3 months - Delhi to Madras or Madras to Delhi?

drsoptics

I am a 29-year old male from the USA, and this will be my first trip to India, any itinerary advice will be greatly appreciated. I have a little over 3 months (April 19 2007 through July 27 2007) that I would like to start setting up a vague itinerary for. I will be flying in to Delhi on April 19, and I will be trekking on the North after July, so I don't need to include anything north of Delhi.

I am interested in big cities, small villages, being outside, traveling by train, being in places where there are few foreigners, being in the teeming street markets, art, religious sites, and national parks. I consider myself a low budget traveler, I like to be spontaneous and adventurous.

My basic idea is to take a train from Delhi to Madras right after I land and spend the next 3 months slowly snaking my way back northwards, but I need to take weather/monsoon into account as well, as I will be traveling during the rainy season. My rationale was to start in the South before the monsoons hit, because they hit there first, but I am totally open to suggestions.

My basic plan was to travel up the left coast: Madras, Pondicherry, Hampi, Kerala backwaters, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Ajanta/Ellora, Mandu, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, Rajasthan, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Agra, and back to Delhi. That leaves out a lot of things (like the entire north-east of the country), but, you can't see everything!

Any advice/comments/suggestions would be very appreciated!

ferrari_fan

hi..

from what i could make out, you've about 2.5 months to see most of India before setting out on your trekking trip.. is that right?

if that's the case, i think you'll probably be able to fit in a good part of east India as well..
also, if you're travelling on a tight budget then trains will be ideal for you - you'll be able to travel through the night to pretty much anywhere and that'll save you time and also accommodation costs for those nights..

the places you've put down in your post sound perfect for south and west India, although, being a city lover myself, i'd recommend you visit Bangalore or Hyderabad or both - they're both very fast-growing cities, and they'll (along with Madras of course) give you a glimpse of India's booming IT industry (if you're interested in that sort of thing..)

try to give Goa a couple of days too -it has some of India's best beaches..

also bear in mind that by the time you work your way up to Rajasthan it'll be late-April, and it will get extremely hot (~45 degrees at day..) - this is not to scare you off - Rajasthan is a must-see - it's just a caution in case you haven't experienced a real desert before.. but mornings and evenings won't be a problem - only the midday will be sizzling..

after Rajasthan and Agra, you could probably give yourself a couple of days off in Delhi, before heading east..

take a train to Kolkata and make your way back to Delhi via Varanasi, Khajuraho and Corbett Natl Park..

you may need to clip a couple of places off this list, but you should be able to manage nearly all of it in just under 3 months..

on the other hand of course, if you'd rather spend some real quality time at every place you visit, then i'd go with the plan you'd suggested in your post..

it's really a question of seeing a wider range of different places, cultures, peoples and foods or seeing slightly fewer places but getting deeper into each of them..

have a great trip anyway..



Prakash