Girdling the north, the majestic Himalayas rear up from the scalding plains like a mirage of green fir, dappled with snow, apple orchards, and colourful rhododendron. Here Siberian cranes soar above snow leopards and hardy mountain goats. Leh, where three empires once met, is at the heart of Ladakh, a rugged mountain desert best know for its awesome Buddhist monasteries, the mighty Indus River (which can be rafted in season) and one of the highest roads in the world that winds past Khardung-La pass (at 18,340ft) to Nubra Valley and its two-humped Bactrian camels.

Ladakh is little Tibet at its best, pickled in the rarefied air at 10,000ft, where red-robed monks blow long horns, and prayer flags importune the Gods. Neighbouring Kashmir has long been a fabled Garden of Eden, prized as much by the Mughals – who planted flowering gardens – as by latter-day Delhi-ites escaping the scorching summers. Srinagar serves up handicrafts and woven carpets by the acre and, for lazy afternoons, the mirror-smooth Dal Lake with its houseboats and shikaras.

Closer to New Delhi are the hill stations of Shimla and Mussourie offering panoramic views. Himachal is another Himalayan hideaway with heritage hotels, mountain streams, and Dharamsala, the residence of the Dalai Lama and wellspring of Tibetan art and culture.

The Himalayas trudge majestically eastwards to Assam, skirting Nepal and Sikkim, piercing the skies every once in a while with carelessly arranged 8,000m peaks. It is a proud landscape. The eastern ranges offer considerable distraction with Sikkim, and Darjeeling, both popular haunts for urbanites from Calcutta.