HIMACHAL PRADESH

For a long time, the quaint village of Andretta was one of Himachal Pradesh’s best-kept secrets—until Irish-born actor Norah Richards arrived here in 1920 and set up an artists’ colony. Today, Andretta is home to the oldest pottery studio in the country,

starts from 19,000/USD260; tigertrailstadoba.com).

Andretta Pottery also offers a three-month residential course that starts twice a year—April and September.

GETTING THERE:

You can reach Andretta by road from Delhi in 12 hours (468 km). The nearest airport in Gaggal is two hours away (50 km) and has regular flights from Delhi.

The three-month package at Andretta Pottery includes tuition fees, food, and stay (` 1,20,000/ USD1,664; andrettapottery.business.site). If you’re just visiting, The Mirage – Andretta is a nice stay option ( starts from 3,675/USD51; mirageandretta.com).