India Travel Guide, climate:
For primary tourism e.g. south & central India, especially Rajasthan: Best: Nov-March [tho' Delhi can be chilly] Worst: June-Sept [heat, humidity, rains] For Himalaya trekking try April-November. For southern states, such as Kerala, go January-September. For NE India travel, such as Sikkim, go March-August.

Length of stay:
Min. worthwhile stay, not inc. flights: 7 days [for the 'Golden Triangle' of Delhi, Agra, Jaipur]. Recommended: 2 weeks - 6 months for the full India experience; remember, it's very, very big [population 1 billion] and has a massive variety of fascinating sights, not to mention many places where you may want to hang out for a while. Think of India as seven entirely different countries and you'll begin to understand the reality of travel here.

n.b. India is so vast that recommended places are often accompanied by an abbreviation of the state in which they are situated: UP= Uttar Pradesh, MP= Madhya Pradesh, HP= Himachal Pradesh, AP= Andhra Pradesh, Raj= Rajasthan, G= Gujarat, TN= Tamil Nadu, M= Maharashtra, Kar= Karnataka, Ker= Kerala, O= Orissa.

Main Festivals in India:
Dates are usually based on non-Gregorian calendars, so change year-by-year. Mid Jan SE India [eg.TN, Kar, AP] Pongal [Harvest] festival, 3 days Mid Jan Ahmedabad [G] Kite Festival, 1 day. Mid Jan Trivandrum & Thrissur [Ker] Elephant march, 1 day Jan, Delhi, Republic day. Parade and festival, 2 days. Jan/Feb Allahabad, [UP] Kumbah Mela. 'Greatest Religious Show on Earth.' Millions of pilgrims and crazed sadhus swim and perform miracles. Every 3 years, for one month. Next 2007. Jan/Feb Madurai [TN] Float Festival. 1 day. Late February/early March. Jaisalmer [Raj] Desert Festival. 3days Feb/March North India, Holi [Festival of Colour]. 1 day Feb/March Khajuraho [MP] Dance Festival. Feb/March Goa Carnival. Feb/March/April Ajmer [Raj] Urs Ajamer Sharif Islamic Festival. 6 days April/May, nationwide, Hindu New Year [Baisakhi], 1 day April/May Thrissur [Ker] Pooram. Elephant, fireworks etc. 1 day. April/May Madurai [TN] Chitra Festival. Divine marriage at OTT Meenakshi temple. 10 days. June/July Puri [Or] Chariot Festival. The original juggernauts. 1day July/Aug, nationwide, best in Jodhpur, Naag Panchami. Snake Festival. Aug/Sept Allepey/all Kerala, Onam Harvest Festival and Snake Boat Racing. 10 days. Aug/Sept all Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi, 1 week. Sept/Oct, nationwide, Dussehra[Ram Lila], 10 days Oct/Nov, nationwide, Diwali [Festival of Lights], 1 day. Oct/Nov Pushkar [Raj] Camel Fair. 1 week.

India Activities Guide:

Trekking: Best in the Himalayas from April to November e.g. Dharamsala in H Pradesh[see right]; also U Pradesh and Punjab but stay away from Kullu, where bandits are active and deadly.

Wildlife: Kanha National Park is India's ultimate wildlife destination. The setting for Kipling's 'Jungle Book', this 750 sq. mile park is your best chance to see a tiger in the wild, though not big. However, the elephant back safaris are fun and apart from tigers, you can see leopards, rhinoceros, bison, boar, sambar deer and monkeys by the barrel load. Open Nov-June, but best Feb - April. Other OK wildlife parks are: Ranthambore [Raj] for tigers+, Periyar [Ker] for elephants, Bharatpur [Raj] for birds, and Bandhavgarh [MP] for tigers+.

Camel Safaris: many from gorgeous Jaisalmer or Pushkar [Raj], see right for information.

