Destinations
Six regions, and why each one is worth the time
Forts, dunes and desert colour
Rajasthan
India's most theatrical state: walled cities, painted havelis and a desert that turns copper at dusk. Best travelled slowly, city to city, by road.
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Backwaters, spice hills and coast
Kerala
A green, water-laced south where houseboats drift past rice paddies and the hills smell of cardamom and rain.
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High desert and cliff monasteries
Ladakh
Above 3,000 metres, Ladakh is bare rock, prayer flags and impossible blue lakes. Altitude decides the pace here, so we build in the days it needs.
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The Ganges and its rituals
Uttar Pradesh
Varanasi, Sarnath and the river that orders daily life. A short trip here changes the way you look at the rest of India.
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Root bridges and cloud forest
North East
Meghalaya and its neighbours: rain-fed forest, caves, clean villages and communities who guide their own visitors.
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Konkan coast, quietly
Goa
Skip the strip. Goa's Portuguese quarters, mangrove creeks and fishing villages make a far better week than its nightlife.
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The wider map
States and cities we travel through
Real places, with what each is known for and when to be there. Anything here can be built into a private itinerary.
Rajasthan
North IndiaDesert forts, painted havelis and Marwari cooking
Jaipur
Best time: October to March
The Pink City mixes Rajput palaces with one of India's liveliest craft economies — block printing, blue pottery and gem cutting all happen within a few kilometres.
- Amber Fort
- Hawa Mahal
- Jantar Mantar
- Johari Bazaar
- Panna Meena ka Kund
Udaipur
Best time: September to March
Lakes, white palaces and hills make Udaipur the softest landing in Rajasthan. Evenings belong to rooftop dinners over Lake Pichola.
- City Palace
- Lake Pichola boat ride
- Jagdish Temple
- Bagore ki Haveli
- Shilpgram
Jodhpur
Best time: October to March
Mehrangarh looms over a sea of indigo houses. The old town is best walked at 7am, when the sweet shops open and the lanes are still cool.
- Mehrangarh Fort
- Blue city lanes
- Toorji ka Jhalra
- Sardar Market
- Bishnoi villages
Jaisalmer
Best time: November to February
A living sandstone fort in the Thar, with camel camps and folk musicians on the dunes an hour away.
- Sonar Qila
- Patwon ki Haveli
- Sam sand dunes
- Gadisar Lake
- Kuldhara ruins
Kerala
South IndiaBackwaters, spice hills and Ayurveda
Kochi
Best time: October to March
Five hundred years of Portuguese, Dutch, Jewish and Malayali life stacked into one harbour town, with India's best contemporary art biennale.
- Fort Kochi
- Chinese fishing nets
- Mattancherry Palace
- Jew Town
- Kathakali evening
Alleppey
Best time: November to February
The backwater capital. Skip the big houseboats and take a country canoe through the narrow canals where villages actually live.
- Canoe canal tour
- Houseboat night
- Marari beach
- Toddy shop lunch
- Snake boat races
Munnar
Best time: September to March
Tea slopes at 1,600m, cardamom air and cold mornings — the easiest hill escape in South India.
- Tea estate walk
- Eravikulam National Park
- Top Station viewpoint
- Spice plantations
Wayanad
Best time: October to May
Forested plateau of coffee farms, tribal heritage and quiet wildlife reserves.
- Edakkal Caves
- Chembra Peak
- Coffee estate stay
- Banasura Sagar Dam
Uttar Pradesh
North IndiaThe Ganga, Mughal architecture and the Buddha's trail
Varanasi
Best time: October to March
One of the oldest continuously lived-in cities on earth. Take a boat at 5:30am and watch the ghats wake up.
- Dashashwamedh aarti
- Sunrise boat ride
- Sarnath
- Silk weaving workshops
- Assi Ghat
Agra
Best time: October to March
Yes, the Taj — but Agra Fort and the quiet marble of Itmad-ud-Daulah are what people remember afterwards.
- Taj Mahal at sunrise
- Agra Fort
- Itmad-ud-Daulah
- Mehtab Bagh
- Fatehpur Sikri
Lucknow
Best time: October to March
Nawabi manners, chikankari embroidery and the most refined kebabs in North India.
