Travel + Leisure India & South Asia

Travel + Leisure South Asia, a stylish and authoritative guide for today’s global traveler, offers stunning photography, incisive commentary, vivid narratives and practical travel information with a strong emphasis on Asia. From the best spa’s to the tastiest street food, from the most luxurious resorts to the hottest rooftop bars, from the latest restaurants to the region’s top designers, from the quietest beaches to the busiest shopping streets – Travel + Leisure South Asia delivers, month after month.

Letter from the Editor

Travel + Leisure India & South Asia

Contributors

11 Runs That Changed the Way I See the World • Running makes sure you aren’t simply passing through a destination. You hear church bells instead of traffic. You feel history carved into paths. You exchange smiles with strangers, eat extraordinarily well, and often find yourself in the middle of local culture. From Arctic light runs at midnight to a barefoot marathon in Coorg, here are the routes that left footprints not just on the roads beneath my feet, but somewhere much deeper.

ROUTES TO ADVENTURE • One sport. One destination. Endless reasons to go. The Travel + Leisure team shares the places at the top of their active-travel wish lists.

A Maldivian Ferry Tale • The Indian Ocean was the world’s highway, carrying sailors, traders, and fishermen across Asia, Europe, and Africa. Nainaa R Rajpaal discovers that the best way to experience it is by boat.

BARK AND BRINE • Beyond Bentota’s beach resorts, a working river carries centuries of cinnamon trade, mangrove ecology, and a coastal cuisine shaped by everything the estuary provides.

DRIVE OF A LIFETIME • From frozen lakes in Lapland to the rugged wilderness of Namibia and the high passes of India, a new breed of curated driving experiences is redefining what it means to travel in a car.

BEYOND THE WHITE HORIZON • Beyond the shimmering salt flats lie migratory wetlands, ancient stepwells, centuries-old crafts, traditional shipyards, and communities keeping Gujarat’s rich cultural heritage alive.

A LIFE IN THE DEEP • For Tanvi Gautama, the ocean has been a lifelong fascination, sparked by underwater photographs she encountered when she was a pre-teen. The Indian underwater photographer, scuba instructor, and dive-trip organiser has spent a decade in the diving community. She speaks to MEHER BAJWA about combining photography with advocacy for safer, more responsible, and accessible diving across the region.

LEARNING TO READ THE OCEAN • Daniel Grebe, the photographer behind this month’s cover, grew up surfing in Kommetjie, a small coastal village outside Cape Town, and has spent much of his life chasing waves, wildlife and wild landscapes. From Namibia’s vast deserts to some of the world’s most remote surf breaks, he tells MEHER BAJWA how the ocean has shaped his work, travels and way of perceiving the world.

CHASING STARRY NIGHTS • For Singapore-based photographer and asset manager Kevin Ho, travel has long been a means to chase the night sky. A lifelong fascination with astronomy has taken him from the comforts of home to some of the world’s darkest, most remote landscapes, including Bhutan’s Ura Valley. Here, he speaks to MEHER BAJWA about patience, light pollution, and the search for that elusive moment of awe beneath the stars.

Against the Heat • A cycling trip from Vienna to Bratislava seemed straightforward on paper. Then the temperature hit 40 degrees, the water ran out, and the trail had other ideas.

Falling Empires, Rising Cities • The Forbidden City and the Great Wall draw the crowds, but for Charukesi Ramadurai, Beijing’s true character emerges in its parks, hutongs, tea houses, and chance encounters.

The Quiet Riviera • On Albania’s sun-washed coast, mellow beaches, blue waters, and stone...