Where to go in India in December

India’s capital packs Mughal tombs, Old Delhi bazaars, leafy Lutyens avenues and the country’s best food scene into one sprawling, energetic city.

Home of the Taj Mahal, and the red sandstone Agra Fort and the abandoned Mughal capital of Fatehpur Sikri nearby.

Rajasthan’s Pink City: hilltop Amber Fort, the honeycomb Hawa Mahal, royal palaces and India’s best bazaars for textiles, block prints and gems.

The City of Lakes: white palaces reflected in Lake Pichola, rooftop dinners and the most romantic sunsets in Rajasthan.

The Blue City, ruled by Mehrangarh (one of India’s most impressive forts) towering over a maze of indigo houses.

A golden sandstone fort rising from the Thar Desert, with carved havelis, camel rides and nights under the stars.

A small holy town around a sacred lake, with one of the world’s few Brahma temples and the famous camel fair in autumn.

One of the best places in the world to see a wild tiger: in dry forest strewn with ruins and a 10th-century fort.

One of the world’s oldest living cities: dawn boat rides on the Ganges, evening aarti, and life and death on the ghats.

The Golden Temple shimmering in its sacred pool, plus the world’s largest free kitchen and the Wagah border ceremony.

A Himalayan resort town for snow, apple orchards, adventure sports and the gateway to Lahaul, Spiti and Ladakh.

The old British summer capital: colonial Mall Road, pine forests and the UNESCO-listed toy train from Kalka.

India’s oldest national park, with sal forests, grasslands and the Ramganga river. Tigers, wild elephants and hundreds of bird species live here.

Exquisitely carved 1,000-year-old Hindu and Jain temples: a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Madhya Pradesh.

India’s cultural capital: colonial grandeur, Durga Puja, Bengali sweets and the iconic Howrah Bridge.

A clean, green Himalayan state of monasteries, high lakes and snow peaks.

The “abode of clouds”: living root bridges, crystal-clear rivers, waterfalls and some of the wettest places on earth.

Home to most of the world’s greater one-horned rhinos, plus wild elephants, water buffalo and tigers.

India’s maximum city: Bollywood, art deco seafronts, colonial landmarks and the best street food on the west coast.

India’s beach state, with Portuguese churches, spice farms and seafood shacks. Party in the north, slow down in the south.

The classic monsoon getaway between Mumbai and Pune: waterfalls, forts, caves and chikki.

Strawberry fields, valley viewpoints and old forts in the Sahyadri hills.

Two UNESCO cave complexes: Ajanta’s ancient Buddhist paintings and Ellora’s monolithic Kailasa temple, carved from a single rock.

The white salt desert of the Great Rann, with the Rann Utsav festival and some of India’s finest village crafts.

India’s tech capital, with a mild climate, craft breweries, garden parks and great South Indian breakfasts.

A royal city of silk, sandalwood and the illuminated Mysore Palace: the heart of the Dasara festival.

Misty coffee estates, waterfalls and Kodava culture in Karnataka’s Western Ghats.

Where coffee first came to India: rolling estates, Karnataka’s highest peak and quiet waterfalls.

The ruins of the Vijayanagara Empire scattered across a surreal landscape of giant boulders: a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A temple town with a string of secluded beaches (Om, Kudle, Half Moon and Paradise) joined by coastal trails.

Kerala’s historic port: Chinese fishing nets, colonial Fort Kochi, spice warehouses, art cafés and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Endless emerald tea gardens and misty peaks in Kerala’s Western Ghats.

Glide through palm-fringed canals on a traditional kettuvallam houseboat: Kerala’s signature experience.

Red laterite cliffs above a golden beach, with cliff-top cafés, yoga and Ayurveda.

Rainforest, spice estates, waterfalls and wildlife sanctuaries in northern Kerala.

A former French enclave with mustard-yellow villas, bougainvillea, cafés and the Auroville community nearby.

Seventh-century Pallava rock-cut temples and a shore temple on the Bay of Bengal: a UNESCO site an hour from Chennai.

