South Asia & Indian Subcontinent

Ranked · where to go & why

The Top 20 in South Asia & Indian Subcontinent

Palaces and the Taj, Himalayan trails and tiger jungles, tea-green hills and the eternal Ganges. The subcontinent rewards the traveler like nowhere else. Here is South Asia, ranked.

1. 1Taj Mahal & Agra, IndiaThe most beautiful building on Earth — a marble monument to love, unforgettable at sunrise.
2. 2Rajasthan (Jaipur · Udaipur · Jodhpur), IndiaThe land of maharajas — pink, blue and gold cities of forts, palaces and lake-side luxury.
3. 3Kerala Backwaters, IndiaDrift the palm-lined canals by houseboat, then unwind with Ayurveda — India’s gentle south.
4. 4Annapurna & the Himalaya, NepalExplore →The world’s most beloved trekking — from teahouse circuits to the great peaks themselves.
5. 5BhutanThe last Himalayan kingdom — the cliff-clinging Tiger’s Nest and a nation that measures happiness.
6. 6Sri Lanka — Hill Country & TeaMisty tea estates, the world’s most scenic train, and ancient Kandy — a small island that has everything.
7. 7Varanasi, IndiaThe eternal city on the Ganges — dawn rituals on the ghats, the most intense place in India.
8. 8Sigiriya & the Cultural Triangle, Sri LankaThe Lion Rock fortress and the Dambulla cave temples — Sri Lanka’s ancient heart.
9. 9Kathmandu Valley, NepalTemple-stacked Durbar squares, the great stupas of Boudha and Swayambhu — living heritage.
10. 10Ladakh, IndiaHigh-desert “Little Tibet” — Buddhist monasteries, electric-blue Pangong Lake, and big skies.
11. 11Goa, IndiaPalm-fringed beaches and Portuguese-Indian heritage — India’s laid-back coastal classic.
12. 12Yala & Galle, Sri LankaThe world’s best leopard-spotting park beside a perfect Dutch-colonial fort town.
13. 13Everest Base Camp, NepalThe ultimate trek — Sherpa villages and Khumbu glaciers beneath the highest mountain on Earth.
14. 14Hampi, IndiaA surreal boulder-strewn landscape of ruined Vijayanagara temples — a UNESCO wonder.
15. 15Mumbai, IndiaIndia’s relentless, glamorous maximum city — colonial grandeur, Bollywood, and street-food heaven.
16. 16Chitwan, NepalSwap mountains for jungle — rhino, gharial and tiger on a Terai lowland safari.
17. 17Munnar & the Western Ghats, IndiaRolling tea-carpet hills, spice plantations and cool, misty mornings in Kerala’s highlands.
18. 18Andaman Islands, IndiaIndia’s tropical secret — Havelock’s Radhanagar Beach and pristine reefs in the Bay of Bengal.
19. 19Pokhara, NepalLakeside calm with the Annapurnas reflected in the water — Nepal’s adventure base camp.
20. 20Rann of Kutch, IndiaA vast white salt desert that glows under the full moon — at its magical best during the Rann Utsav.

Curated by TravelWell, in the spirit of the great travel guides. Linked picks open a full guide + Safety Card; more are being added.