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Winter Travel Tips

These Winter Travel Tips will show you what to look out for in India’s tourist high-season. Winter is the most popular time for visitors to India, anytime between late November and February, as the weather is most agreeable. Cool in the evenings and mornings, but still pleasant during the day, at least in the north. The south is closer to the equator and therefore the temperature doesn’t vary as much with the seasons.

Winter Travel Tip #1 - Fog

Fog can delay your train travel in the north during Dec-Jan especially. For instance, last time we traveled from Varanasi to Delhi overnight, instead of taking 8 hours, I think it took about 16 hours. This is part of life, you just have to factor it in as very likely, and think you have a bonus if it doesn’t happen!

That’s not to say that fog isn’t fantastic in the right location. Francis and I took the picture on the right in our Winter 2006-07 trip. We’re on the Ganges in Varanasi, where it’s beautiful (and eerie) to do a sunrise boat trip. The only annoying factor is the hawkers who, like in every other tourist destination in India, feel that your journey cannot be complete without a really tacky souvenir and will come alongside your boat to shove things in your face.

Tip #2 - Wedding Season

November to February is the major wedding season. Why does this matter? If you have a hotel room with a window over a road where a wedding procession passes, you can expect lots of loud singing, dancing and marching band-type instruments like tubas and trombones etc, drums of course, and into the wee hours. This can happen almost every night of the week, as Indian weddings are held on astrologically auspicious days in most cases, so it’s not always a weekend. These processions move generally very slowly (and loudly) and are actually a really interesting cultural opportunity. Unless you want to sleep :-)

Tip #3 – Pollution

Pollution in worse in northern cities such as Delhi, in the winter, so if you suffer from asthma or other chest complaints, it may be a bit more uncomfortable for you now. But things are definitely improving in this department over the last ten years, with the pollution levels decreasing significantly.

I have been to India in each of the three seasons, and I can definitely say winter is my clear favorite. I love being able to rug up in pashminas, and I even scored a fabulous beanie when I was in Darjeeling.

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