India Footprint Handbook

South India-born and raised in the vibrant suburbs of Peterborough, writer and photographer David Stott acquired his taste for India in the womb. At the age of 28 he finally discovered the variety and diversity of flavours at which butter chicken had merely hinted and since his first visit he’s become an annual visitor to India, steadily learning to tell his chole from his bhature and establishing a serious addiction to masala dosas along the way. David now splits his time between India and his adopted home in vibrant suburban Sydney, where the pace of life is such that he occasionally has to pinch himself to make sure he’s awake. Vanessa Betts is a writer and editor from England. She went to India in 1997, as the first stop on a round-the-world ticket, and then found out that nowhere else could quite compare. After time spent living and working in Australia, Egypt and England she has been based in India, chiefly in Kolkata, since March 2006. Vanessa now lives in Israel where she’s updating Footprint’s new guide to the country. Victoria McCulloch is a nomad currently calling Goa home. Armed with a laptop and a yoga mat, she plies her trade as freelance journalist and Kundalini Yoga teacher. She first ventured to India in1997, but has been living in the 'motherland' for the last seven years and can now only drink her tea with masala in it. Victoria has also been influenced by the music and chanting in India and is recording her second mantra album.

Planning your trip (2) Essentials (3) Delhi (4) Uttar Pradesh – Lucknow, Around Lucknow, Agra and around, Varanasi and around (5) Uttarakhand – Eastern hill stations, Hardiwar, Rishikesh and around, Garhwal and the Pilgrimage, Trekking in Garwhal and Kumaon Himalaya, Nainital and around, Corbett National Park (6) Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh – Central, Western, Northern, Eastern, Chhattisgarh (7) Rajasthan – Jaipur and around, Southern Rajasthan, Western, Eastern, Northern (8) Haryana and Punjab – Chandigarh and around, Northern Punjab (9) Himachal Pradesh – Southern Himachal, Kinnaur and Spiti, Kullu Valley, Lahaul and theh Manali-Leh road, Northern Himachal, Trekking in Himachal (10) Jammu and Kashmir – Kashmir Valley, Ladakh (11) West Bengal – Kolkata, South Kolkata, North Kolkata, West Bengal Hills (12) Sikkim – Gangtok and around, South and West Sikkim, North Sikkim, Trekking Sikkim (13) Northeastern Hill States – Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura (14) Orissa (15) Bihar and Jharkhand – Patna, Patna to Bodh Gaya, Jharkhand (16) Andaman and Nicobar Islands – Port Blair and around, Ritchie’s Archipelago, Middle and North Andamans, Little Andaman, Nicobar islands (17) Tamil Nadu (18) Kerala (19) Karnataka (20) Andhra Pradesh (21) Maharashtra (22) Goa (23) Gujarat (24) Background (25) Footnotes