Boating and Rafting: the Ganges e.g. from Rishikesh [UP], Chenab & Beas [HP], Rangit & Teesta [Sikkim], Zanskar & Indus [Ladakh].

Backwater River Trips from Cochin or Allepey in Kerala are superb. Cruising through tranquil, spectacular waterways, viewing duck-herding, Chinese fishing nets, pastoral scenes of all kinds, it's magical and more or less free if you jump a regular ferry [but possibly noisy. Try the front or roof of the boat for more peace].

Trains: Nilgiri Blue Mountain railway [TN], Neral -Matheran [M], Kalka-Shimla [HP] toy train, and the creme de la creme 'The Palace on Wheels' for seriously fat wallets.

Caving: East Khasi Hills, Jainta Hills, South Garo Hills [Meghalaya]

Yoga, Ashrams and Meditation: All over India. The Beatles went to Rishikesh [UP] on the Ganges. Varanasi is also a major centre.

India Cuisine Guide: Although fancy hotels serve the usual international cuisine, most Indian food revolves around carbohydrates [rice in the south, bread in the north] with spicy vegetables, and a little scraggy protein if you're lucky. Naturally big towns sport the usual fast food joints and a better selection of alternative eateries, but travelers beware: if you don't like Indian food in your own country it won't improve a lot when you travel here. On the upside eating in Indian joints is incredibly good value, or you can acquire a substantial club sandwich in superb surroundings at most first class hotel cafés for a few rupees more.

Why Travel to India? This is a truly incredible land of dramatically diverse cultures all under one flag, all of them unearthly, and some - like Rajasthan - positively barmy. The sights are endless, from the Taj Mahal, through the forts and palaces of Rajasthan, the erotic temples of Khajuraho, the carved caves of Ellora to the wandering cows on busy highways and garish Bollywood posters. And then there are the people sights: saris, huge clunky silver jewelry, handlebar moustaches, brown fishermen in pink thongs, pilgrims bathing at Varanasi, sadhus and their bizarre customs, snake charmers, glorious weddings, funny head waggles meaning yes [or is it no?] and so on. Beaches are huge, towns are noisy but fascinating and the endless festivals are world-class mind-bogglers. It's pretty safe, inexpensive, has good weather if you get your timing right and is populated by relaxed, friendly people. Though rather too many of them..

India downside: - Towns are often crowded, noisy, dusty and polluted by bikes and auto-rickshaws. - There is limited food choice [with occasional questionable hygiene], especially if you don't like Indian food, though vegetarians are unusually well-catered for. - Travel between sights can be very time consuming as distances are huge and the transport infrastructure sometimes shaky. - Pushy beggars, especially the deformed, are a pervasive and depressing sight in many locations.

Where to travel in India: -
Rajasthan*** [best November-March] is one of the more distinctly Indian states, with deserts, stunning palaces and fortified towns, turbaned and mustachioed men, women in clunky jewelry and red saris, etc etc. A road trip connecting the towns below would be sensational, though Udaipur may have problems. Udaipur is an India icon of prettily painted houses, lake isolated palaces and a marvellously relaxed ambience, though recently water levels have fallen dramatically and that may well tarnish the scenery, depending on the season and recent rainfall. Bundi, relatively unvisited and undeveloped, this walled town holds not only a monster fort and evocative old town but also one of Rajasthan's best palaces, 'the work of goblins rather than of men' according to Kipling. Jaipur is another favourite, with many stunning pink buildings [including the iconic Wind Palace], the great Amber Fort a short elephant ride away and superb shopping in the bazaars. The town does suffer dust and noise pollution. Jodhpur, en route from Jaipur to Jaisalmer, is of lesser interest but still has a fascinating palace [hotel] and is worth overnighting there. Jaisalmer is a totally awesome fantasy fortified town surrounded by desert. Mud medieval styling and camels galore, this is a classic. Many tourists do camel travel from here, from a few hours to a few days. It's best October-February. Jaisalmer is a long way out but buses and trains generally work well and there's even the fabled 'Palace on Wheels' train to take you there in style if you're loaded.

