The photos contained here are actually a composite of two separate states in India.

Himachal Pradesh: The majesty of the Himalayas are on full display in this beautiful territory, which is among the most remote and untouched places on the subcontinent.  The Tibetan government in exile conducts its business from the small hill village of Dharamsala.

Punjab is best known as the place of origin for Sikhism–one of India’s several homegrown religions, whose male adherents can be distinguished through their turbans, beards, and occasionally ostentatious weaponry.  Apart from their belief system, Punjabis can be distinguished principally through their unique cultural music and dance (Bhangra), and their cuisine, which forms the basis of the Indian food we receive in the west.

Situated in the heart of troubled Bihar, Bodh Gaya marks the spot where Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment under the shade of a bodhi tree and became the Buddha.  It’s now the most important pilgrimage site for his disciples and, as a host to several international monasteries, a great place for lovers of East Asian architecture.

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Uttar Pradesh is home to the Taj Mahal and Varanasi–two of the most instantly recognizable icons of Indian culture.  But despite those heavily trafficked tourist hotspots, it’s a state riddled with challenging infrastructure problems, and the violent crime rates in some villages is equivalent to America’s most troubled inner cities.  The Ganges plots most of its course through a flat and expansive countryside, which is home to a large number of India’s dairy and wheat farms. With 190 million residents, UP is India’s most populous state, and if it were a country in its own right, it would be the fifth most populous in the world!

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Whether it’s Buddhist stupas, Bundela castles, or erotic carvings, rumors of the ancient world’s demise are greatly exaggerated in Madhya Pradesh. It’s also populated with very curious locals–even by Indian standards–who are quick to initiate a friendly conversation. The state’s lush rolling green hills and meandering rivers make it sort of like the subcontinent equivalent of America’s “heartland”–albeit with more water buffaloes and burning piles of trash.

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India’s capital is actually not just one city–it’s six or seven, depending on how you want to count them. It has served as the seat of power for nearly every governing force that’s entered the subcontinent, and their ghostly reminders loom around every corner.  The near-forgotten 11th century ruins of Tukhlabad, the Barbar’s ornate tombs at Purana Qila, Shah Jahan’s imposing Jama Masjid, and the wide-laned colonial avenues form a giant urbanized Frankenstein’s monster.  This motley collection of neighborhoods and monuments can make the place feel like it lacks a cohesive identity, but it is also precisely what makes Delhi such an intriguing puzzle to try and piece together.

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The land of kings feels like a mythological saga come to life. Touring its mammoth, elaborate forts conjures up impressions of their heyday, when feuding Rajputs slaughtered each other with engraved scimitars. Home to some of the most colorful cities and extravagant hotels on the subcontinent, Rajasthan is without a doubt the premiere tourist destination in south Asia. Traversing the Thar desert on top of a camel, marching with a wedding procession in the streets of Pushkar, basking in the opulence of Udaipur’s Lake Palace–wherever you are in Rajasthan, colorful adventures are quick to follow.

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A land of savvy businessfolk and well paved roads, Gujarat has earned its reputation as a wealthy and prosperous state. It’s also Gandhi’s birthplace, which means that many of the Mahatma’s teachings–most notably, abstention from alcohol–make their way into local law. An expansive arid peninsula (Kutch) is home to an overwhelming number of tribal communities, who each produce their own distinct textiles and handicrafts.

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Goa is, if nothing else, a testament to India’s diversity (even if many parts of it don’t really seem like India at all). The throngs of white visitors and the miles of overdeveloped beaches might be unsettling to travelers who are looking for a little bit of authenticity, but all of India’s quintessential elements are here, if you look closely. Old Goa’s gothic cathedrals provide the requisite dose of spirituality; dazzling displays of color are never in short supply within Panjim’s winding streets; cows, stray dogs, wild pigs, and many other kinds of beasts freely roam the beaches alongside Israeli sunbathers–which, for all of the negative connotations they have acquired, are pretty spectacular.

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Maharastra is India’s largest state by area, and it also contains the country’s most populous city (Mumbai). “Hollywood East” can provide an excellent distillation of the country as a whole for travelers with a limited time frame.  Wealth beyond compare sits atop some of the earth’s most expansive slums.  Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Jain places of worship coexist amidst the teeming traffic jams and marketplaces.  Even evidences of past civilizations and empires are in abundant supply within this sprawling urban metropolis.

Outside of Mumbai, popular travel destinations include the world famous cave paintings at Ajanta and the rock-cut temples at Ellora. Maharastra is also home to India’s only vineyards in Nashik, and its remote Konkan coast provides a beach side experience that’s a little more subdued than neighboring Goa.