India

India is the travel equivalent of Marmite – visitors tend to love it or hate it. But even those in the latter camp can’t fail to be bowled over by its unique ingredients: the vivid colour palette, the high volume (from Bollywood tunes to rickshaw horns), the sheer onslaught of humanity – spilling out of temples, through bazaars and onto the mind-boggling network of trains.

Indeed, with more than a billion residents, it is India’s people who are the country’s most absorbing aspect – from the south’s vegetarian Hindus to Mumbai’s high-flying elite to the practically Tibetan mountain dwellers in the north. Come prepared to meet them all, frequently – this is not a nation of shy, retiring types.

Having said that, you can find moments of quiet reflection even within this maelstrom. Cities such as Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai are heaving (which is part of their appeal), but out in the countryside you’ll find hills to hide in (both at Raj-era retreats or remote valley villages), beaches that are little trampled and some of the most awesome – and deserted – high-mountain scenery in the world.

Of course, if you like your wilderness more densely populated, India’s many national parks and reserves – Ranthambhore, Kaziranga, Kanha, the Sunderbans… – are overflowing with life, from flurries of rainbow-feathered birds to those sometimes-elusive tigers. India: it’s indescribable, brash, seething, frustrating but always utterly fascinating.

 

THE BASICS

Discover India's highlights, the best times to go and some top tips for when you arrive

Unmissable India

Offbeat India

Where to go when

India survival guide

 

 

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