The jewel in the crown was never just a country: India is a world in itself, a vast, indefinable, and incomparable landmass, where princes still play polo on elephant back, and one horned rhino roam. From the deserts of Rajasthan to the High Himalayas, India beguiles you with uncountable adventures.
Varanasi has been the cultural centre of North India for millennia and it might be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. The sacred Ganges flows through Varanasi, making it an important pilgrimage site, but for non-Hindus, the attraction is the history and witnessing living rites.
India is a land of fairytales, where princes still live in palaces and fortresses, and holy men covered only in ash and prayer beads prostrate themselves inside temples which seem as old as mankind. India’s history is alive, and so too are the characters of stories.
Its rivers are the lifeblood of India: more than 500 million people live in the Ganges Basin alone. Travelling by water on a luxury river cruise, you will see rural life and ancient temples along the shore but also experience stretches of unspoilt wilderness, which today are increasingly rare.
The Silk Road crisscrossed Eurasia in ancient and medieval times, enabling the overland trade between China, Europe, and the Indian Subcontinent to flourish. Its ghosts live on in India’s architecture and culture, not to mention in its handicrafts and other goods in the bazaars.
Staying in a log cabin used by coastal fishermen, aboard a Keralan rice boat, or even in a luxurious city haveli built by merchants, you’ll see a side of India which no conventional hotel can provide. You’ll be side by side with Indian families, learning about their culture firsthand.
From the vast snow topped ranges of the Himalayas in Ladakh, to the mountainous terrain and dense forests along the border with Myanmar, and stretching south to the rolling hills clad with spice plantations and tea estates in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India’s natural topography is extraordinary.
India’s princely rulers, the maharajas, treated themselves to the very best of everything, including private trains. Riding onboard the Maharaja Express you will certainly feel like royalty and it’s an unforgettable way to travel between India’s most famous cultural sites.
Kipling’s The Jungle Book was the first exposure many of us had to India’s wildlife, and it inspired a lifelong fascination. From the Bengal tiger of central India’s jungles, to the snow leopard of the Himalayas and the one horned rhino of Kaziranga, wildlife watching in India is unforgettable.
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