Mountains in Febuary

normal

Hello folks... i'm in Mamallapuram at the moment, and am only in India until the beginning of march... i'd quite like to head up to the himalayas before the end of my trip, so am wondering how feasable this is.... ie - is it gonna be bloody freezin everywhere.... thinkin perhaps Dharamsala (Bhagsu), or maybe somewhere around Rishikesh (Basically not too high). I don't mind a bit of cold, but it's hard gettin climate info on these places, or whether there's places to stay that have some kind of heating, like a tandoor. It's a long way to go from here if i decide it's miserable once i get there. If anyones done this off-season, let me know.

Thanks alot,
Al

Alan D

Al, we just came back from Rishikesh about a week ago and it was sunny and quite warm, almost tee shirt weather. Rishikesh is pretty much at the base of the Himalayas and gets quite hot by March but you also need to be prepared for short periods of cloudy or wet weather at any time in the mountain areas.

Higher up, say in the Kullu, Manali or any of the other hill stations it will be much cooler now, but again in March weather should be quite pleasant. For a hotel to stay in Rishikesh, read my entry on the Green Hotel in the Hotels section of this site. It's really beautiful in the mountains and a complete contrast to South India.

Good travelling

Alan

Annie_T

Hi there Normal. I was in Manali and D'sala in late Feb early March 3 years ago. It was pretty cold at night - definitely jersey and sleeping bag time - but could be quite warm if the sun shone in the day. I was told at the time that it was an early spring and that there was usually snow still lying on the ground (in Manali that was).

Go up there and see what it's like. If it's too cold you can always head back a bit lower down. The one good thing is that you will miss a lot of the tourist rush that comes later onin these parts - apart from D'sala at the time of the Dalai Lama's teachings which happen some time in early March.

Enjoy

Annie T

normal

Thankyou, thankyou... that sounds encouraging... not been to rishikesh before so might gis that a go. Yeah, i've been to Dharamsala and Manali before, but only before and after monsoon, when the weather is lovely, but i was thinking of doing mountains off-season, and have been hauling around my sofar redundant sleepingbag and fleece, so atleast i'll get to put them to good use!
Annie, does it get really crowded in Dharamsala, when the Dalai Lama is in town? (ie - accomodation problems and hiked prices) I'd really like to go back there, especially if the weather is bearable.
Anyway, lovin it where i am at the moment...
Happy Pongal!
Al

indiamike

Hi normal,
Most places are pretty quiet in Dharamsala now (Mcleod Ganj) and many shops close up until Losar. Around that time many of the die harders will head back from Boghdaya. Expect some snow in late Jan and Feb there. Usually warm in the day but snow at night. I really wouldn't expect huge crowds since tourism this year is way down everywhere.

Hope this helps
Mike

Annie_T

Hi Normal...to answer your question, yes it's usually very crowded around Losar when the Dalai Lama holds his teachings and accommodation is stretched - I arrived early in the morning and finally, after a lot of walking and asking about, got a room in Dharmkot about 1 pm. If you're not too fussy something always seems to turn up. Prices don't seem to differ too much from other times of the year tho'.

If you have the chance, Losar is a great time to be there. The spirituality and humility of the great man, plus the devotion of the Tibetans, make it a bit of an experience.

Happy Travelling

Annie T