Indien

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.

Orchha could make towns many times its size green with jealousy. At heart, Orchha is nothing but a tiny, agricultural village that shouldn't really be of much interest to anyone, but it was blessed by history: for nearly 300 years it was one of the most important urban areas in this part of India. This has left the small town with a supreme display of Mughal-influenced Rajput architecture in the shape of spectacular palaces, temples and royal chhatris (cenotaphs). And thanks to an important temple dedicated to Rama, it's also a major pilgrimage and spiritual centre. Combine these with a laid-back atmosphere, some fabulous accommodation options, as well as opportunities to enjoy the surrounding pastoral countryside, with walking, cycling and rafting all on the agenda, and you'll understand why Orchha can be considered one of the highlights of Madhya Pradesh.

Ena dagen mitt i de myllrande basarerna i Indiens hektiska huvudstad. Andra dagen långt ute i den ödsliga öknen, bland sanddyner och kameler. Per J Andersson tar Ökenexpressen till Jaisalmer.

With shimmering turquoise waters fringed by primeval jungle, fantastic diving, and sugar-white, sun-toasted beaches melting under flame-and-purple sunsets, the far-flung Andaman Islands are the perfect Indian escape.

Varanasi is the India of your imagination. This is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities, and one of the holiest in Hinduism. Pilgrims come to the Ganges here to wash away sins in the sacred waters, to cremate their loved ones, or simply to die here, hoping for liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

Welcome to the British Raj. New Delhi was designed on an imperial scale after George V decided to move the capital of British India from Calcutta to here in 1911. Much of the colonial footprint remains today, including the circular, colonnaded shopping precinct Connaught Place, the imposing government buildings that look out along Rajpath, and the rambling bungalows, some of which now house museums.

Chennai may be the capital of Tamil Nadu, but Madurai claims its soul. Madurai is Tamil-born and Tamil-rooted, one of the oldest cities in India, a metropolis that traded with ancient Rome and was a great capital long before Chennai was even dreamed of.

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.

Delstaten Goa på Indiens västkust är sedan länge känd för sin festliga och avslappnade atmosfär. Men nu har myndigheterna infört förbud mot både alkohol och grillning på stränderna.

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.