Manali
A Himalayan resort town for snow, apple orchards, adventure sports and the gateway to Lahaul, Spiti and Ladakh.
Oct-Jan, Mar-Jun 3-5 days
Travel calendar
Monsoon arrives: Ladakh and the high Himalaya shine. Here are 28 places at their best, the weather region by region, and the festivals worth planning around.
For Ladakh, rest 36-48 hours in Leh before going higher.
Teal pins are at their best in June, sand pins are possible with caveats, and red pins are better left for another month. Tap a pin for details.
RanthamboreRishikeshBengaluruMysuruChikmagalurHyderabadShirdi, Nashik and Trimbakeshwar
Shoulder season means mixed weather or just outside the peak months. Expect fewer crowds and lower prices.
A Himalayan resort town for snow, apple orchards, adventure sports and the gateway to Lahaul, Spiti and Ladakh.
Oct-Jan, Mar-Jun 3-5 days
The old British summer capital: colonial Mall Road, pine forests and the UNESCO-listed toy train from Kalka.
Sep-Dec, Mar-Jun 2-3 days
Home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile: monasteries, momos and the Triund trek under the Dhauladhar range.
Sep-Nov, Mar-Jun 2-4 days
High-altitude desert of monasteries, turquoise lakes and the world’s highest motorable passes: India’s great adventure.
May-Sep 6-10 days
The “Queen of the Hills” above Dehradun: Mall Road, Landour’s quiet lanes and views of the snow peaks.
Sep-Nov, Mar-Jun 2 days
A lake town in the Kumaon hills, with boating, ropeways and quieter lakes like Bhimtal and Sattal close by.
Sep-Nov, Mar-Jun 2-3 days
India’s oldest national park, with sal forests, grasslands and the Ramganga river. Tigers, wild elephants and hundreds of bird species live here.
Nov-Jun 2 days
The “abode of clouds”: living root bridges, crystal-clear rivers, waterfalls and some of the wettest places on earth.
Jun-Apr 4-6 days
The classic monsoon getaway between Mumbai and Pune: waterfalls, forts, caves and chikki.
Jun-Feb 1-2 days
Misty coffee estates, waterfalls and Kodava culture in Karnataka’s Western Ghats.
Jun-Mar 2-3 days
The Nilgiris’ classic hill station: tea gardens, botanical gardens and the UNESCO Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
Oct-Nov, Mar-Jun 2 days
The “princess of hill stations”: a star-shaped lake, pine forests and cliff-edge walks in the Palani hills.
Sep-Oct, Mar-Jun 2 days
Houseboats on Dal Lake, Mughal gardens, chinar trees and the meadows of Gulmarg and Pahalgam: Kashmir is the classic Indian honeymoon and family holi…
Sep-Oct, Apr-Jun 4-6 days
A high-altitude desert valley on the Tibetan border: thousand-year-old monasteries, fossil villages and some of the most dramatic roads in the Himala…
Jun-Sep 7-10 days
Pine forests, a fast blue river and cafe villages: Parvati Valley is the backpackers’ Himachal, with the Manikaran gurdwara and the Kheerganga trek n…
Sep-Nov, Mar-Jun 3-4 days
Two quiet Himalayan valleys of wooden villages, trout streams and forest walks, next to the Great Himalayan National Park (UNESCO).
Sep-Nov, Mar-Jun 3-4 days
A quiet colonial hill station on five hills, and Khajjiar’s meadow ringed by deodar forest, often called India’s little Switzerland.
Sep-Nov, Mar-Jun 2-3 days
A small, green cantonment town 65 km from Chandigarh: pine walks, colonial churches and sunset views over the plains.
Sep-Dec, Mar-Jun 1-2 days
The two high Himalayan dhams: Kedarnath, a Jyotirlinga reached by a 16 km walk, and Badrinath, the Vishnu temple on the Alaknanda river.
Sep-Oct, May-Jun 5-7 days
Meadows and rhododendron forest below Tungnath, the highest Shiva temple in the world, and the short trek on to Chandrashila peak for a Himalayan sun…
Sep-Nov, Apr-Jun 2-3 days
India’s best-known ski slopes, above Joshimath, with long views of Nanda Devi and a cable car through the oak forest.
Oct-Jun 2-3 days
A quiet army cantonment town in oak and pine forest, home of the Garhwal Rifles, and an easy weekend from Delhi.
Sep-Dec, Mar-Jun 1-2 days
Neem Karoli Baba’s ashram in a river valley near Nainital, now one of Uttarakhand’s most visited places, and the Kumaon hill towns of Bhimtal, Muktes…
Sep-Nov, Mar-Jun 3-4 days
Madhya Pradesh’s only hill station: sandstone gorges, waterfalls and cave paintings inside the Satpura Tiger Reserve.
Oct-Jun 2-3 days
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…
Oct-Jun 4-5 days
India’s largest Buddhist monastery, above 3,000 m near the Bhutan and Tibet borders, reached over the dramatic Sela Pass.
Sep-Nov, Mar-Jun 5-6 days
Rajasthan’s only hill station, on a granite plateau: the marble Dilwara Jain temples, Nakki Lake and sunset over the Aravallis.
Oct-Jun 2-3 days
A quieter neighbour of Ooty in the Nilgiris: tea estates, colonial cottages, Sim’s Park and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (UNESCO).
Oct-Jun 2-3 days