India
A Subcontinent Unto Itself
From the Himalayan monasteries of Ladakh to the backwaters of Kerala, India is less a country than a continent — 1.4 billion people, 22 official languages, six major religions, and 5,000 years of continuous civilisation.
2 distinct landscapes
Tap a region to filter the trips below.
The World's Most Varied Country
India spans 3.3 million km² and 1.4 billion people — the world's most populous country. Modern India is the seventh-largest by area, with 28 states and 8 union territories, and an internal cultural diversity rivalled nowhere else: every state has its own cuisine, language family, festival calendar, and architectural tradition.
For travellers, India divides into clear regional trips. The Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) covers Mughal heritage and the Taj Mahal. Rajasthan adds desert palaces and the blue city of Jodhpur. Varanasi on the Ganges is Hinduism's holiest city. Ladakh in the Himalayan north preserves Tibetan Buddhist culture more intact than Tibet itself. The Kerala backwaters are South India's tropical waterscape.
Swotah Travel arranges India primarily as multi-country itineraries combining Nepal-Varanasi-Delhi, Nepal-Bhutan-Sikkim, or Nepal-Ladakh-Kashmir. E-visas are issued online before travel.
- 01Taj Mahal
1632–53 · Shah Jahan's mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal · UNESCO · India's most-visited site
- 02Varanasi (Kashi)
3,000+ year old city on the Ganges · 88 ghats · holiest in Hinduism
- 03Ladakh High Passes
Khardung La (5,359 m) · monasteries · Pangong Lake · the last living Tibetan Buddhism
- 04Rajasthan Desert Palaces
Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer · 800-year-old Rajput citadels
- 05Kerala Backwaters
Houseboats on tropical canals · Cochin spice port · Ayurvedic tradition
- 0642 UNESCO Sites
Third-most in Asia · Buddhist, Hindu, Mughal, colonial and natural heritage