India and Indian Ocean
The home of one of the world's oldest civilizations, and several of the world's great religions; India has been changing and re-shaping itself for as long as anywhere on earth, forever producing new forms of culture and absorbing new influences.

Visiting the subcontinent, you'll see Kipling-esque visions of spectacular carved temples and gleaming marble palaces, lonely Himalayan lamaseries and far-flung dusty villages where council meetings are held under the shade of a banyan tree, plodding camels and fierce tigers, holy cows, snake charmers and wild-haired Sadhus.

The islands in the Indian Ocean are among the most exotic and beautiful in the world. The Lakshadweep (lKadmat) - are beautiful coral atolls, the Andaman and Nicobar - the emerald Islands, Maldives - a coral paradise, Seychelles with their giant granite boulders, Sri Lanka's elephants and forests and Madagascar's tropical mountains are all diverse, exotic and exciting.

Cruise types

Cruises to this area are generally visited while on world cruises departing form the UK. These cruises often have shorter sectors for sale that allow guests just to cruise this part of the world.
Cruise season

Most cruises visit here during the early months of the year.

Main ports

If not on a World Cruise from the UK, sector cruises tend to depart from Singapore, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur or Auckland.

Weather

The region is tropical and temperatures are warm to hot. The wets period (Monsoon) is from June to September and cruises do not generally operate in this period.

• Ports of Interest