Through a sweltering bazaar with each vendor crying out louder than the next, clamouring through a sweaty crowd, a beggar tugs at your shirt as the sticky stench of the city pierces your nostrils. Navigate your way across the road through a perennial traffic jam of blasting horns and angry shouts, and suddenly you'll find yourself stepping through the trees into a deserted courtyard, flanked by gurgling ponds below the huge glittering dome of an ornately patterned mosque.

This is Delhi, city of contrasts, where an elephant can overtake an overheated Italian sports car on the streets, where colonial mansion stands next to squatter slum, and where cows are revered, but musicians are labelled 'untouchable'. The city's pace is chaotic, yet fairly relaxed, and makes it ideal for exploring. You're certain to be confronted with some strange and exotic sights.

With a long and troubled history, Delhi is full of fascinating temples, museums, mosques and forts, each with a distinct architectural style. In Old Delhi, visitors will find a charming selection of colourful bazaars and narrow winding alleys. In comparison, New Delhi - the city created to reflect the might of the British Empire - consists of tree-lined avenues, spacious parks and sombre-looking government buildings.

While Delhi itself could take a lifetime to explore, it's also ideal as a base for visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra, and it provides the best links for travelling to the hill stations of the North.