India

Among the musts for many travellers are Delhi, the magnificent Taj Mahal and Rajasthan with its royal cities of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur – where we can arrange a cooking class with a Rajasthani aristocrat. Your list may also include Mumbai (or as some locals still call Bombay), the holy city of Varanasi or the tranquil backwater of Kerala. We’re supremely well connected in all these places and anywhere else you’re curious to explore. You can trace the Narmada River by hot-air balloon, fly by helicopter to the holy mountain of Nanda Devi, or maybe you’d like to raft down the mighty Ganges from its source to join a sacred Hindu aarti ceremony along the banks.

India becomes more interesting the further you venture off the beaten path – and as devoted contrarians, this is where we excel. How about Kumaon, enjoying panoramic views from a luxury hideaway deep in the Himalayas? Or tracking tigers with renowned wildlife guides and a BBC filmmaker in Bandhavgarh National Park? Or visit the remote state of Ladakh (“Little Tibet”), where we can arrange a stay in the palace of His Royal Excellency Raja Jigmed Wangchuk Namgyal?

Try snowboarding in Kashmir, browse the Pushkar camel fair (“We’re just looking, thanks”), camp for a magical night in the Thar Desert, take an elephant safari into the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, tour the south on Royal Enfield motorcycles, cheer on your favourite cricketers at the historic Chennai pitch, catch a Bollywood movie at Bombay’s iconic art deco cinema – and then get behind the scenes on an actual film set. Or if “once in a lifetime” is more your thing, come for the Kumbh Mela Festival, held every dozen years, and we’ll try to arrange an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

If your head is spinning, well, that’s just a foretaste of the whole Indian experience. Our job is to craft a trip that’s uniquely yours out of all that crazy, chaotic diversity. It’s a task we love almost as much as we know you’ll love India.