Delhi

Delhi is an infusion of modern India, a mishmash of timeless traditions and modern life played out among arguably the richest collection of historical monuments in the world.

Sadhus (holy men) rub shoulders with sharp-suited businessmen; cows and rickshaws vie for space with jam-packed buses and snazzy sportscars; and crumbling relics from the Mughal era huddle up to tall colonial buildings and skyscrapers.

Delhi is actually two cities: New Delhi, all wide avenues and marble and stone grandeur, built to be the capital of imperial India, and Old Delhi, a labyrinth of clustered houses, artisans' workshops, noisy bazaars, temples and mosques.

In the latter, breathe in the atmosphere (and the fumes) making your way down the main street, Chandni Chowk, for an onslaught of colour, pungent smells and noise. At the eastern end the huge sandstone walls of the Red Fort (Lal Qila) soar above the din, its Lahore Gate a major crowd-puller especially on Independence Day (15 August).

Old Delhi's other jewel, the red sandstone and white marble Jama Masjid, is the largest mosque in India with a courtyard that can hold up to 25,000 people.

In New Delhi, stroll the 3km-long Raj Path boulevard to get eyeful after eyeful of imperial architecture, including India Gate and the Indian parliamentary buildings. A more elderly resident definitely worth taking a detour for is the domed, octagonal Humayun's Tomb, the final resting place of the second Mughal emperor and a precursor to Agra's Taj Mahal.

Further south is the equally impressive 12th-century Qutb Minar complex, with India's first mosque, Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid at its base.