6 months itinerary - would highly appreciate your thoughts!

tamaique

Hi everyone!

First of all, I'd like to extend my sympathy to everyone affected by the disaster.

I've been reading most of the threads on indiamike for the past few months and am now ready to post for the first time (my girlfriend "dj jenky" has posted a few times). We'll be traveling to India during the first week of February and would like your opinion regarding our rough itinerary. We'll be staying in India for 6 months and are extremely flexible. However, we'd like to have an idea of the places we would like (have time) to visit. The places market * will only be "platforms" to get to some other place (i.e. *Hospet - Hampi) and we're not planning on staying there (unless we feel otherwise once we get there). We might also take a flight to Sri Lanka from Trivandrum and spend about 3 weeks visiting a friend. I'm including an approximate number of days beside each place.

7 Delhi
3 Jaipur
2 Udaipur
6 Jaisalmer
2 Jodhpur
*Ajmer
4 Pushkar
*Aurangabad
1 Ellora
2 Ajanta
*Hospet
7 Hampi
3 Mysore
3 Mumbai (Bombay)
10 Goa
2 Gokarna
*Cochin
2 Ernakulam
1 Allepey
2 Kannyakumari
2 Madurai
*Mamallapuram
2 Kanchipuram
*Chennai (Madras)
3 Puri
*Konarak
2 Bhubaneshwar
6 Calcutta
4 Daarjiling
Shiliguri
1 Varanasi
2 Patna
2 Gaya
2 Bodhgaya
* Jhansi
2 Khajuraho
2 Agra
6 Rishikesh
Amritsar
5 Dharamsala
Mcleod Ganj
Jammu
4 Srinagar or Manali (Depending on safety issues when we get there)
5 Leh

aprox. 110 days

Any comments are welcome (whether we're thinking about too many locations for 6 months, missing some "must visit" places, etc.). We're acounting for an approximate 50 days for travel (train, bus, etc.). This gives us a total of 160 days, with 20 to be used either in Sri Lanka or wherever tickles our fancy. I'd like to stress that this itinerary can be extremely flexible.

Thanks for your comments,

Marcel

P.S. We're travelling from Mexico and will probably fly into the US for the first leg of our trip. Any ideas on the cheapest way to get to India from the US? We thought about flying to Bangkok and taking a one way flight to Calcutta. Any ideas are welcome.

Bengal Tiger

which city are you entering india from and which one are you leaving from?

eg. like leaving from mumbai, entering thru delhi

tamaique

We're thinking about entering through Delhi and would like to continue our trip from Kashmir to Pakistan to the Karakorum Highway. However, we'd be willing to enter wherever we can find the least expensive airfare. Also, we're unsure as to whether we'll purchase a one way ticket and then fly out whenever and wherever we feel like going back home.

Bengal Tiger

since you are comming in feb, i recomend you finish with the south and the desert regions of the west frst thing, before the summer gets too unbearable.

also since you are from mexico, an entry as well as exit from calcutta isnt a bad idea. you could get connecting flights through sngapore/australia/ hong hong/ tokyo etc. (depends which eastern countries mexico is connected to).

taking it from there, i'd suggest.... south...on to west via bombay...to delhi and the nothern hill stations during peak summer (pakistan leg thrown in), and finally head eastwards to darjeeling via varanasi etc. dont miss out on nepal. give me a couple days - could give you a "plan" sketched on a map - a trick i often use.

another way would be just to enter through cal and leave through mumbai.. so you can chill in the beaches of goa at the end instead of sqeezing in between the "south" and "west" legs.

natasha chanda acharya

Bengal Tiger makes a valid point about the climate bit.

just a few pointers. If you go to Hampi, you cannot miss badami.
Again siliguri doesn't have much to offer, where as sikkim / gangtok, which is close to Darjeling is one of the most beautiful places in India.
of course, when you go to Leh, you obviously go to laddakh.

I must say, though that it looks very well researched. You have covered the entire country mostly, and some of the most beautiful places.

best of luck.

tamaique

Natasha and Bengal Tiger,

Thank you for your input, it is much appreciated. Although not in exact order, the list I posted shows the approximate order in which we'll be visiting each place. Making our way south through the west and then north through the east up to Daarjiling then back to Delhi again, and north into Kashmir. From what I've read, the Monsoon hits west before east, so it would definitely work best. Regarding the climate (regardless of the path we choose) I still do have my reservations. I read somewhere (perhaps LP): "Don't worry about the weather, just go." However, I still can't quite convince myself that we won't end up treading streets flooded under half a meter of monsoon water & etceteras. We've made a decision now and there's no turning back. I'm not sure we'd still have the time to do this if we wait 'till October.

Bengal: your suggested itinerary if we land in Calcutta sounds great. I just thought we'd take a train to Delhi and follow the same course. This sounds like a preferable alternative. We'll definitely keep it in mind. Regarding Nepal, we'd love to travel there for a while. A very rough idea was to take the Karakorum Highway into china and then somehow make our way East (although I'm not sure if there would be a possible way to get to Nepal from there?? Tibet is also in our sights). We're just so uncertain about the length of this trip that we'll have to do some planning along the way.

Natasha: We've definitely been reading extensively for this journey. However, I have a relative who is most passionate about India and has travelled throughout the country on numerous occasions, so she's responsible for a fair amount of the input we've had. It's time to do some research on Badami, Sikki and Gangtok. Yes, Laddakh is also a must.

