Hi everyone I'm planning a trip to India in October which will last between 4 and 5 weeks. I will be flying to Delhi and I need to decide whether to fly back from Delhi or from another city. The places where I can afford to fly from (and with dates that suit me) are Mumbai and Bangalore. I want to spend some time in the North, especially in the Ladakh area so I'm thinking maye to fly back from Delhi as the other cities are much further south. Has anyone done a similar trip and have any information to help me decide? Would you recommend trying to fit in the North and Southern parts of the country, or concentrating my time in the North and in Delhi itself? Any advice would be wonderful!
the country is HUGE!!!! i was there for six months and only made it to the North, but I was studying and my focus was there...if you think you will be able to go back to India again one day I say pick an area and focus on it, that way you get a feel for it a bit better. While you are in Delhi you can make a day visit down to the Taj Mahal (which is South od Delhi). By the way October is a great time to go because in the Winter the North gets absolutely freezing (many places without heat) and in the summer the South gets DAMN hot!!!!!! I hear Ladakh is beautiful, never been there personally, but if you are into Buddhism or anything you should go to Himachal Pradesh (Upper Dharamsala also known as McLeod Ganj) where the Tibetan exiled community and the Dalai Lama live. there is so much in india man you are gonna have one hell of a trip who are you traveling with?
My first advice would be to go for a longer period of time. With 5 weeks, sticking to the North should give you plenty to do. Varanasi was my favorite place (with over 8 months in India). Ladakh may be too cold in October, but Dharmasala should be really nice. Also, you could easily spend all of your time in Rajastan. What are you interested in geating out of your trip? Lots of sites, spiritual journey, or experiencing the craziness that is India.
Thanks for the advice! Yeah I realise how massive the country is so my initial idea was to stay in the north and really see and experience as much of it as I can. Then I can visit the south and the coasts on another trip. I'm actually just graduating from uni in Scotland and am heading to Australia for a year or two to live and work. India's going to be a stop on the way - hence only having a month or so. I'll be travelling alone which I'm really excited about. I've been round most of Europe alone and I'm ready for something a bit further from home. I could say it's a spiritual thing - there's something amazing about being by yourself in another land and only really having yourself to rely on. You start to get to know all kinds of different aspects of your self. I'll let you know how my plan turns out. I'm booking flights in afew days!!! Thanks again!
You will find a lot of detailed information about travelling in india and trips on India Mike.. http://www.indiamike.com/ I would suggest you search on that website for the location and you will find various threads on that topic. If you are heading to Australia after your trip then I think the airfare will be cheaper from south india than delhi because bangalore is nearer to Australia ? Not sure though check it up.. In october delhi will be cold while the south will be warm Have a nice trip and hope you find what you are looking for...