One of India’s oldest cities, centred on the vast Meenakshi Amman Temple with its rainbow-coloured towers.

City of pearls and biryani: the Charminar, Golconda Fort and the palaces of the Nizams.

Turquoise water, white sand and coral reefs: India’s best beaches and diving, in the Bay of Bengal.

A small, green cantonment town 65 km from Chandigarh: pine walks, colonial churches and sunset views over the plains.

Le Corbusier’s planned city at the foot of the Shivaliks: the Capitol Complex (UNESCO), Sukhna Lake, the Rock Garden and the base for Kasauli, Shimla…

Two great shrines 20 km apart: the hilltop Shri Naina Devi temple, one of the Shakti Peethas, and Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib, where t…

India’s best-known ski slopes, above Joshimath, with long views of Nanda Devi and a cable car through the oak forest.

A quiet army cantonment town in oak and pine forest, home of the Garhwal Rifles, and an easy weekend from Delhi.

Krishna’s birthplace and the town of his childhood: the Banke Bihari temple, Prem Mandir, ISKCON, the ghats on the Yamuna and India’s most joyful Hol…

The birthplace of Lord Ram on the Saryu river, with the Ram Mandir, opened in January 2024, Hanuman Garhi and the ghats of Ram ki Paidi.

Two of the 12 Jyotirlingas a few hours apart: Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain, with its dawn Bhasma Aarti and the new Mahakal Lok corridor, and Omkareshwar o…

A small medieval capital on the Betwa river: palaces, the Ram Raja temple where Ram is worshipped as a king, and riverside chhatris at sunset.

Madhya Pradesh’s only hill station: sandstone gorges, waterfalls and cave paintings inside the Satpura Tiger Reserve.

Two of India’s best tiger reserves: Kanha’s sal forests and meadows (and the barasingha deer) and Bandhavgarh, with one of the highest densities of t…

Where the Buddha found enlightenment: the Mahabodhi Temple (UNESCO), the Bodhi tree and monasteries built by Buddhist countries from Japan to Bhutan.

The Jagannath Temple, one of the Char Dham, the Rath Yatra chariot festival, a long beach and the Sun Temple at Konark (UNESCO), 35 km up the coast.

The world’s largest mangrove forest (UNESCO), crossed by boat, and home of the Bengal tigers that swim between its islands.

Rajasthan’s only hill station, on a granite plateau: the marble Dilwara Jain temples, Nakki Lake and sunset over the Aravallis.

Two great temples on the Gujarat coast: the Dwarkadhish temple, one of the Char Dham, and Somnath, the first of the 12 Jyotirlingas.

The world’s tallest statue, 182 m of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the Narmada, with a viewing gallery, the Sardar Sarovar dam and a whole family park …

Sai Baba’s samadhi at Shirdi, the Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga at the source of the Godavari, Shani Shingnapur and Nashik’s ghats and vineyards.

A car-free hill station near Mumbai, reached by a toy train or on foot, with red earth paths and more than 30 viewpoints.

Mumbai’s beach weekend: a short ferry ride across the harbour to beaches, sea forts and seafood.

A small former Portuguese island off Gujarat: a sea fort, white churches, quiet beaches and Somnath just 90 km away.

The Sri Venkateswara temple on the Tirumala hills, one of the most visited religious sites in the world, and the temple town of Tirupati below.

India’s southern tip: the Ramanathaswamy Jyotirlinga on Rameswaram island, the ruined town of Dhanushkodi, and sunrise where three seas meet at Kanya…

A quieter neighbour of Ooty in the Nilgiris: tea estates, colonial cottages, Sim’s Park and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (UNESCO).

Karnataka’s coast of great temples and beaches: Udupi’s Sri Krishna Matha, Murudeshwar’s giant Shiva, Kollur Mookambika, Dharmasthala and Kukke Subra…

India’s coral atolls in the Arabian Sea: lagoons, coral reefs and very few visitors, because entry needs a permit.