Indien

Indien lämnar ingen oberörd, inte ens den mest luttrade resenären. Marcus Westberg gjorde en indisk rundresa som bjöd på snabba kast. Från yoga bland palmerna till stökiga nattbussfärder. Men till slut så kapitulerade även han inför Indiens skönhet. De flesta brukar göra det.

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.

Välkommen in i en myllrande verkstad som upptar en hel stadsdel i norra Kolkata. I Kumortuli ser man vidden av festivaler, firanden och den indiska gudavärlden – här tillverkas nämligen skulpturer för hinduismens miljoner gudar och att vandra genom kvarter och gränder är konstnärligt och kulturellt häpnadsväckande.

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.

For many visitors, particularly cashed-up young Indian tourists from Bangalore and Mumbai plus Europeans on package holidays, this is Goa’s party strip, where the raves and hippies have made way for modern thumping nightclubs and wall-to-wall drinking. The Calangute market area and the main Baga road can get very busy but everything you could ask for – from a Thai massage to a tattoo – is in close proximity and the beach is lined with an excellent selection of increasingly sophisticated restaurant shacks with sunbeds, wi-fi and attentive service.

When Swiss architect Le Corbusier was commissioned with the job of designing Chandigarh from scratch in 1950, he conceived a people-oriented city of sweeping boulevards, lakes, gardens and grand civic buildings, executed in his favourite material: reinforced concrete. Seventy years on and the parks, monuments and civic squares are all still here, albeit somewhat aged.

Rimmed by layers of alpine peaks, the 140km-long Kashmir Valley opens up as a giant, beautiful bowl of lakes and orchards. Tin-roofed villages guard terraced paddy fields delineated by apple groves and pin-straight poplars. Proudly independent-minded Kashmiris mostly follow a Sufi-based Islamic faith, worshipping in distinctive wooden mosques with central spires, and they are fiercely proud of their homeland. It's a stunningly beautiful place, but one wracked by political violence in recent decades.

The historic settlement of Mysuru (which changed its name from Mysore in 2014) is one of South India's most enchanting cities, famed for its glittering royal heritage and magnificent monuments and buildings. Its World Heritage–listed palace brings most travelers here, but Mysuru is also rich in tradition, with a deeply atmospheric bazaar district replete with spice stores and incense stalls. Ashtanga yoga is another drawcard and there are several acclaimed schools that attract visitors from across the globe.

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.

Irreverent, cheerful and pleasantly boisterous, Sikkim’s modern capital is layered along a precipitous mountain ridge, descending the hillside in steep tiers. Viewpoints survey plunging green valleys that remain beautiful even when partly shrouded in mist. If the weather plays ball, look for glimpses of snow-topped Khangchendzonga on the distant skyline. More than specific sights, Gangtok is appealing as a place for post-trek R & R or for meeting fellow travelers to organise group tours and permits. The city's mostly pedestrianised social-commercial heart is Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Marg, packed with restaurants, shops, travel agents and a bustling early-evening passeggiata of relaxed wanderers. High above, the contrastingly calm central ridgetop links manicured gardens and an almost jungle-like area around the Chogyal Palace (former royal residence).