India, one honest guide at a time

Almora A ridge town that faces the snows Auli A meadow with Nanda Devi for company Dalhousie Five hills, deodars and a slower clock Gangtok A ridge capital that bows to Kanchenjunga Gulmarg A meadow of flowers under deep snow Kasauli A cantonment that never grew up Kasol A river loud enough to think by Leh–Ladakh Where the air teaches patience Manali A crowded town under uncrowded mountains Mussoorie Old hill station, older ridge, long views Nahan A Shivalik town of tanks and lanes Nainital A lake town shaped by a landslide Spiti Valley & Kaza A cold desert that keeps its own hours Srinagar Water, gardens and an old wooden city

Agra Grief, in white marble Ajmer A shrine that has never closed its doors Amritsar A kitchen that never closes Bikaner A desert fort that was never taken Chandigarh A modernist experiment that people actually live in Chittorgarh A whole city held on one hill Dehradun A valley of schools, forests and rusks Delhi Seven cities on the same patch of ground Dharamshala–McLeod Ganj A capital in exile, under the Dhauladhar Haridwar Where the Ganga reaches the plains Jaipur Geometry, colour and a great deal of noise Jaisalmer A fort with a town still living inside it Jammu Temple bells on the edge of the hills Jim Corbett Grass, sal forest and the long wait Jodhpur A blue city under a wall of rock Lucknow Manners, kebabs and a vanished court Mathura Where Krishna was born, and still is Mount Abu Green relief above a desert state Pushkar A lake town that runs on faith Ranthambore Tigers among the ruins of a kingdom Rishikesh Where the river is still young Shimla The empire's summer address Udaipur A desert kingdom built around water Vaishno Devi (Katra) A night climb to the mother goddess Varanasi The city older than memory Vrindavan A town that sings to its god

Ahmedabad A walled city that still works Ajanta & Ellora Fifteen centuries carved into basalt Alibaug Mumbai's other shore, an hour by boat Aurangabad Where India carved downward into stone Gokarna A pilgrimage town that happens to have beaches Khandala Where the railway climbed the Sahyadri Lavasa An unfinished town on a quiet lake Lonavala The monsoon's weekend address Mahabaleshwar Where five rivers begin, and strawberries Matheran A hill where the cars stop Mumbai A city built by people who came from somewhere else Nashik Temple bells by day, vines by evening North Goa 451 years of Portugal, two lanes inland Pune A Peshwa capital that went to university South Goa Where Goa keeps its afternoons

Gwalior A fortress, a zero and a song Khajuraho A thousand years of stone, mostly misread Orchha A capital nobody got around to demolishing Pachmarhi Sandstone, sal and the Satpura's high ground Ujjain The city that keeps Shiva's time

Bhubaneswar A temple city that never stopped building Bodh Gaya Where the Buddha stopped looking Darjeeling A ridge in the clouds, and one enormous mountain Digha Kolkata's seaside, unpretentious and full of fish Kalimpong The quieter hill across the Teesta Kolkata The city that would rather argue than agree Puri Jagannath's city, at the edge of the sea

Agartala A small royal capital on the border Kaziranga Grassland, rhino, and a river that redraws it every year Shillong & Cherrapunji Rain as a way of life

Alleppey Where the roads are made of water Bengaluru The city that keeps rebuilding itself Chennai Madras, still keeping its own time Coimbatore Mill town at the foot of the hills Coorg Coffee in the shade of older trees Hampi An empire's capital, left out in the open Hogenakkal The Kaveri, breaking over black rock Hyderabad The Deccan's capital, still cooking Kanyakumari Where the land runs out at dawn Kochi A port built out of everyone else's leftovers Kodaikanal A missionary hill town above the plains Kovalam Three coves and a striped lighthouse Madikeri Mist, coffee and a fierce hospitality Madurai A city arranged around a goddess Mahabalipuram A workshop in granite, left half-finished Munnar A landscape that somebody planted Mysuru A kingdom that kept its manners Ooty The Nilgiris, by rack railway and tea Pondicherry A French accent in a Tamil town Poovar Where the river leans into the sea Rameshwaram An island temple where the rails run out Shivamogga (Shimoga) Where the rain country begins Thanjavur The Cholas built here in granite Tirupati Seven hills and an unending queue Varkala Where mourning and holiday share a beach Visakhapatnam A naval port between hills and the bay Wayanad Forest, spice and very old stone

Andaman Islands — Port Blair & Havelock A prison colony that became a sea Lakshadweep Coral, coconut and a great deal of blue