> > by Lucy Corne
Sari-clad women move like a perpetual sea of vivid colours against a diverse backdrop of snow-capped mountains, scorched deserts and a melange of elaborate Hindu temples and Buddhist stupas. Elephants and camels vie for street space with an endless stream of honking auto rickshaws, while cows mooch for sustenance among market stalls selling everything from washing powder to spices and clothing.
As you sit at a makeshift pavement restaurant, the smells of spices and incense merge in the air, offering an aroma that will be forever India in your mind. The heat, the honking, the haggling – they all come together to provide a vibrant, hectic pace that makes India such a singular destination.But it is this very vibrancy that could also be India’s undoing – its full-on attack on all the senses is both the thing that draws travellers to the sub-continent and the thing that can drive them crazy. Luckily, an easy antidote is on hand in the form of an extensive coastline dotted with idyllic stretches of sand. India’s beaches are well known for long attracting hedonists and hippies, but the palm-fringed coves also offer quieter getaways.
Sunbathe on the sand (remembering to respect local sensibilities), kick off your sandals to explore a seaside temple or simply sip a lassi as the sun sets; the honking, haggling mayhem of everyday urban India quickly becomes just another pleasant travel memory.
Best for sexy sophistication
Varkala Beach. As the sun sets into the Arabian Sea, couples mix with hippies young and old to stroll the cliff-top restaurant strip above Varkala Beach.
Famed for its stunning beauty, the beach (also known as Papanasam) offers an enviable blend of laidback charm and charming restaurants. By day, beach bums enjoy the cliff-backed stretch of golden sand while Indian pilgrims arrive in a steady trickle to visit the Sree Janardhana Swami Temple. By night, the cliff top comes alive, offering authentic Italian eats, sumptuous seafood and Indian classics.
Drinking is not altogether allowed, but most restaurants flout the rules with a discrete teapot of beer. If you feel guilty for breaking local rules, you’re in the right place – it’s said that one dip in the mineral-rich spring water gushing from the cliffs here will wash away all sins.
Best for culture vultures
In India you’re never too far from a sacred shrine, an elaborate palace or a temple inhabited by over-confi dent monkeys, but in Mamallapuram (also known as Mahabalipuram) you’ll struggle to walk more than two minutes without stumbling upon a striking slice of architecture.
Less than one kilometre from the beach lies an assortment of shrines, intricate relief carvings and cave temples all painstakingly sculpted from the rocks by past generations of the stone masons that can still be heard chinking away around town.
If that’s too far to stray from the sand, the Shore Temple sits just behind the beach, waves crashing against its base. The beach is not ideal for swimming, but head a short way north or south of the village and you’ll find fine stretches of often unpeopled sand.
Best for Robinson Crusoe
It often feels like escaping the crowds in India is a gargantuan undertaking, but tranquillity does exist, especially in the far-flung Andaman Islands.
Lying 1000km east of the mainland, this tropical archipelago is defi nitely a retreat for the intrepid. Known locally by its utterly unromantic moniker of ‘Beach no 7’, Havelock Island’s Randhanagar Beach is the kind of forest-backed stretch of talcum powder sand that you think you’ll only ever see on your laptop’s screensaver.
Of course, beaches this unequivocally gorgeous never stay undiscovered for long and travellers trickle in an ever-increasing fl ow to savour a little postcard-worthy beauty.
Get there soon to enjoy unrivalled snorkelling in improbably turquoise waters, jungle treks and elephant-back wildlife viewing before this becomes the Next Big Thing.
Best for party animals
There’s only one state to head for if you’re seeking unbridled night-time fun – the renowned hedonist magnet of Goa. Although nightlife has calmed in recent years, the northern beaches still offer the best nocturnal action.
Baga’s lengthy stretch of white sand is quieter by day than other beaches in the region, but it’s best-known for after-hours pursuits catering to every kind of hedonist, from gourmands and cocktail queens to karaoke lovers and glow stick-toting trance enthusiasts.
Try the legendary Tito’s for Bollywood beats or wander the strip of excellent eateries vying for the chance to be trendiest, most romantic or simply to serve the best food.
Further north, Anjuna and Vagator are better known for their late, late techno and trance parties, following Thailand’s ‘full moon’ model.
Best for secluded romance
Sitting within easy reach of the mainland but far enough from the beaten track to be gloriously overlooked, Diu is one of the gems in India’s Maharaja crown.
Wander from the imposing 16th century fort through a labyrinth of narrow backstreets redolent of mainland Europe and it doesn’t take long to work out that Diu was once a Portuguese enclave. Continue past Indiana Jones-esque ruins and you’ll find the south coast’s Chakratirth Beach – totally undeveloped and deliciously devoid of fellow bathers or traders touting their wares.
The only time you’re likely to see a diminutive crowd form is at sunset, when locals and visitors congregate around sunset point at the beach’s western tip.
Back in Diu Town, tuck into a fine fish curry and enjoy a cold beer in the only place the state of Gujarat allows alcohol to be sold.