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The textiles worn by the women of India’s desert regions tend to be eye-catching. But in Kutch, in northwestern Gujarat, the traditional finery is nothing short of kaleidoscopic.
Remnants of one of the world’s first urban cultures, the Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization, lie in the countryside a couple of hours’ drive out of Ahmedabad, near the village of Lothal.
Gujarat’s distinctive style of fusion architecture achieved its fullest flowering at Champaner, a now deserted city whose ruins stand against a backdrop of table-topped mountains.
Some of the finest Indo-Muslim buildings of medieval India lie hidden amid the narrow streets of Ahmedabad’s old city, dating from the rule of Sultan Ahmed Shah in the 15th century.
The outlandish costume of the Kathakali hero has become emblematic of Kerala, but the form is only one among many elaborate types of ritual theatre still widely performed in the state.
Some of Kerala’s loveliest hotels and guest houses nestle in the palm groves behind the state’s beaches, where local fishermen can usually be seen mending nets.
Stays on remote coffee, tea and spice plantations are great ways to experience the beauty of the Wayanad plateau, in the mountains of northern Kerala.
Kerala is the bastion of India’s ancient health system, Ayurveda. Try a fragrant oil massage, steam bath or another more arcane treatment in one of the many designer spas attached to luxury hotels.
Watch teams of tea pluckers at work on the estates above Munnar town, against a magnificent backdrop of rolling hills and pale-grey peaks.
Wild elephants and primeval-looking gaur (Indian bison) graze in healthy numbers amid teak forest and bamboo groves of Periyar, a nature reserve centered on a convoluted man-made lake..
Every Hindu temple in the state, as well as most mosques and churches, hosts at least one annual festival where the key ingredients are spectacular elephant processions accompanied by traditional drum orchestras.
No journey to the far south of India should be complete without at least one day exploring the lakes, lagoons, canals and rice fields of Kerala’s Kuttanad backwater region – ideally in the comfort of a converted rice barge.
The full span of European trade with southern India – from 16th-century Portuguese churches to Art-Deco British mansions – may be traced in the architecture of Fort Cochin’s weathered backstreets.
Glimpse wild tigers prowling around remnants of a medieval Rajput fort and hunting estate, now one of India’s flagship nature reserves.
Unique in Rajasthan for remaining free of intrusive modern structures, the walled town of Bundi possesses plenty of traditional atmosphere and some superb specimens of pure-Rajput architecture.
‘The most romantic spot on the Continent of India’ is how the legendary chronicler of Rajput culture, Col. James Tod, characterized Udaipur – an epithet that holds as true today as it did in the time of the East India Company.
An integral part of Rajasthan’s desert culture are the traditional songs and dance of its minority communities, which you’ll encounter most evenings performed – with great spirit – in hotel gardens and palace courtyards.
There’s no better way to experience the unique atmosphere of the Thar than by climbing aboard a camel for a trip deep into the desert, one of India’s last pristine landscapes.
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