Okay so India! My advice is either do North (mainly Rajasthan) or South (Kerala and Tamil Nadu), but not both in one trip. Those epic trips we see in the movies are in real life, exhausting, you will spend so much time in transit that you will miss out on great experiences and then need another month to recover afterwards. You’ll be so overwhelmed that you probably won’t return for another 10 years which would be a shame. So I’d say embrace slow travel, and in my opinion, if you haven’t been, absolutely start with Rajasthan for a shorter trip of around 10 days and leave hungry for more.
Northern India
– New Delhi
Step into the complex maze behind the walls of New Delhi. The hustle and bustle will keep you moving along these ancient streets, to discover the secrets lurking around every corner!
Get your famous, traditional sweets at Old and Famous Jalebiwala
Punjabi comfort food at Gole Hatti
Gadodia Market, located on Khari Baoli road, is arguably the largest spice market in the world (climb upstairs for the best view in New Delhi)
In the cooler months, keep your eye out for Daulat ki Chaat. It is whisked milk foam that is naturally cooled overnight, served up on a pattal (leaf plate) with some khoya (condensed milk) and boora (sugar). Find it at dozens of push-carts around the city in the wintertime.
Wade through a sea of humans and rickshaws in the historic Ballimaran shopping district.
Naughara Gali is one of the most charming and mesmerizing alleys of New Delhi. It can be entered through the bustling market street of Kinaari Bazaar. Follow the colorful, quiet street until the end of the lane where there is the white-marble clad entrance to the c. 19th century Jain Sweitamna Temple, where bursts of colour are provided by the exotic glass work and brilliant paintings.
Gali Paranthe Wali is another notable shopping alley.
Try Chaat at Natraj Dahi Bhalle Wala
Try the strange and famous fruit sandwich at Jain Coffee House
You can’t miss this giant, green mosque
Rajasthan
The best time to visit Rajasthan is during the winter, between October and March when the days are warm and pleasant but not too hot. I’m not sure where you’d be flying from in the states but Sanganer International Airport is the nearest airport to Jaipur for international flights. Jaipur and Udaipur are stage sets that conjure up storybook India, a land where fabulously wealthy Hindu kings fought and loved and indulged their fondness for pomp and ceremony.
Unless you’re a very confident driver I would advise travelling in your own chauffeured car rather than renting. This is not nearly as expensive an option as it would be in Europe and it’s by far the most flexible and comfortable way to travel. If you love trains, consider The Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, an 8 day journey from $650pp with a solid itinerary.
– Jaipur
Jaipur is known as India’s “pink city.”
Seeking and Doing in Jaipur
Take an early morning walk with Vineet Sharma or Virasat Experiences, dipping into neighbourhood temples and havelis and meeting all kinds of artisans.See the City Palace and the Jantar Mantar, a garden of giant astronomical instruments including the world’s largest stone sundial.
Explore the astronomical and cosmological objects of the UNESCO heritage site, Jantar Mantar
Iconic sightseeing at the Amber Palace & Hawa Mahal
Row out to the Jal Mahal, the floating palace on a lake
Where to stay in Jaipur
Alsisar Haveli / Shahpura House / Hotel Narain Niwas Palace (all good budget boutique heritage hotels)
Stay and act like a royal at the luxurious Rambagh Palace
Camping by the Lake:
Retreat to the countryside westwards and stop Pushkar for lunch, a mini Varanasi with Hindu shrines and hippy hangouts set around a sacred lake. Two hours to the west is Chhatra Sagar, a bucket list place to stay even just for a night ($260) a luxury tented camp set above a lake, family-run, with hosted campfire drinks and refreshingly light Indian home cooking. In the morning, they’ll take you on a village tour and introduce you to farmers, shepherds, potters and schoolchildren living in this deeply traditional community.
Go on safari:
Narlai is a small holy town deep in the Aravalli Hills where leopards still roam and Hindu priests blow conch shells to announce prayers. In the villages of the green Aravalli Hills, life has barely changed over a thousand years. Potters, carpenters, cobblers and silversmiths still ply their trades and farmers keep fine herds of cattle and goats. Check into Rawla Narlai, a 17th-century royal retreat in the middle of an ancient village ($138 a night). Climb the 700 steps to the top of Elephant Hill for a big-sky sunset and to work up an appetite for the hotel’s magical lamp-lit stepwell dinner. Join their dawn Jeep safari in search of the leopards that prowl the granite outcrops. Horse riding and guided town tours are also offered but most guests flop beside the pool before heading out for a lakeside tea with the storks, spoonbills and kingfishers.
– Udaipur
Udaipur is the prettiest of Rajasthan’s cities and small enough to explore on foot. (and it’s a beautiful rural drive through the Aravalli Range – via the marble Jain temples at Ranakpur – to Udaipur.)
