Where to go in India????

Going to be in India for one month in December, where should we go? Thanks for the help!

wherearewenow Reply to this

depends on what your tastes are. I would suggest Kerala... Cochin, Trivandrum, The Silent Valley, Thekkady. Cochin has a mix of portugese and colonial architecture while thekkady and silent valley are wild life sanctuaries. trivandrum, varkala, kovalam is the place if you want to take a break and relax....varkala has some really good trails for walking.
Neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka also has some really nice places to visit. If you are a history buff the southern states with their dravidian architecture will be a sure sell for u.
gimme a buzz if you need any help
job.abraham@gmail.com Reply to this

As the other responders have mentioned, you're spoiled for choice and it really does come down to what your personal interests are.

Though Rajasthan tends to attract a ton of tourists (and as a result you'll get the most hassle), you may well end up seeing so many forts and palaces that they all blur into one - if you were only going to see one city there, I would choose Udaipur. The City Palace is astounding, and the lake gives a sense of calmness that will be all too rare elsewhere. For architecture, I would also recommend Khajuraho (erotic sculptures from a thousand years ago), Hampi (ruins set in an interesting landscape of enormous boulders), Madurai (astoundingly vibrant temple complex), Ajanta (cave sculptures and paintings), Konarak (Sun temple), and Agra (Taj Mahal plus Akbar's tomb - despite seeing Agra at the end of 4 months travelling around India, I was captivated by the Taj).

For spirituality (though I'm not a religious person), I enjoyed Amritsar (simply walking around the Golden Temple with the pilgrims was a peaceful experience), Varanasi and Bodhgaya.

My other favourites were Bandhavgarh National Park (possibly the best place in India to see tigers), Darjeeling (laid-back and with views of Kanchenjunga and, if you're lucky, Everest and other Himalayan peaks), and the backwater cruise I took in Kerala.

Delhi is an intense place to arrive in - it has some great things to see but Mumbai/Chennai/Kolkotha would all be less of a culture shock.

Unfortunately the places I've mentioned are pretty much dotted around all over the country but hopefully a couple of the recommendations may be of use. You can see pictures and commentary for all these places in my blog. Reply to this

Going too north in December is not a good idea. Roads are not that well maintained in winter. I've heard Shimla is beautiful in winter. But if you are from a place where it snows, its nothing spl.
What are you looking for? Temples, palaces, beaches, shopping? Each state has itw own culture. Any place you visit, you can bring back home a lot of souveniors.
"Bargain" whatever you buy. In some places in Delhi, you can ask for half the price. Without doubt, Delhi is the place if you wanna shop.
A lot of people dont know, but I visited a bird sanctuary at Bharatpur(Rajasthan border) some 4 hrs from Delhi. Tour guides will take you on rickshaws as they dont wanna disturb the birds. I've never seen so many bird species anywhere else. If you are interested, just chk for the season.

To find a cleaner city in India, head south, 4 hrs from Chennai; to Pondicherry. Its a french colony and it is still very very beautiful.
Wherever you go in India, you will find temples.

How do you plan to travel around? Train? Car? bus?
Make arrangements beforehand.

Good luck! Reply to this

The whole world crammed into just one nation - well those are my thoughts of India, and because of this diversity, and as Laura, Job, John, Ganeesh and Meera have alluded to, it all depends on your taste.

During my two visits there - I visited 30 cities/towns in over 3 months - and so will list the best of the best. Prior to commencing - my advice is to start in the south and head north. The south is a lot more relaxed and it will ensure that any 'culture shock' upon arriving in such an intense country is lessened.

In a land of endless temples and religious monuments, I'll start on those:
Most beautiful - Taj Mahal, Agra (honourable mention to Sri Meenakshi, Madurai).
Most impressive - Kailasa, Ellora - the world's largest sculpture from a single rock.
Best carvings: Khajuraho - absolutely essential.
Most peaceful: Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya & Golden Temple, Amritsar.
Most bizarre: Karni Mata, Deshnok - it's the famous one inhabited by rats.
Most intense (not including exorcism temples): Venkateswara, Tirumala.

Ok, onto some other activities:
Most relaxing time: Cruise the backwaters of Kerala.
Best shopping: Jaipur - especially for iconic Indian gifts.
Best fort: Mehrangarh Fort, Jodphur - take the audio tour while you are there.
Best palace: Mysore - ensure you attend during the one hour Sunday evening light show.
Most humorous: Closing of the border ceremony, Attari/Wagah (near Amritsar).
Best food: The south - but particularly in Kerala.
Best beach: Though I didn't visit any, heard that Varkala in Kerala is extremely good.

