The Hunza valley capital under Rakaposhi, the Baltit fort and apricot orchards on the Karakoram Highway.
The base for K2 and the Baltoro expeditions, cold desert dunes and Shangrila lake.
The city of saints: blue-tiled Sufi shrines and the hottest summers in the subcontinent.
The Qissa Khwani storytellers bazaar, Gandhara art in the museum and the road to the Khyber Pass.
The dzong at the meeting of two rivers, the old winter capital, with jacaranda in spring.
Lalitpur, the city of fine arts: a Durbar square of bronze casters and the Golden Temple.
The medieval Newar city of potters and pagodas, the best-preserved of the three Kathmandu valley kingdoms.
One of the deepest natural harbours in the world, Nilaveli beach and blue whales offshore.
The Tamil north, a Dutch fort, the Nallur Kandaswamy temple and the crab curry.
The 2,000-year-old sacred city: giant brick stupas and the oldest planted tree with a known date.
'Little England' at 1,900 metres: tea estates, a golf course and a post office from 1894.
Nine Arch Bridge, the train through the tea country and the hike up Little Adam’s Peak.
The French Quarter of yellow villas and bougainvillea, the Aurobindo ashram and Auroville next door.
The Meenakshi temple with 14 gopuram towers covered in painted gods, the heart of Tamil culture.
A Tibetan Buddhist town at 3,500 metres in Ladakh, monasteries on rocks and the road to Pangong lake.
Tea gardens, the toy train and Kangchenjunga at sunrise from Tiger Hill.
The yoga capital of the world on the Ganges, evening aarti and whitewater rafting below the Himalayas.
India's first UNESCO city: Gandhi's Sabarmati ashram, stepwells, pols and the textile museum.
The Maratha capital and student city, Shaniwar Wada and the Osho ashram, two hours from Mumbai.
The illuminated Maharaja palace, the Dasara festival and the sandalwood and silk of the old bazaars.
Chinese fishing nets, a Portuguese church, a Jewish quarter and Kathakali dance in the port of Kerala.
A golden sandstone fort still lived in, and camel safaris into the Thar desert dunes.
The blue city under the Mehrangarh fort, the biggest and most dramatic in Rajasthan.
The white Lake Palace floating on Pichola, the City Palace and rooftop dinners over the water.
The eight-kilometre underground river through a cave and the capital of Palawan.
Island-hopping among the Bacuit lagoons of northern Palawan, limestone cliffs and turquoise water.
The summer capital in the pine-covered Cordillera, a night market and strawberry farms.
The food capital of the Philippines, the Dinagyang festival and a river esplanade, opposite Guimaras island.
Cobbled Calle Crisologo and Spanish colonial houses, the best-preserved colonial town in Asia.
The harbour town on Flores where the Komodo dragon boats leave, with pink beaches and manta rays.
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