Indien

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.

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.

Ringed by an arc of green mountains, Srinagar's greatest drawcard is mesmerizingly placid Dal Lake, on which a bright array of stationary houseboats and shikara (gondola-like boats) add a splash of color and a unique opportunity for romantic chill-outs. Charming Mughal gardens dot the lake's less urbanized eastern shore; while the old town bustles with Central Asian–style bazaars and a collection of soulful Sufi shrines, as well as a fortress and many historic wooden mosques. Add in a mild summer climate, feisty Kashmiri cuisine and famous local apples, walnuts and almonds, and you have one of India’s top tourist draws.

Explore beyond the city center in Mumbai and you'll uncover furious energy, unique bazaars, hidden temples, hipster enclaves and India's premier restaurants and nightlife.

Varför inte kombinera semesterresan med en helande retreat? I sydindiska Kerala ordineras massage, yoga, vegetarisk mat och örtmediciner under de vajande kokospalmerna.

India's most titillating town is famed far and wide for the erotic stone carvings that swathe Khajuraho’s three groups of World Heritage–listed temples. The Western Group of temples, in particular, contains some stunning sculptures that together make up some of the finest temple art in the world.

Separated from fertile Lahaul by the soaring 4551m Kunzum Pass, the trans-Himalayan region of Spiti is another chunk of Tibet marooned within India, a kind of 'mini-Ladakh' with fewer tourists. The scattered villages in this serrated moonscape arrive like mirages while the turquoise-grey ribbon of the Spiti River is your near-constant companion, albeit sometimes way below in precipitous gorges.

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.

Hyderabad, one of Islamic India's greatest cities, is reason enough on its own to visit this region. Its skyline is a sight to behold, defined by the great domes and minarets of ancient mosques, mausoleums and palaces of once-mighty dynasties. Delve inside the city's fabled old quarter for fascinating street markets, Sufi shrines, teahouses and biryani restaurants. Meanwhile, Hyderabad's newer districts are awash with the upmarket restaurants of IT-fuelled economic advancement.

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.