Check into Jagat Niwas Palace, the best of the haveli hotels, from $50 per night. I’d ask for a lake facing room.
The rambling City Palace opens at 9.30am but wait an hour to avoid the tour group crush in the exquisitely decorated smaller rooms. There’s a superb collection of Indian miniature paintings near the end of the tour.
Lunch at lakeside Ambrai, one of the city’s best restaurants (in the grounds of Amet Haveli) before taking a boat ride on Lake Pichola.
– Jaisalmer
Nicknamed the Golden City, Jaisalmer sits on the edge of the Thar Desert in the Northwest of the country. With buildings dating back to 1156 AD, the city is simultaneously sleepy and chaotic, with mesmerizing rolling desert hills giving way to palatial buildings tucked into the old town. Temperatures are moderate from November – March. Plan your trip around the annual Desert Festival, in February, which takes place in the Sam Sand Dunes, with events ranging from camel races and camel polo to snake charmers and a turban-tying contest.
Jaisalmer Fort is the cities hub.
Here’s a way to safely make trips out into the desert, a la Camel.
Gaji’s Restaurant Go for the comfortable rooftop space with stunning views. Indian, Korean and Chinese foods offered at this affordable eatery.
Lounge on traditional Rajasthani seating with a hookah at sunset at Cafe The Kaku
For staying, have your choice of palaces with Hotel Tokyo Palace, Hotel Pleasant Havali (both of which have rooftops with amazing views), the stunning Mandir Palace, or Suryagarh.
Stay just outside the city in an oasis in the desert: Sujan The Serai
– Bus trip to the Blue City of Jodphur
From Jaisalmer, you can take some train trips across the desert. How about a day in the old city of Jodphur, painted entirely blue? There are no motorcycles or cars allowed, which gives us a feeling of being lost in time as we weave around the cerulean streets.
The unbelievably intricate white marble Jaswant Thada
Stay at Umaid Bhawan Palace, the home of the Jodhpur royal family and a luxury hotel.
Stay at Mihir Garh, also known as the “Fortress of the Sun” which overlooks the Thar desert.
– Days in Darjeeling
Travel throughout the Himalayans on the real Darjeeling Limited Railway
Alternatively, the Kalka-Shimla Railway is known for phenomenal views of the stunning hillsides and mountain ranges.
– The Forgotten Houseboats of Kashmir
There was a time when these floating hotels that have rested on the lakes of Kashmir since the 1800s, were host to movie stars, artists, writers, famous musicians and wealthy western travellers searching for inspiration and tranquility. Lou Reed left a letter in the guestbook after his stay of one of the houseboats called Buckingham Palace, saying the floating hotel had inspired him to “regenerated manhood and introspection”, and that he would definitely recommend it even if he “weren’t too stoned to write to give this place due consideration”. Choose one out of thousands of houseboats still available to rent across several lakes in Kashmir.
Some places to start:
Items to pad the itinerary with:
See what happened when Le Corbusier was given a blank canvas in a city in Northern India.
And during your stay, keep your eye out for the quirky, tin can school buses of India, school children’s form of transport to and from classes.
Southern India
– Mumbai
Get your bearings by starting with a walking tour of the city with some of the finest examples of Art Deco edifices in the world…
Eating and Drinking
Looking for a little time-travel with your cup of coffee? With peeling walls, chipped ceilings and old, kitschy furniture, Mumbai’s grand old Parsi cafés haven’t changed much in over 100 years.
Here’s a few to sprinkle into your itinerary:
- Britania & Co.; Wakefield House, 16, 11, Sport Rd, opp. New Custom House, Ballard Estate, Fort.
- Jimmy Boy; 11, Vikas Building, Bank Street, Near, Horniman Circle, Fort
- Radio Restaurant; 10 Musafir Khana, Palton Road
- K.Rustom (for incredible ice cream); 86, Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate
- The very accidentally Wes Anderson Yazdani Bakery; 11/11-A, Cawasji Patel Street, Fort; +91 (0) 22 2287 0739. (Drive-through open all night)
- B. Merwan & Co. (Go for the Mawa Cakes); Shop No. 1/ 2, Merwan Building, Frere Bridge, Allibhai Premji Road, Opp Grant Road Station East
- Cafe Irani Chai; Rosary Building, Mia Mohd Chhotani Rd, Geeta Nagar, Mahim West, Mahim
- Cafe Military; Ali Chamber, N Master Road, GPO
- Cafe Universal; Shop-299 Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Adi Murzban Path, Ballard Estate, Fort
- Koolar & Co.; 541, Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Rd, Matunga
- Popular for its coffee, and serves a large variety of dosas and other South Indian delicacies: Cafe Madras
Maharashtrian “fast food” at Prakash Shakahari Upahar Kendra
Gorgeous, old world dining rooms at Pali Bhavan, (10, Pali Mala Rd, Adarsh Nagar, Bandra West)
For detoxing all your dals and dosas: Sequel Bistro, traditional flavors in a modern juice bar space.
