Religion and ritual have long shaped life in the Indian Ocean, where private prayers and sacred ceremonies honour gods and ancestors. From the royal courts of resplendent palaces to the buzz of Bollywood energy, art and performance express more than words, and vibrant festivals are a chaotic cauldron of colour and sound. Hospitality is embedded in every encounter through warm welcomes and small acts of kindness.

From Mumbai to Malé, the heady aroma of spices greets you in saffron-scented markets and bustling cafes that distil the bounty of land and sea in a vivid sensory journey. The steaming gurgle of chaiwallah stalls in India’s cities, aromatic curry on palm-fringed Goan beaches, grilled fish plucked fresh from the ocean in Malé and the din of conversation over hoppers and coconut sambol in a Colombo café. Each element adding to the depth of this generous and abundant culinary canon.

Stories are etched into the walls of India’s Hindu temples, where art is a form of worship, and resplendent palaces that carry the legacy of bygone eras. Along the Malabar Coast, Portuguese architecture reflects Goa’s colonial past and Vasco da Gama’s footsteps echo through Kochi’s nostalgic neighbourhoods, tracing ancient trade routes towards the Keralan backwaters. Across the Laccadive Sea, Buddhist temples rise from the lush landscape of southern Sri Lanka, and the tropical atolls of the Maldives have provided sanctuary for seafarers since the dawn of ocean navigation.

The Maldivian archipelago swims in crystal clear seas, where dolphins and dhonis skim across cobalt lagoons and parrotfish dart through colourful reefs. We look out for big cats and elephants on Sri Lanka’s wild southern coast and feel the ocean roar onto untouched beaches, framed by coastal lagoons and a chorus of birdlife. Refreshed by monsoon rains and the mountain rivers of the Western Ghats, Kerala paints an emerald patchwork of coco palms and fishing villages carved by canals and the neon flash of Kingfishers.