IndiaKerala Backwaters, Varkala, Munnar, Alleppey

Why Visit India?

India is visually overwhelming in the best possible way — a country where colour, texture, light, and human activity combine at an intensity that exists nowhere else. Kerala in particular is a photographer's paradise: the backwater canals of Alleppey where houseboats drift through palm-fringed waterways, the cliff-top beaches of Varkala where the light off the Arabian Sea turns golden and soft, the kathakali dance performances in Kochi with their extraordinary makeup and expression, and the ancient spice markets of Fort Kochi. This is a corner of India that rewards slow travel and the patience to let scenes develop naturally.

● Kerala backwaters — renting a houseboat for a night on the Alleppey backwaters puts you on the water at dawn, which is exactly when the light is right. Fishermen casting nets, children bathing from wooden jetties, water hyacinth floating on still channels — it's one of those locations where you can't take a bad photograph.

● Varkala cliffs — the red laterite cliffs above the beach catch the setting sun beautifully, and the contrast between the deep orange rock and the turquoise sea below is a gift for landscape photographers. The cliff-top path at golden hour is the best evening walk I had in India.

● Fort Kochi — the Chinese fishing nets are iconic for a reason, and they're most atmospheric at dawn when the fishermen are actually working them. The colonial architecture of the Dutch and Portuguese quarters adds another layer to an already visually rich city.

● Temple murals and flower markets — India's ritual and decorative arts are extraordinary photographic subjects. Kolam patterns drawn fresh each morning on doorsteps, temple murals depicting Hindu mythology in vivid colours, and the flower garlands at Kochi's markets are all deeply photogenic.

The single most important thing to understand about eating in India is that there is no unified "Indian food." The country's cuisines shift as dramatically as its landscapes from state to state — a Punjabi thali in Amritsar, a Kerala fish curry in Kochi, and a Rajasthani dal baati in Jaisalmer are as different from each other as French, Italian, and Spanish food. The "Indian restaurant" you know at home serves a largely North Indian, British-adapted version of a cuisine that has almost nothing to do with what people eat in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, or Gujarat.

North Indian cuisine — rich, wheat-based, dairy-heavy. The tandoor oven produces the naan, roti, and kulcha breads and the charred tikka marinades. Paneer (fresh cheese) appears in curries with spinach (palak paneer), tomato (paneer makhani), or peas (matar paneer). Dal makhani (black lentil curry, slow-cooked overnight with butter) is one of the great dishes of the subcontinent. The chaat tradition — street snacks combining crispy puri, chickpeas, tamarind chutney, yogurt, and fresh herbs — is the finest street food India has. Delhi's Chandni Chowk for breakfast parathas; Amritsar for the langar (free community meal) at the Golden Temple, where 50,000 people a day eat for free.

Rajasthani cuisine — designed for a desert climate with limited fresh produce. Dal baati churma (wheat dumplings baked in a wood fire served with lentil curry and sweet crumbled bread flavoured with ghee) is the essential dish. Laal maas (mutton in fiery red Mathania chilli sauce) is one of India's most intensely spiced meat dishes. The sweet shop culture of Rajasthan — halwa, barfi, and ghevar — reflects the dairy richness of a state where every meal ends with something sweet.

South Indian cuisine — rice-based, coconut-forward, fermented. The dosa (thin, crisp, sour fermented rice crepe, served with sambar lentil soup and coconut chutney) is the great breakfast dish of the south, and a good masala dosa with potato filling in a Bengaluru or Chennai Udupi restaurant is one of the finest and cheapest meals in India. Idli (steamed fermented rice cakes), rasam (pepper-water soup), and a Kerala sadya (banana-leaf feast of up to 25 separate preparations for special occasions) represent the range from daily staple to ceremonial abundance. The morning filter coffee of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka — prepared by pulling the brew repeatedly between two vessels to froth it, served with intense sweetness in a steel tumbler and saucer — is as ritually important as the food.

Goan cuisine — the most Portuguese-influenced regional food in India. Fish curry rice (fresh fish in a sour, spicy coconut and tamarind curry) is the Goan staple. Vindaloo here is not the British fire-curry but a pork dish marinated in wine vinegar and Kashmiri chilli, sour and hot and complex. Bebinca (a layered coconut egg dessert) and feni (a spirit distilled from cashew fruit, one of India's more unusual drinks) are distinctly Goan.

Practical eating in India — drink bottled water only and avoid ice outside of established restaurants. Street food is generally safe if it is cooked fresh in front of you at a busy stall — high turnover is the key indicator of freshness. Vegetarian India is the easiest country in the world in which to eat without meat — the variety, depth, and quality of vegetarian cooking here has no equivalent anywhere. Thali meals (a platter of multiple dishes with rice or bread, served with unlimited refills) at a local restaurant are invariably the best and cheapest option for experiencing a region's food in full. Chai — sweet, milky, spiced tea simmered in a small pot and poured into a clay or steel cup — is the thread that connects every interaction in India. Accept every cup offered.

India is one of the most rewarding travel destinations in the world and one of the most challenging. The gap between the two is largely bridged by preparation and the right mental posture. India does not work like anywhere else. The train may be late. The guesthouse may not be exactly as the photographs suggested. The negotiation over a rickshaw fare may be exhausting. And in between all of that, something will happen — a kindness from a stranger, a conversation in a chai shop, a temple at dusk that stops all thought — that justifies every difficult moment and makes you want to come back.