- Bara Imambara
- Chowk food walk
- Rumi Darwaza
- Chikankari ateliers
Ladakh
North IndiaHigh desert, Buddhist monasteries and mountain passes
Leh
Best time: June to September
Base camp for the whole region at 3,500m. Give yourself two days to acclimatise before driving anywhere.
- Thiksey Monastery
- Shanti Stupa
- Leh Old Town
- Hemis Festival
- Indus valley drives
Nubra Valley
Best time: June to September
Over Khardung La into a cold desert of sand dunes, double-humped camels and apricot orchards.
- Khardung La
- Hunder dunes
- Diskit Monastery
- Turtuk village
Pangong Tso
Best time: June to September
A 134km lake that changes colour hourly. Stay one night in a village homestay rather than a tent camp.
- Sunrise over the lake
- Chang La pass
- Merak village
- Night skies
Meghalaya
North East IndiaLiving root bridges, waterfalls and Khasi culture
Shillong
Best time: October to April
A hill capital with a serious live-music habit and the friendliest markets in the North East.
- Iewduh market
- Laitlum Canyons
- Elephant Falls
- Café music nights
Cherrapunji
Best time: October to April
One of the wettest places on earth, and the gateway to the double-decker living root bridge trek.
- Nongriat root bridges
- Nohkalikai Falls
- Mawsmai caves
- Rainbow Falls
Dawki & Mawlynnong
Best time: October to April
Glass-clear Umngot river water and Asia's self-declared cleanest village, an hour apart.
- Umngot river boat
- Mawlynnong village
- Sky walk
- Border viewpoints
Goa
West IndiaBeaches, Konkani food and Indo-Portuguese houses
Panjim
Best time: November to February
Fontainhas is the reason to stay in the capital: yellow-and-blue Latin Quarter lanes and old bakeries.
- Fontainhas walk
- Sé Cathedral
- Mandovi ferry
- Goan tavernas
South Goa
Best time: November to March
Palolem to Agonda — long, quiet sand, fishing boats and slow shack lunches.
- Palolem beach
- Cabo de Rama
- Spice farms
- Butterfly beach kayak
Himachal Pradesh
North IndiaHimalayan valleys, Tibetan culture and old trade routes
Dharamshala & McLeod Ganj
Best time: March to June, September to November
Home of the Tibetan government-in-exile, with deodar forests and the Triund ridge above.
- Tsuglagkhang Complex
- Triund trek
- Norbulingka Institute
- Bhagsu falls
Spiti Valley
Best time: June to September
A cold desert of thousand-year-old monasteries, fossil villages and almost no trees.
- Key Monastery
- Chandratal lake
- Langza fossils
- Kibber village
Tamil Nadu
South IndiaTemple towns, Chettinad food and colonial hill stations
Madurai
Best time: November to February
The Meenakshi temple runs the city's clock — visit at the 9pm palli arai closing ceremony.
- Meenakshi Amman Temple
- Flower market
- Thirumalai Nayak Palace
- Jigarthanda stops
Pondicherry
Best time: November to March
French Quarter mustard walls, Tamil quarter courtyards, and the best filter coffee-to-croissant ratio in India.
- White Town walk
- Auroville
- Promenade Beach
- Paradise beach ferry
Maharashtra
West IndiaRock-cut caves, the Sahyadris and a city that never pauses
Mumbai
Best time: November to February
Art Deco seafronts, Koli fishing villages and the best street food crawl in the country.
- Kala Ghoda
- Elephanta Caves
- Dhobi Ghat
- Marine Drive
- Bandra lanes
Aurangabad
Best time: October to March
Base for Ajanta and Ellora — 2,000 years of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock-cut art in one district.
- Ajanta Caves
- Ellora Kailasa temple
- Daulatabad Fort
- Bibi ka Maqbara
West Bengal
East IndiaColonial Calcutta, tea gardens and the Sundarbans
Kolkata
Best time: October to March
Coffee house arguments, Durga Puja pandals and the finest crumbling architecture in India.
- Kumartuli idol makers
- Victoria Memorial
- College Street
- Tram rides
- Bengali thali
Darjeeling
Best time: March to May, October to November
Tea estates, the toy train and Kanchenjunga at dawn if the clouds cooperate.
- Tiger Hill sunrise
- Himalayan Railway
- Happy Valley estate
- Momo houses
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