- Agra***. The Taj Mahal is one of the world's top sights and deservedly so. Magnificently huge, but also impressively macro, the colourful semi-precious stones set into white marble are stunning. The environment around and beside the Yamuna River is peaceful, and nearby Agra Fort and the Moghul palace complex of Fatehpur Sikri offer more stunning architecture. At 200km [125mls] from Delhi this can be a long day trip so it's way better to stay overnight and wander around early or late.

- Delhi**. A big city version of traditional India which does not suit those in search of tranquility, but there are enough strange sights, great buildings and interesting cultural activities to keep most tourists happy for a few days.

- Mumbai* also known as Bombay, this Bollywood-on-sea has to be seen, briefly, with its grand colonial architecture, love of cricket and sophisticated life yet appalling poverty.

- Ellora cave temples and Ajanta Caves*** near Aurangabad [M], 400km [250mls] north-east of Mumbai. Ellora offers 34 superbly carved caves alive with sculptures lurk in an escarpment, including shrines, halls and platforms. Ajanta's high points - other than sculptures - are a more spectacular location and stunning, well-preserved murals painted by 200 monks that used to live here.

- Madurai* [TN] is a modern city [as India goes]and has the usual problems of congestion and pollution but with one staggering, kaleidoscopic temple positively writhing with mythical figures at its heart, the Meenakshi-Sundareshwarar.

- Khajuraho** [MP] is India's erotic temple centre, with an amazing collection of beautifully crafted, outrageous carvings on a cluster of temples in pastoral surroundings. It's a bit of a problem to reach, however.

- Gwalior** [MP]120kms [80mls] south of Agra, is a nothing town but is overseen by a cluster of rock-hewn Jain sculptures and a wonderful, tiled hillfort containing six palaces and three temples.

- The Ganges at Varanasi** [aka Benares or 'The City of Light. UP] This is a place to die for, literally. It's so holy that anyone, of any religion, dying here, goes to heaven. On the stepped banks of the Ganges hundreds of pilgrims bathe, meditate and are cremated here. It's a gripping, colourful spectacle, and so, so India. - Calcutta* [Kolkata], with its roots firmly in the British Raj era, is a curious, crammed, dilapidated city with a heart of gold. Locals are proud of their wit, their hospitality and their avant-garde art and theatre, while their grand old buildings refuse to collapse under the weight of numbers. It's best October-February.

- Gujarat state** in the west is a detuned Rajasthan - without the tourists but with plenty of temples, palaces, forts, desert, colourful people and fine handicrafts. - Kashmir is cool, mountain-ringed but still out of play unfortunately, due to border tension and occasional terrorist attacks.

- Dharamsala** [HP. aka McLeod Ganj] in the Himalayas is home of the Dalai Lama and centre for Tibetan refugees as well as their Hollywood hangers-on. It is relaxed and scenic and also makes a good base for mountain treks. December-March is the snow season but warm clothes will be needed at night all year round.

Beaches*** [best January- September] India has a fair number of of big, soft sand beaches fringed by palm trees, with wandering sari ladies selling fruit, and accommodation ranging from 5* to no*. The Goa [Kar] area has been a hippy haven for years, especially Anjuna beach, but inland and the town are calm and attractive in a dilapidated way. Palolem beach is lovely and often visited by dolphins. On the southern tip Trivandrum's Kovalam beach [Ker] is slightly less well-known and more out of the way so offers a more real India beach experience of big sand, dugout canoe transport and small family shack/restaurants among the palm trees. Varkala [Ker] and Gokarna [Kar] are also popular. Beaches around Puri [O] are the province mostly of fishermen but excellent nevertheless if you prefer untainted indigenous culture to plentiful tourist services. The Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal were a remote, 'tropical paradise' and about the only place in India to have decent dive and snorkelling, until the 2004 tsunami did a huge amount of damage. They are currently off-limits.