Malvan Katta for local seafood in the cool Dadar neighborhood.
Inventive local cuisine at The Bombay Canteen
Your neighborhood gastropub: Woodside Inn
Seeing and Doing
Visit the showroom that is part-museum, part-store with racks of bridal designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s exquisite wedding outfits amid dozens of chandeliers, vintage bottles and antiques from his private collections.
Contemporary design store Filter is a great place to pick up locally made souvenirs. You’ll find zines and design publications, prints by local graphic artists, city maps, chocolate spiked with interesting Indian flavors and paperweights shaped like the tetrapods that line Mumbai’s coast.
Curious clothing design and shopping at Obataimu
Handwoven textiles by local designers, handmade ceramics and plenty of books and city maps made by independent publishing house at Artisans’
A stopover between Mumbai and New Delhi at the palatial Taj Lake Hotel. Constructed between 1743-1746, it was the home of the Mawar Royal Family. In the 1960s, it was turned into a luxury hotel and today boasts 83 marble rooms and suites, and was recently voted as the most romantic hotel in India and in the world.
– KOCHI (Cochin)
Portuguese forts, Dutch mansions, British parade grounds and spice bazaars!
Where to Stay
Tissa’s Inn is a quietly luxurious boutique hotel with heritage ambience located in a handsome villa in the centre of Fort Kochi.
The Brunton Boatyard Hotel is a sprawling and sumptuous five-star retreat built on the ashes of a Victorian shipyard in the style of a colonial-era palace. Many visitors to Cochin stay in intimate family home-stays and Sajhome is clearly one of the best. This bright and clean b&b, run by Mr Saj and his wife and daughters
The Old Harbour is a sprawling 300-year-old property in a beautiful garden in the historical heart of Fort Kochi.
Seeing and Doing
Join Biju Thomas, a local historian (tomskochi@yahoo.com), for a walking tour of Fort Kochi. Afterwards take a rickshaw to Mattancherry for spices and antiques, notably Crafters emporium.
Spend a morning visiting a fish farm on the Kadamakkudy islands. Discover the backwaters by houseboat. A longer two-night cruise avoids the tour boat jams (there are 500 for hire) as does heading south from Alleppey. Xandari Riverscapes (xandari.com) runs some of the best, which include a canoe ride and a village walk.
The Marari Beach Hotel (cghearth.com) is best for a beach day, beside a clean, relatively hawker-free stretch of beach, though the sea can be rough. Its specialist seafood restaurant is superb. Visit Seemati or Chennai Silks on MG road in Ernakulam for floor to ceiling bales of silks and cottons in every colour and shade you can imagine. The prices are one tenth of what you’ll find back home, so if you know a little about textiles this is a dream place.
The best Kathakali show – comic dramatisations of epic tales – is at Kerala Kathakali at Fort Naga arrive by 5pm to watch the troupe apply their elaborate make up.
I’d like to direct you to some day trip ideas from Kochi here but definitely Visit the South Indian hill station of Munnar, known for its tea plantations and fantastic views. Highlights include a tea museum, Eravikulam National Park, Mattupetty Dam, and the Munnar Rose Garden.
Eating and Drinking
Hang out at Marine Drive in the evening, a picturesque promenade. Try, Rahumaniya their amazing biriyani is one of the best in the city. You’ll find plenty of antiques shops and restaurants in the streets of Fort Cochin and Mattancherry.
For something different, pick a fish from the Chinese nets and have it cooked in front of you. Fish curry is the speciality, and meen moilee just about sums up Keralan food: seerfish stakes from the ocean, cooked in coconut milk, green chillies, and curry leaves. Karimeen, a speckled fat fish caught in the backwaters, is a huge delicacy and utterly delicious too.
The Seagull has a nice view for dinner.
Hotel Saravana Bhavan for a fantastic vegetable thali
– Ooty
Ooty was founded in the 19th century as a summer escape in the Nilgiri Hills for the British Madras government. The nearest airport is down in the plains at Coimbatore, from where it’s a three-hour taxi up the hill, or you can link up with the Unesco-listed Nilgiri Mountain Railway to/from Ooty (which takes about four hours).
The 46 kms long railway line was first opened in 1899 by the British to connect the hilly Ooty with Mettupalayam on the plains. The exciting toy train journey takes visitors through several tunnels, bridges, forests, waterfalls, tea estates and forested hills. It has small blue wooden bogies with large windows and crosses almost 250 bridges and 15 tunnels. It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 2005. To book tickets: http://www.irctc.co.in
In need of accommodation? The Savoy is a lovely vintage hotel, where the director of Dr Zhivago shot some scenes for his film A Passage to India on Ooty’s famous toy train.
