Backpacking alone through India:
some thoughts, recommendations and personal experiences

Ladakh is a province in the Northern corner of India that is geographically situated in Tibet. It is on a mountain plateau so high that rainfall rarely gets to it, and its sublime barren mountains resemble a moonscape. A flight up from Delhi takes you straight over them - make sure you get a window seat. On arrival you will be welcomed by a people so friendly, never has somewhere so new and different felt so unintimidating and welcoming. They look very similar to Tibetans and are also Buddhists. One day I just got on a bus from the main bus stop and saw where it would take me. I was immediately befriended by all the women on the bus, taken back to one of their houses, fed and introduced to smiling children. I promised to send one a watch and books but I never did. Be careful of making promises you won't keep - who knows when you might break a heart.

From Ladakh, take the two-day bus ride down into the province of Himachal Pradesh. Across the second-highest mountain pass in the world, the views are dazzling, the food abysmal and the excitement unbeatable as your vehicle careers along mountain roads so narrow you barely believe you can slide past the occasional dozy cow, let alone the lorries and coaches that regularly loom into view. But you do, and life feels the better for it. Although possibly not the stomach.

The journey from Ladakh brings you to Manali, hippy haven and de facto capital of Himachal Pradesh. Here Sunny (naked, naturally) and I wallowed in the gorgeous hot spring baths of nearby Vashist, where indeed we first met our beguiling Germans, Boris and Axel. Vashist is the only chance you'll get for a bath for about 500 square miles so it definitely qualifies as an experience in your interest (and in the interest of those around you).

From there, a trip into the wilds of the Kulu valley - the place where I started my story - is highly recommended, although possibly not with quite the abandon that I embraced it. Get a guide and stay in your group. The occasional disappearance has been known to take place and there were a few newspaper articles a couple of years ago branding it dangerous. Although I may have already frightened you off, I may add that the Kulu valley, and the off-shoot Parvati valley, where I trekked, is without a doubt the most beautiful spot I've ever seen on earth. India-style, you must take the gamble to reap the rewards.

Last but certainly not least, get yourself over to Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama holds his Tibetan government in exile. Your days in Ladakh will doubtless have ensured a firm grounding in Buddhist culture, so you will be able to relate to all the prayer flags and dumplings with ease, as well as being ready, after roughing it for a while, for the highly tourist-friendly town, complete with a remarkably English climate (it rains a lot). I ended up at Dharamsala after my escape from the hooligans, I was travelling with in Simla, slipping with joy into postcard purchase and monastery visits. It all went horribly wrong when I returned to my room one day to find Axel and Boris lounging on the bed, but that, as I said, is a story that needn't concern you.