Indien

North Goa is the Goa you might have heard all about: crowded beaches, upbeat nightlife, Goan trance, cosmopolitan cuisine, hippie markets and yoga retreats. If you like a fast pace and plenty of things to do, this is the place.

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.

Massage, yoga, vegetarisk mat och örtmediciner. Låter det som något du skulle kunna prova på under en semester i Indien? I så fall kommer du älska ayurveda!

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.

The beating heart of India, this incredible neighborhood will knock you sideways with the power of its sights, sounds and smells, and with its unrelenting chaos. But if you can survive that first hit, you'll soon realize you've just landed in one of the world's truly special places. Prepare to be amazed.

Set on a magnificent estuary, serene Kochi has been drawing traders, explorers and travelers to its shores for over 600 years. Nowhere else in India could you find such an intriguing mix: giant Chinese fishing nets, a 450-year-old synagogue, ancient mosques, Portuguese and Dutch colonial-era houses, and the crumbling remains of the colonial British Raj. The result is an unlikely blend of medieval Portugal and Holland and an English village grafted onto the tropical Malabar Coast. It’s a delightful place to explore, laze in arty cafes and relax at some of India’s finest homestays and heritage hotels. It's also an important centre for Keralan arts (traditional and contemporary) and a standout place to see Kathakali and kalarippayat.

Vandra i världens högsta bergskedja, ro på världens heligaste flod, upplev världens äldsta gränder och ett av världens sju underverk. Ta del av Vagabonds bästa tips på en långresa genom Indien, Nepal, Maldiverna och Sri Lanka.

The union territory of Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry; generally known as ‘Pondy’) was under French colonial rule until 1954. Some people here still speak French (and English with French accents). The internationally famous Sri Aurobindo Ashram and its offshoot just north of town, Auroville, draw large numbers of spiritually-minded visitors. Thus Pondy’s vibe: less faded colonial-era ville, more bohemian-chic, New Age–meets–Old World hang-out on the international travel trail.

Few places in India are at once so traveler friendly and enchanting as mountain-framed Leh. Dotted with stupas and whitewashed houses, the Old Town is dominated by a dagger of steep rocky ridge topped by an imposing Tibetan-style palace and fort. Beneath, the bustling bazaar area is draped in a thick veneer of tour agencies, souvenir shops and tandoori-pizza restaurants, but a web of lanes quickly fans out into a green suburban patchwork of irrigated barley fields. Here, gushing streams and narrow footpaths link traditionally styled Ladakhi garden homes that double as charming, inexpensive guesthouses. Leh’s a place that’s all too easy to fall in love with – but take things very easy on arrival as the altitude requires a few days' acclimatization before you can safely start enjoying the area's gamut of adventure activities.

With sublime silken-blonde beaches, twinkling teal shallows and some of the best diving in South Asia, thickly forested Havelock (Swaraj) enjoys the well-deserved reputation of being a travellers' paradise. Indeed, for many, Havelock is the Andamans – it's what lures most visitors across the Bay of Bengal, many of them content to stay here for the entirety of their trip.