Indien

Bharatpur is famous for its wonderful Unesco-listed Keoladeo National Park, a wetland and significant bird sanctuary. If here for the park, the city also has a few historic vestiges and a good museum worth visiting too. Bharatpur hosts the boisterous and colourful Brij Festival just prior to Holi celebrations.

Dharamsala (also spelled Dharamshala) is known as the home of the Dalai Lama, though in fact the Tibetan spiritual leader is based about two miles up the hill in McLeod Ganj, and that's where most visitors are heading. Dharamsala proper is a market town mostly useful for bus connections.

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.

The state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) brings together three incredibly different worlds. Jammu and Katra, in the south, are the state's rail hubs and a major draw for domestic pilgrims. Kashmir Valley is India's Switzerland, attracting local tourists seeking cool summer air, alpine scenery and Srinagar’s romantic houseboat accommodation. And then there's the Himalayan land of Ladakh, which for most foreigners is J&K’s greatest attraction. Its ethnolinguistically Tibetan people are predominantly Buddhist; their timeless monasteries are set between arid canyons and soaring peaks, while emerald-green villages nestle photogenically in highland deserts.

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.

Steeped in history, thronged with people and buzzing with commerce, the Old City of Hyderabad is one of India's most evocative ancient quarters. Exploring the lanes of this district, with its chai shops and spice merchants, you'll encounter a teeming urban masala of colour and commerce. Looming over the Old City is some of Islamic India's most impressive architecture, in varying states of repair. Most visitors concentrate their time in this area, though the magnificent Golconda Fort should not be missed either.

A kaleidoscopic blend of Indian and Portuguese cultures, sweetened with sun, sea, sand, seafood, susegad and spirituality, Goa is India's pocket-sized paradise.

Separating the Assam valley from the plains of Bangladesh, hilly Meghalaya (‘the abode of clouds’) is a cool, pine-fresh mountain state set on dramatic horseshoes of rocky cliffs. Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram are among the wettest places on Earth; most of the rain falls between June and September, creating very impressive waterfalls and carving out some of Asia’s longest caves.

Loket frustar otåligt. Så tar det sats och börjar skjuta sina rangliga trävagnar uppför de gröna sluttningarna i Blå bergen. Så värst fort går det inte. Men vad gör det? Det här är en sådan där tågresa som man inte vill ska ta slut.

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.