For pure, ethereal beauty, there’s only one building in India to rival the Taj Mahal. The Sikhs’ holiest shrine, the ‘Golden Temple’, casts an undeniably powerful spell. The combined effect of the lustrous, gilded domes, the shimmering reflections in the water and hymns emanating from the shrine are at once humbling and elevating.

Another experience not to be missed while in the region is the flag lowering ceremony at Wagah, where, each day, resplendently moustachioed soldiers from the rival nations perform a ludicrous marching and saluting routine leading up to the slamming shut of the frontier gates. Think of the Monty Python ‘Funny Walks’ skit in front of large, cheering crowds and you’ll get the picture!

Clustered on a wooded ridge in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamsala – or more accurately the township of McLeod Ganj above it – is the home of the Tibetan spiritual leader in exile, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, along with an ever growing, number of Tibetan refugees. Set against the grey, snow-capped crags of the Dhauladhar Range (which here reach a culminating altitude of around 4,600m / 15,000ft), the rooftops of the town are strung with fluttering prayer flags. Monasteries and temples hold ranks of red-and-gold prayer wheels, visited year-round by streams of Buddhist pilgrims from the plains.

The Kalachakra (‘Wheel of Time’) Temple is the largest Tibetan shrine in the town, and a popular one with visitors and pilgrims alike. Its walls are festooned with brightly coloured murals showing 722 deities and mandalas (sacred diagrams). A great place to see how such art is produced is the Norbulingka Institute, a centre dedicated to the preservation of traditional Tibetan culture. Thangka painting, screen-printing, appliqué, woodcarving, papermaking and metalwork and all taught in the institute.

Built by a local judge in 1918, Judge’s House ranks among our favourite retreats in India, thanks to its idyllic location and old-world atmosphere. On passing through its gateway, you enter a parallel world reminiscent of a bygone era: breakfast is served under a mango tree in the garden by liveried staff, and supper is preceded by a leisurely “cocktail hour” on the lawn. The rooms are huge and furnished in period, with dark wood beds and chintzy touches that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Kipling’s time.

After a look around the temples in Pragpur, guests tend to spend the warm afternoons lazing in a wicker chair on the pillared veranda, or lounging under a lychee tree in the adjacent orchard. This is a perfect place to unwind, and soak up the distinctive atmosphere of the Indian foothills.

The ramshackle capital of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla straddles a high, forested ridge in the foothills of the Himalaya. During the Raj era, the entire British administration, complete families and retinues of servants, used to travel all the way from Calcutta to this fragrant, cool spot in the hills to escape the summer heat, and over time, a miniature version of home-counties England sprang among the cedar trees, with an Anglican church, bandstand and theatre. Thanks largely to its proximity to Delhi, the hill station remains a popular holiday destination today. Strolls along the Mall, shopping expeditions in the warrenous bazaar and pony rides through the pine forest are the order of the day.

The traditional start to a day exploring the hill station is to climb up from its main street, the Mall, through stands of towering cedar trees to the Jakhoo Temple, from where, weather permitting, you’ll be able to enjoy a fabulous panoramic view of the distant Himalayan range.

Afterwards, visit Christ Church near Scandal Point, and the Scotts-Baronial-style Viceregal Lodge, the official summer residence of the British Viceroy in the Raj era, where Gandhi, Nehru and Mountbatten held talks before Indepedence.

Hindus regard Haridwar as one of the key “crossing places”, or thirtha, capable of giving release from the cycle of rebirth. The riverside ghats are the venue for a particularly charged evening aarthi ceremony, when priests swing flaming lamps in closely choreographed routines, as thousands of worshippers place diyas – little leaf boats holding incense, flowers and candles – on to the water.

Rishikesh has been sacred for hundreds, and possibly thousands, of years. It traditionally served as a waystage for sanyasins, sadhus and yogis travelling to and from the sacred sites of the Himalayas, and for generations has attracted seekers on spiritual quests, among them the Beatles, who spent time here in 1968. The town continues to be an important New Age religious centre. Numerous ashrams overlook the waterfront. When in residence, most of the local gurus and their acolytes attend the evening aarthi ceremony, when scores of floating lamp-boats (diyas) are released into the current.