Buxa Fort

History and nature collide at this crumbling fort, perched at 867 metres (2,844 ft). The fort, accessed by a 4-km uphill trek from the village of Santrabari, has a layered, poignant past. Once a guard post for the Silk Route to Tibet, it was later used by the British as a notoriously high-security prison for Indian freedom fighters, including Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. After 1959, it served as a refugee camp for Tibetans fleeing their homeland. The trek up is steep but shaded, and the ruins, now being reclaimed by moss and roots, are incredibly atmospheric.