India

The best Indian itineraries are the simplest. It just isn't possible to see everything in a single expedition, even if you spent a year trying! It’s far better to concentrate on one or two specific regions and, above all, to be flexible. Madurai, in the far south, is probably the most stunning town in the region, and you could spend weeks wandering between the sacred sites of the Cauvery Delta and the fragrant Nilgiri Hills, draped in the tea terraces that have become the hallmark of South Indian landscapes.

Kerala, near the southernmost tip of the subcontinent, is India at its most tropical and relaxed, lush backwaters teeming with simple wooden craft of all shapes and sizes, and red-roofed towns and villages all but invisible beneath a canopy of palm trees. From the spectacular Himalayas to the beaches of Goa, India has something for everyone.