Ranthambore
One of the best places in the world to see a wild tiger: in dry forest strewn with ruins and a 10th-century fort.
Oct-May 2 days
Travel calendar
Where to go in India in May
Summer: the Himalayan season begins. Here are 33 places at their best, the weather region by region, and the festivals worth planning around.
Weather in May
- North plainsVery hot (40 °C+ is common).
- HimalayaHill stations are busy; Ladakh opens up late in the month.
- West & GoaVery humid; pre-monsoon.
- South & KeralaHot; monsoon arrives at month’s end or early June.
- NortheastWarm and increasingly wet.
Festivals & events
- Summer holidaysMay to June · Hill stations get crowded
Indian school holidays fill hill stations: book early or pick quieter alternatives like Landour, Sattal or Chikmagalur.
On the map
Teal pins are at their best in May, sand pins are possible with caveats, and red pins are better left for another month. Tap a pin for details.
Where not to go in May
- DelhiExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Oct-Mar
- AgraExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Oct-Mar
- JaipurExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Oct-Mar
- UdaipurExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Sep-Mar
- JodhpurExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Oct-Mar
- JaisalmerDesert heat: 40-45 °C; desert camps mostly closedGo instead: Oct-Mar
- PushkarExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Oct-Mar
- VaranasiExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Oct-Mar
- AmritsarExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Oct-Mar
- KhajurahoExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Oct-Mar
- KolkataHot and very humidGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Kaziranga National ParkThe park is closed (usually May to October)Go instead: Nov-Apr
- MumbaiHot and very humidGo instead: Nov-Feb
- Lonavala & KhandalaHot and dry: the waterfalls are goneGo instead: Jun-Feb
- Ajanta & Ellora CavesExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Kutch & the RannExtreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoonsGo instead: Nov-Feb
- MysuruHot by Mysuru standards (mid-30s °C)Go instead: Oct-Feb
- HampiScorching heat among the bouldersGo instead: Oct-Feb
- Puducherry (Pondicherry)Hot and humidGo instead: Dec-Mar
- Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram)Hot and humidGo instead: Nov-Feb
- MaduraiVery hotGo instead: Oct-Mar
- HyderabadVery hot (often 40 °C+)Go instead: Oct-Feb
- Spiti ValleyRoads opening after winter; Kunzum Pass usually still closedGo instead: Jun-Sep
- ChandigarhVery hot in the afternoons, often above 40 °CGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Naina Devi and Anandpur SahibHot in the plains; the ridge is cooler but crowded in school holidaysGo instead: Oct-Apr
- HaridwarVery hot in the afternoons, often above 40 °CGo instead: Oct-Nov, Feb-Apr
- Vrindavan and MathuraVery hot in the afternoons, often above 40 °CGo instead: Oct-Mar
- AyodhyaVery hot in the afternoons, often above 40 °CGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Ujjain and OmkareshwarVery hot in the afternoons, often above 40 °CGo instead: Oct-Mar
- OrchhaVery hot in the afternoons, often above 40 °CGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Bodh GayaVery hot in the afternoons, often above 40 °CGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Puri and KonarkHot and humidGo instead: Oct-Mar
- SundarbansHot, humid and cyclone seasonGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Dwarka and SomnathHot and humidGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Statue of Unity (Ekta Nagar)Very hot in the afternoons, often above 40 °CGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Shirdi, Nashik and TrimbakeshwarVery hot in the afternoons, often above 40 °CGo instead: Jul-Mar
- DiuHot and humidGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Tirupati and TirumalaVery hot in Tirupati town, and summer-holiday crowdsGo instead: Sep-Mar
- Rameswaram and KanyakumariHot and humidGo instead: Oct-Mar
- Udupi, Murudeshwar and the Temple CoastHot and humidGo instead: Oct-Mar
- LakshadweepSouthwest monsoon: rough seas, many trips cancelledGo instead: Oct-Apr
Possible, with caveats
Shillong & MeghalayaGoaBengaluruCoorg (Kodagu)ChikmagalurGokarnaKochiAlleppey (Alappuzha) BackwatersVarkalaAndaman IslandsAlibaug
Shoulder season means mixed weather or just outside the peak months. Expect fewer crowds and lower prices.
Best places to visit in May
Rishikesh
The yoga capital of the world on the Ganges: ashrams, white-water rafting, suspension bridges and Himalayan foothills.
Sep-Nov, Feb-May 2-4 days
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
Shimla
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
Dharamshala & McLeod Ganj
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
Leh & Ladakh
High-altitude desert of monasteries, turquoise lakes and the world’s highest motorable passes: India’s great adventure.
May-Sep 6-10 days
Mussoorie
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
Nainital
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
Jim Corbett National Park
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
Darjeeling
Tea estates, the UNESCO toy train and sunrise over Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain.
Oct-Nov, Mar-May 2-3 days
Gangtok & Sikkim
A clean, green Himalayan state of monasteries, high lakes and snow peaks.
Oct-Dec, Mar-May 4-6 days
Mahabaleshwar
Strawberry fields, valley viewpoints and old forts in the Sahyadri hills.
Oct-May 2 days
Wayanad
Rainforest, spice estates, waterfalls and wildlife sanctuaries in northern Kerala.
Oct-May 2-3 days
Ooty
The Nilgiris’ classic hill station: tea gardens, botanical gardens and the UNESCO Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
Oct-Nov, Mar-Jun 2 days
Kodaikanal
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
Srinagar and Kashmir Valley
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
Katra and Vaishno Devi
Katra is the base for the walk to the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi, one of the most visited pilgrimages in India.
Sep-Nov, Mar-May 2-3 days
Kasol and Parvati Valley
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
Tirthan Valley and Jibhi
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
Dalhousie and Khajjiar
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
Kasauli
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
Kedarnath and Badrinath
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
Chopta and Tungnath
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
Auli
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
Lansdowne
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
Kainchi Dham and Kumaon
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
Pachmarhi
Madhya Pradesh’s only hill station: sandstone gorges, waterfalls and cave paintings inside the Satpura Tiger Reserve.
Oct-Jun 2-3 days
Kanha and Bandhavgarh
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
Tawang
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
Mount Abu
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
Matheran
A car-free hill station near Mumbai, reached by a toy train or on foot, with red earth paths and more than 30 viewpoints.
Oct-May 1-2 days
Coonoor
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
Frequently asked questions
Where should I go in India in May?
Top picks for May include Ranthambore, Rishikesh, Manali, Shimla, Dharamshala & McLeod Ganj, Leh & Ladakh. Indian school holidays fill hill stations: book early or pick quieter alternatives like Landour, Sattal or Chikmagalur.
What is the weather like in India in May?
North plains: Very hot (40 °C+ is common). Himalaya: Hill stations are busy; Ladakh opens up late in the month. West & Goa: Very humid; pre-monsoon. South & Kerala: Hot; monsoon arrives at month’s end or early June. Northeast: Warm and increasingly wet.
Where should I avoid in India in May?
Delhi: Extreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoons. Agra: Extreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoons. Jaipur: Extreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoons. Udaipur: Extreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoons. Jodhpur: Extreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoons. Jaisalmer: Desert heat: 40-45 °C; desert camps mostly closed. Pushkar: Extreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoons. Varanasi: Extreme heat, often 40 °C+ in the afternoons.