Holidays to India

Notwithstanding some geographical variations, the best months to travel to India are from mid-October through to the end of March. April and May can also be great, as long as you can handle the high temperatures, which climb from the late-30s into the mid-40s (Celsius). Monsoon season lasts from June until late September, making travel difficult in many areas of India, but there are some regions where it’s still possible – and it’s the perfect time to visit Ladakh and the far north. Naturally, accommodation and flight prices will be higher during peak season than at other times of year, which you may want to take into consideration when choosing when to travel.

India has enough world-class sites and experiences to keep you busy for a lifetime, but some of our favorites include:

• Architecture: Rajput palaces and Mughal monuments in the north; Dravidian temples in the tropical south; Indo-Saracenic colonial architecture across the country
• Wildlife-spotting: Tigers, elephants, leopards, sloth bears, one-horned rhinos and an endless array of bird life
• Everyday life: Get to know some of India’s 1.4 billion people and how they live
• Landscapes: The high mountains of the Himalayas and the Western Ghats; the Thar Desert in the west; the jungles and forests of central India; the tropical beaches and backwaters of the south
• Traditions: Learn how thousand-year-old religions and ancient practices intertwine with modern India

Indian cuisine is often seen as monolithic in the West, but it’s actually incredibly diverse, catering to all palates with dishes shaped by religion, history and geography. Curries or masalas are generally richer in the north, with lots of influences from Persia and beyond, generally eaten with an array of different Indian breads. The south features more rice-based dishes, plentiful seafood and ubiquitous use of coconut.

Snacking is a national obsession in India at any time of day, so be sure to leave some room for pakora, kachori, samosa, idli, vada, bonda – as well as something sweet to finish like halwa, kulfi, jalebi, laddu or rasmalai.

Made up of numerous different languages, religions and ethnic groups, shaped by a turbulent history that stretches back further than almost anywhere else on Earth – it’s easy to see why India is so often likened to a continent rather than a country.

From Tibetan Buddhism in the far north to Chistianity in the far south, from European colonial enclaves to centuries-old Hindu and Muslim cities, from forest-dwelling tribes in Gujarat to nomads in the Thar Desert. India is a never-ending cultural adventure, where time-honored traditions thrive alongside 21st-century life.