MANA ICONS OF INDIA

For the third part of the Icons of India series, Dhruv Saxena heads out with the Hyundai Tucson driving alongside the Alaknanda River deep into the mountains of Uttarakhand

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As part of the Icons of India series with Hyundai, we’re exploring the country’s culture, heritage and diversity visiting some of its most iconic sites. Mana, a small village high up in the mountains of Uttarakhand has, over the years, become an icon of India gaining popularity as the ‘last Indian village’ owing to its proximity with the IndoTibetan border. A signage put in place by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) with these very words has welcomed many a traveller over the years becoming iconic in its own right. Recently, Mana was given a rebranding of sorts as the ‘first Indian village’. The signage has been changed to reflect the same as pictured on the opening pages of this story. A chance to tick Mana off our bucket list, an opportunity to get away from Delhi NCR’s sweltering heat, and a competent SUV in the form of the Hyundai Tucson complete with an intelligent all wheel drive system, Hyundai’s HTRAC, all the right ingredients were in place for a trip to Mana to highlight its status as an Icon of India.