INDIA & SOUTH ASIA

STEP 1

Fly to Mumbai to explore Rajasthan. Begin by touring Mumbai’s Crawford Market, before flying to Udaipur for a boat trip on Lake Pichola. Driving on to Bundi, explore the city before dining with a local family. In Pushkar, home of the Savitri Temple, visit the sand dunes, and enjoy a traditional dinner while dancers perform. Then it’s on to Jaipur to visit a local Brahmin family, and tour the Hawa Mahal. Enjoy a safari within the Ranthambore National Park before visiting the Taj Mahal, and then returning to Delhi. Intrepid (0808 274 5111; intrepidtravel. com) offers a 14-day tour of Rajasthan starting from £1,756pp

STEP 2

Fly from Delhi to Guwahati to visit the Kamakhya Temple before boarding a cruiser for a 10-day trip. Visit a tea estate to see what makes Assam tea worldfamous, meet members of the Mishing tribe, and explore the Shiva Dol temple. From there, venture into the Kaziranga National Park for a rhino-spotting safari, before disembarking at Jorhat. Trailfinders (020 7084 6518: trailfinders. com) offers its 10-day Wonders of the Brahmaputra River tour from £2,466pp, based on two adults sharing

STEP 3

Begin your cycling trip in Chennai. Stop at Mahabalipuram before cycling four miles to Puducherry. Ride on to Chidambaram and along the Kaveri River to Thanjavur, then into Chettinad and the cultural capital of Madurai. Visit the Periyar National Park for a boat safari, before wheeling through plantations to Kottayam and Vembanad Lake, where you’ll board a houseboat overnight; finally, cycle the coast to Fort Kochi.

The 14-day Southern India Coast to Coast Ride with Exodus (0203 811 4860; exodus.co.uk) costs from £2,399pp, excluding flights

STEP 4

Fly to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and visit the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage before travelling to Kandy. Here, visit the Temple of the Tooth, before driving to Nuwara Eliya. Explore the Amman Temple in Nuwara Eliya, and the Hakgala Botanical Gardens, before heading to Lake Gregory. Return to Colombo and to the temple Seema Malaka.

Aaditya Tours (00 91 44 2855 1717; aadityatours.com) offers a five-day tour of Sri Lanka from £259

A riot of colour in the Golden City: watch folk dancing in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan – before heading to Delhi, Jorhat, Chennai and, finally, Kandy in Sri Lanka