerland of the East. I went to Kashmir for the first time on my honeymoon. Ever since, I have gone there many times and there is something new to see everytime. It is a magical place. The Wazwan ? Kashmiri cuisine is a meal to be experienced. There is the world famous gushtaba (pounded meat balls in a curry gravy) to be savoured. The food is rich with almonds and saffron, and there is a lot of red meat. You must have the kahwa ? Kashmiri green tea ? once at least. The heat from the sigris, the cold, the scenic beauty ? all these are unique experiences. Kashmir, to me, is a must-do once in a lifetime, clich?-ridden though that term is.

?If it is down South that you want to go to this summer, then Nilgiri Hills, Ooty, Kodaikannal and Munnar are the places. Choose from any one or visit all of them. The tea and coffee plantations, not to forget the finest peaberry blue in the world, the huge green vistas off the plantations, the lakes, the early morning nip in the air ? hill stations down South offer all these and one can come back rejuvenated.?

Venugopal Dhoot,

Chairman, Videocon Group

prefers to go for a combination of the spiritual with the physical when choosing his favourite destinations. ?Mansarovar is my favourite. One can enjoy the quietness of a hill station and savour the beauty of Gangotri here. It is a sacred spot. When I go on a holiday, I believe the mind and the body should be relaxed.? Dhoot says some the best spots in India that are comparable to Switzerland can be found in Kulu Manali. ?The cool climate and natural beauty all around are very refreshing. I love going for walks, swimming and sitting on the hills and meditating here.?

Rahul Bose,

Actor, die-hard Traveller, says Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh is what he would pick. ?There are a lot of emotions woven around the place. My family lives here. I have been here since I was four years old and have been coming here three to four times a year for the past 36 years. The place has remained untouched and unspoilt since I was four. Not a blade of grass has changed. There is so much one can do in Kasauli. One can take long walks, at the Kasauli Club, one can play squash and tennis. The best gulab jamuns are available here and are made by the world famous Jagdish at the lower mall. It has a smoky sweetness to it, unlike the sharp, cloying taste in other places.?

If you like going South, then Munnar is a must, says Bose. He shot for Santosh Sivan?s film, Before the Rains here. ?I went there in January when it was freezing. We stayed at the Munnar Highland Club. It is a beautiful place. If you are fond of artificial, manicured beauty then there are the tea plantations, but besides that, there are shining lakes and it is an experience watching mist rise off the waters. The lovely buffet at the Club was special, but the local cuisine is delicious. There are old English homes tucked away in the mountains and they are good for home stays, though the hill station is more famous for its tea plantations and ayurveda.?

George Johny

Vice President,

Business Development, Adventity India surmises that revisiting a holiday destination is to do with memories. He plumps for Mahabaleshwar, Maharastra. ?I remember the family outing we had in Mahableshwar a few years ago. It was memorable,? he fondly recalls. ?Mahabaleshwar is the quickest getaway for anyone living a hectic lifestyle in Mumbai. Its close proximity to Mumbai is a big high. In a matter of few hours, one gets there. There are a number of good hotels here, the different views from the hilltops is splendid and the surroundings are serene. I like the fact that one does not really have to think and plan a lot to go there.?

Homi Adajania,

Director, Travel Writer, Photographer has a cache full of memories and votes for Panchgani in Maharashtra. ?It heads my list for a variety of personal reasons. I used to have a beautiful place there where we would spend several monsoon holidays. I got married on the top of the valley front there, and a large part of my film, Being Cyrus, was shot there. Unlike Mahableshwar, it doesn?t get inundated in the monsoon. It?s a writer?s haven. If you?re up for it, you can go tracking Indian Bison in the jungle. Or just kick back and listen to the relentless ?Whistling Schoolboy? (bird) searching for a tune as thick fog rolls through the house.

Arpit Agarwal,

MD & Group CEO, Financial Services, Dawnay Day AV India Advisors Pvt Ltd says if it is a hill station, it has to be Shimla.

?The place is cool, there is a nip in the air and this is exciting when one is on a holiday. For a significant part of the year, the climate is good in Shimla. The access to Shimla from Chandigarh is just a matter of two and a half hours and one is there. Enroute to Shimla, one can stop and look at the speciality shops which sell pickles and other preserved foods, the dhaabas on the way rustle up sumptuous meals and when one finally is in Shimla, the mountains, and the snowfall only provide more magic.?