
For many people, India conjures up images of crowded streets, ancient temples and colourful fabrics.

But there is a hidden side to the country that's far away from the usual bustle.

Journeying to remote corners of the country, including Karnataka in the south and the Himalayas in the north, photographer Neelima Vallangi has discovered a part of India that's peaceful and serene.

She spent a lot of time hiking and travelling to remote corners of the country to explore India's natural diversity.

Vallangi, 30, said: 'For the longest time, I shied away from travelling in India. Only when I travelled in 2008 to the Himalayas, I discovered India's silent places. Places full of character yet devoid of the crowd that has become synonymous with my country.

'The stunning diversity in the landscapes was a revelation. From Himalayas to deserts and evergreen forests to pristine beaches, it was almost as if there was a whole wide world to explore here. In my quest my avoid throngs of people as much as possible, I started straying away as far as possible from the mainstream and thus began my journey to discover another India.'

Pin river meanders through the high mountains of Pin Valley in Himachal Pradesh, a remote part of northern India with Tibetan influences

The lush jungles of Western Ghats are home to waterfalls like the Sathodi Falls in Karnataka. The region is perhaps more closely associated with its beaches and monuments

Sunset over the dense forests at the remote Indo-Bangladesh border at Meghalaya. Neelima Vallangi spent a lot of time hiking to these far-away places

In the bone chilling winters of Ladakh, where temperatures fall to -40 degrees Celsius, Pangong Lake freezes over completely creating a stunning pattern on ice

Closer to Thailand than India, the Andaman and Nicobar islands are a group of around 500 islands with pristine beaches and lush forests

Dead trees on the coast of Long Island, one of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The 2004 Tsunami rocked the Indian islands so hard that salt watered entered the trees at the roots slowly killing them

Rightly known as 'heaven on earth', this is half frozen alpine lake in the meadows of Kashmir looks almost surreal as the peaks throw their reflections into the water

The turquoise-coloured Gurudongmar Lake in Sikkim is an incredible 17,800 feet above sea level. It is one of the world's highest lakes

Fed by generous monsoons, Kumaradhara River tumbles down the fall, splitting the lush green forest in two with its gushing rapids

A fairy tale landscape in the jungles of Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh. The magical forests inspired Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book

As if leaping out of a page of the Jungle Book, a deer is spotted amongst the forests of Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh

Uttarakhand offers jaw-dropping views of the Himalayan ranges. At sunset, the mountains take on a postcard quality with shades of pink and blue

At a height of 14,100 feet, Pangong Tso, an endorheic high-altitude lake shared between India and China, has a reputation for showing all the possible shades of blue over the course of a day

The night sky as seen on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Far from the crowds and city lights, a universe of stars show up brightly

The sky-high cedar trees in the hills of Banjar Valley, one of the most beautiful and pristine regions of Himachal Pradesh, would make anyone feel dwarfed

After a night of heavy snowfall in Kinnaur district of Himalayas, the mountains transform into a landscape full of colourful contrasts

Nomads of Changthang plateau returning to their base after assisting a group with a week long hike in the high altitude region of Ladakh and Spiti

Lush rolling grasslands in Kudremukh National Park, Karnataka, captured when the sun just peeks out from between the storm clouds

The Sharavathi River winds through the dense forests of Western Ghats in Karnataka. It feels serene and peaceful compared to the bustling cities