India is a place that often strikes fear and trepidation in the hearts of travellers more accustomed to the sanitised pleasures of a package holiday, city break or villa rental, but take a chance on the Queen of South Asia and from the very moment you leave Delhi airport she will clobber and overwhelm every one of the senses and I suspect a couple more that you’re presently unaware of, such is her absolute power.

This sensory overload is a photographer’s dream with its warm, heavenly light, riotous colours and a million opportunities to capture this unique and wonderfully chaotic culture.  Take a stroll and you’ll see shoe-shiners, street vendors deep frying orange jalebis, barber shop booths, iron welders, knife sharpeners as well as the kids, cows and dogs that wander the street and taste beautiful curries with layers of flavour that awaken the uninitiated western palate before being hit head on by an express train of fire.

See the pink city of Jaipur with its echoes of the Raj and the final breaths of British rule, visit Varanasi on the banks of the holiest river, the Ganges and take an early morning safari into Ranthambore National Park and amongst the silvery forest glades you might just spot a Bengal tiger.