To do all of this you would need probably up to 8 weeks. If you deleted the most difficult (for transport and location) places to visit: Tirumala, Bodhgaya, Khajuraho and Ellora - you'd save a lot of time - but you are missing something special. If you start in Madurai or Kerala, then wind your way to Amritsar via Mysore, Agra and Rajashtan - that is achievable in four weeks - but do try to fit in Khajuraho and Ellora as well - they are both incredible. Reply to this

I spent 6 weeks in India in January. I would say definitely don't miss Kerala - truly beautiful. We did a canoe ride through some narrow channels of the backwaters, organised through the Tourist Info centre in Kollam and it was wonderful - highly recommended. Also, the south of India is much more relaxed and less hassly than the north.

If you go to Rajasthan, meake sure you go to Ranakpur temple, north of Udaipur. A bit out of the way, but the most beautiful thing I saw in India, it is an amazing Jain temple which is made of intricately carved marble. A really peaceful and lovely place. It is one of the best preserved sights we saw, and this is rare in India, where lots of things are poorly maintained. Reply to this

I had been to India last year with Virtual Tours India, a travel company, I had been to RAJASTHAN, In my openion the rajasthan is the best place to visit. In rajasthan there is everything to see, culture, fair, festival, heritage etc.
In winters the season is very cool !!.

The agra, jaipur, jodhpur and udaipur is very very nice places to see. IN chittorgarh there is a Padmini Palace, is very must place to see. In Pushkar the best way to take the Dinner is Pushkar Palace Hotel, near by the lake. In jaipur CHOKHI DHANI, the best place for rajasthani food and drink.

In agra the TAJ MAHAL is very very good !!!!

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They are very good in hospitality and service. They can provide all types of services in India. In my openion you can go with tham without any hassel. Even they will provide you the best rates with best quality services. Reply to this

I'll add to what several other people have already said: It really depends on what you are looking for. I spent a month in northern India (Himachal Pradesh), and I agree that if you go too far North, you may encounter difficulties with the road and climate. I do think you will be fine climate-wise in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, etc . It seems to me that there are lots of cool architectural and historical things in northern India, but other travellers have complained to me that the people are overly aggressive toward the multitudinous tourists in Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur.

I just returned from a 12 day trip to Kerala in Southern India, and I would highly recommend it if you are looking for a relaxing time. I felt people were far more laid back and friendly, which I have heard can be contributed to a higher standard of living and literacy rate. Unfortunately, the tourist season is just starting up down there, so you may find things more expensive and crowded in December. If you do go, don't miss out on dirt cheap Ayurvedic massages all over the state. You can also rent houseboats in Alleppey or Kollam and hang out at some nice cliff-type beaches in Varkala. I spent a few days in Kovallam, which I felt was overpriced and overrated, but the beaches weren't too shabby. Although I didn't make it to Kochin, I heard great things about that as well. You can also head down to Kanyakumari in the state of Tamil Nadu, which is the southern most tip of India. I think that if you head farther North in Tamil Nadu, you may be able to see some cool temples and stuff too.

Whatever you do, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get between places. At first I was surprised at how slow travel is all over India, because the condition of the roads is just not the same as in most other countries I have visited. It seems like it generally took about 45 minutes to 1 hour to travel 60 km by car or bus, and I don't think the trains are necessarily faster.

Good luck!
Anne
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Hi Ben and Heather,
I backpacked through India for 32 days in December/January. Having travelled extensively I had developed a been there, done that attitude. India gave me the adjustment that I needed though it wasn't always pleasant. We visited Mumbai-Goa-Delhi-Varanassi-Khajuraho-Agra-Jaipur-Udaipur-Pushkar. We packed a lot into a short period of time. My impression of India was mixed. From an experiential standpoint there is nothing like it, but...it was not always pleasant. The air polution in the cities was worse than I'd seen elsewhere and I developed a hacking cough after 2-days in any city center (saw this with a lot of travellers who'd been in the cities). The cough would go away in smaller towns/cities along the way, but always returned when I entered a major city. Additionally, the sheer number of people, the excessive noise and the abundant smells sent me into sensory overload. But, this said, I would not change a thing about my trip--wouldn't go back, but wouldn't change the fact I went.

As for where to go....the highlites of our trip were

Varanassi--religious center that is unlike anything i had ever experienced
Khajuraho--was a fantastic reprieve from noise/pollution and the temples were fantastic--amazing detail!
Pushkar--camel trekking and a great little town surrounding a picturesque lake--beware the monkeys one attacked us...it was ugly!
Udaipur--the most romantic location on a lake...really quite special.

I hope you have a wonderful journey...you might want to consider myanmar--a remarkable country with wonderful people...gov't aside, and it is on your way.


Cheers,






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I would agree on the whole to avoid help from unknown people as 19 out of 20 times they want something from you. However, its 1 out of 20 times that the person genuinely doesn't want anything from you and is actually trying to help you. I had that happen to me at the end of the trip in India. Anytime someone tried to talk to me, I would ignore them (travelling alone, talking to guys wasn't such a good idea) and on the train platform so many people were asking me if I was heading to the Taj Mahal. After the 10th person had approached me, this time a young couple with a daughter, I realized that all these people were trying to tell me that the train platform had moved... something I didn't realize as the announcement was in Hindi. Reply to this