Mudumalai National Park is home to tigers, elephants, chital deer and wandering peacocks – is about a 90-minute drive northwest.
Bandipur (90 minute drive north of Ooty) is one of the premier Tiger Reserves in the country along with the adjoining Nagarhole National Park. Once the private hunting ground of the Maharajas of Mysore, the park also harbors Indian elephants, spotted deer, gaurs (bison), antelopes and numerous other native species.
In Ooty, seek out the Ooty colonial club, a time capsule relic of the Raj – a colonial club where snooker was invented. I’m not sure why google says its temporarily closed, but definitely enquire locally about visiting.
The Tribal Research Centre Museum showcases the indigenous tribes of the Nilgiris and the Andamans. The lives and traditions of communities like the Todas and Kurumbas are detailed through photographs and artefacts.
The tribes constitute half of the Nilgiris population. The Todas, the Badagas, the Kurumbas, the Irulas and the Kotas are the original inhabitants of the Nilgiris. The people in the villages largely followed the tribal life styles. You can visit them for an interesting insight into the lives in Nilgiris Hills.
The Nilgiris are carpeted in lush tea plantations, are reputed for their tea. Trek through a local tea-growing estate with home cooked lunch.
The picturesque Government Botanical Gardens sprawls over the lower slopes of the Dodabetta Peak. With over a thousand species of exotic and indigenous plants and flowers.
Pykara is a beautiful village with a gushing river, located about 21 km from Ooty. The last two waterfalls are known as the Pyakara Falls and fall from the heights of 55 metres and 61 metres. The lake is just 2 kilometres away from these waterfalls. The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) runs a boathouse, family boats and speedboats can be hired to enjoy exciting rides in the lake Pykara Laka. The last two waterfalls are known as the Pyakara Falls and fall from the heights of 55 metres and 61 metres. The lake is just 2 kilometres away from these waterfalls.
Items to pad the itinerary with:
If you’re traveling through the south of India, seek out India’s Toy Candy houses located in Tirunamavalai, Tamil Nadu.
Or perhaps, India is the end of the line, and you’re checking in (or just visiting) one of India’s “Death Hotels”
Alternatively, I have some wild card experience holidays you might consider:
Well off the usual tourist trail, Cherrapunjee in the Khasi Hills of north-east India lies in a region of waterfalls, lush forest and verdant gorges. Natural bridges made from rubber trees span the valleys (most famously the Double Decker Bridge in Nongriat) and the hills are also home to tall monoliths that mark the reign of the Jaintia kings from the 1500s. Travel the Unknown explores the area, taking in the wonderfully-vibrant and busy bazaar of Shillong and the ancient, Sacred Forest of Mawphlang. Living Bridges of Meghalaya from $2,200 for six nights including flights, transfers and some meals. Departs March, October and November.
The Assam Bengal Navigation company has pioneered river cruises on the Ganges, sailing upstream from Kolkata to visit the handloom weaving communities along the Hooghly. In August and September when the river is high it cruises the middle reaches between the Varanasi and Patna in Bihar, using a traditional 18-cabin riverboat, all teak and brass, with an open-air rooftop deck. The seven-night “Historic Hooghly” cruise (00 91 361 266 7871; assambengalnavigation.com) costs from $1,300.
Are you into yoga? North of Delhi in the foothills of the Himalayas lies Basunti, a beautifully situated yoga retreat run by an Englishman whose family has lived in India for generations. While yoga is taken seriously here, the shala is attached to a convivial lodge beside a lake that acts as a reservoir for Delhi. After classes you can swim in its clean silken waters, visit the Tibetan community in Dharamsala up the valley, or simply unwind in a garden hammock. (basunti-yoga-india.co.uk)
Intrepid Travel offers a “Real Food” escorted journey from Delhi to Goa, travelling mainly by train and including a street-food breakfast in Delhi, lunch at a Sikh temple, a Mughlai cooking demonstration in Agra and a Kachori lunch in Jaipur. It takes in a spice farm in Goa too and explores the food stalls along Mumbai’s Chowpatty beach. From $2,400 for 14 nights including a lot of the meals but excludes flights (February to September). Check out their other trips, for example North & South (beaches, jungles, deserts, cities)
Retreat in Auroville: On a winter’s day in 1968 Auroville was inaugurated. It was futuristic utopia (that we think could be a Star Wars film set) in India led by guru Mirra Alfassa, who declared her mission to make “a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities.” It also looks like a Star Wars planet come to life with a galactic layout. Information on how to visit and stay here.
Need more convincing to buy that plane ticket? Check out this visual treasure trove of wanderlust inspiration: India’s Paradise of Street Graphics