Indien

Strung out along a ridge with steep forested hillsides falling away in all directions, the Himachal capital is one of India's most popular hill resorts, buzzing with a happy flow of heat-escaping Indian vacationers. Traffic is banned from the central part of town, so walking is pleasant – even when huffing and puffing uphill. The long, winding main street, The Mall, runs east and west just below the spine of the hill. South of it, the maze-like alleys and stairways of the bustling bazaar cascade steeply down to Cart Rd.

Here is India's archetypal land of maharajas and medieval forts, palaces and tigers, and kaleidoscopic festivals. Rajasthan really is the jewel in India's crown.

The cities and sites of eastern Rajasthan are easily accessible from Jaipur, as well as Agra and Delhi (all stops on the Golden Triangle). For immersion in history, see Alwar and Deeg’s evocative palaces, plus the magnificent forts at Bharatpur and Ranthambhore.

A little-developed shoreline running south from Mumbai all the way to Goa, this picturesque strip of coast is peppered with picture-postcard beaches, fishing villages and magnificent ruined forts. Travelling through this tropical backwater can be sheer bliss, whether you're off to dabble in the sands with Mumbaikars in Ganpatipule, visiting the stunning Janjira Fort at Murud-Janjira or heading into the blue at Malvan, the last beach town of significance before the sands give way to Goa.

Från valhajar i januari till leguaner i december. Vi listar spektakulära möten med vilda djur. Året runt!

South India’s most popular wildlife reserve, Periyar, encompasses 777 sq km, including a 26-sq-km 1895 artificial lake created by the British. This vast expanse – which became Kerala's first tiger reserve in 1978 (though founded as a sanctuary in 1934) – shelters wild boar, sambar, bison, langur, 2000 elephants and 35 to 40 hard-to-spot tigers. It's firmly established on both the Indian and foreigner tourist trails and known for its scenic lake cruise. But if you dig deeper, perhaps on a trek with a tribal villager or an ex-poacher, Periyar's hilly jungle scenery takes on a wild, magical feel. Bring warm, waterproof clothing.

Steeped in history yet overflowing with modern life, colorful, cacophonous Delhi pulsates with the relentless rhythms of humanity like few other cities on Earth.

Spectacularly jagged, arid mountains enfold this magical Buddhist ex-kingdom. Picture-perfect gompas (Tibetan Buddhist monasteries) dramatically crown rocky outcrops next to fluttering prayer flags and whitewashed stupas, while prayer wheels spun clockwise release merit-making mantras. Gompa interiors are a riot of golden Buddhas and intricately colourful murals and home to red-robed monks. It's a little corner of Tibet marooned in the furthest reaches of India.

India’s third-largest city is a daily festival of human existence, simultaneously noble and squalid, cultured and desperate, decidedly futuristic though still in transition. By its old spelling, Calcutta readily conjures images of human suffering to most Westerners – although that's not a complete picture of this 330-year-old metropolis. Locally, Kolkata is regarded as India’s intellectual, artistic and cultural capital. Although poverty is certainly apparent, the self-made middle class drives the city's core machinery, a nascent hipster culture thrives among its millennial residents and its dapper Bengali gentry frequent grand colonial-era clubs.

Följ med till en myllrande megastad med kaféer, skuggiga trottoarer och egensinnig matkultur. Den forna imperiehuvudstaden är känd för sin fattigdom men kallas också The city of joy – njutningarnas stad.