Thanks again for your help. BTW, I'm attaching a rough map of our trip (if I can figure out how to do it), a visual representation definitely makes it easier for me to digest (Thanks for your offer re. the plan sketched on the map).

Namaste,

Marcel

tamaique

Ok so I can't figure out how to insert the photo

sorry.

Bengal Tiger

go to www.yousendit.com and upload the map there.

then paste the link they give you, here. so that me , natasha and others could have a look and give you an opinion..

should i send you a "starting at cal and ending at cal after south, west,north and back east" sketch in a map??? let me know.

tamaique

Thanks again Bengal. Here's the map. There's an extra location "Londa," because I was debating whether it was necessary to go through there to get to hospet - hampi. There's no connecting lines, but I suppose following the list it will all make sense.

Regarding the Cal - Cal sketch, let me find out tomorrow what the cheaper airfares look like and I'll let you know. Thank you!

My India Map

Bengal Tiger

ok i got ur map.
i think its best if you start in calcutta or madras (since you will start off with the south) and end with bombay.

tamaique

I suppose that sketch would come in real handy! After all, if we can escape the unbearable heat and the monsoon as much as possible we'll be happier for sure. I can't quite figure out the whole deal. The most important concern for us is the max. 6 month visa to India. With the original itinerary we would be using 5 1/4 months in india and 3 weeks in Sri Lanka, then we could cross to Pakistan for the Pakistan - China leg of the trip, which also placed us in an ok place to continue toward Nepal, Tibet and possibly Myanmar. If your suggested schedule can be worked out to maximize our time in India during those 6 months, I suppose we'd be all set.

Thanks again

Bengal Tiger

ok i did a preliminary "tour plan".

note a few points :

-the venues you are touchng are in pink.

- you do the southern leg first.. then west, north, east and back to west to fly out of Bombay.

- the red, blue and green squares in the western side are Diu, Somnath Temple (near veraval) and chitoregarh (110 km from udaipur)

- the "pink routes with blue venues" bit is to be done at the end, after you finish with north and east so that you can fly out of mumbai.

Refer map 1 first http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1...APMFB9 DT1MBF

- your route is
# calcutta (arrival),
# madras (coromandel express),
# pondicherry for auroville and aurobindo ashram. ask for passes of "gloria" which is a "model village" of some kind run by the Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture. (Indian Tourism Department Corporation or ITDC, tourist bus)
# madurai for meenakshi temple (ITDC bus)
# rameshwaram for temple ( " or overnight train)
# trivandum for kovalam beach ( " )
# kochi for backwaters ( " )
# Ooty ( " )
# bangalore ( " ). you will get daily "conducted tour" services to mysore and back. they will show you everything in mysore and return you the same night to bangalore.
# hydrabad ( overnight train ). see the salar jung museum, the "char minar" and the golkonda fort.
# Ahmedabad ( evening train that reaches next afternoon. 'll give you names too - first let me know if the plan is ok with you.) see a bit of ahmedabad for a day.
# red dot = diu = a goa like place ( bus or train)
# blue dot = somnath temple ( bus to veraval) come back after seeing temple to rajkot for overnihght stay.
# see "rann of kutch" if you want or head for
# mt abu, a nice hill station (by ITDC bus)
# udaipur .. ( by bus… don’t forget to take a “conducted trip” to chitoregarh –green dot and back)
# ranakpur, for temples.. ( itdc bus)
# jodhpur ( “ )

now refer the “north” map, http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1...O7C1VT 63HSZN

# to jaisalmer.. take a nice camel safari, possibly a night in a tent in the desert too ( “ or overnight train)
# bikaner..another bout of forts and history ( bus or overnight train if there is one)
# ajmer .. that’s where pushkar s approximately.(by bus)
# jaipur ( by bus)
# delhi (by bus) see delhi take rest…
# amritsar (overnight train).. see golden temple, wagah border etc. go to Pakistan for a “mini trip” and return to amritsar. http://www.namastetoursindia.com/ind...r-package.html
# srinagar (bus or train)
# amaranth if you want. They have helicopter services now.
# leh. (can go by bus or flight. I suggest flight. Nice view of himalayas)Extended stay in ladakh
# dalhousie and maybe dharmashala-mcleodganj ( all by bus)
# manali and rotang pass (bus)
# shimla (bus)
# rishikesh/hawidwar ( bus)
# almora or nainital or both (bus)
# agra (night train if its there or bus)
# return trips to MATHURA from agra.
# khajuraho ( to harpalpur bu train.I hear they have a bus service from harpalpur. http://www.jetairtours.com/hjr.htm . i havent researched the ways of reaching from agra but I am sure there are ways apart from an expensive flight)
# varanasi .. I forgot to draw it.. this is via allahabad (train to allahabad.. then train to varanasi)
# kathmandu (flight )
# pokhra and other places including maybe
# Tibet ( all shown by a quadriteral. All journeys by bus)
# Darjeeling and sikkim (back into India from the eastern side)

ok now you got options…
1) you can go to Bhutan if you like
2) go to shillong and from there to Calcutta by flight
3) go to patna by train and see NALANDA, GAYA, etc. and take night train to cal

you can choose any of option 2 or 3, and with or without option 1.

# back in Calcutta. This time see the city and nearby places of interests. Go for return trip to Bangladesh if you are interested.
# bhubaneshwar ( night train) see puri and konark too.come back to bhubaneshwar.
# nagpur (night train starting at about 2 in the afternoon). See nagpur city, though not much there. This is just a stop over for going back to the west. Either take a trip to “KANHA tiger reserved” (my advice would be to go for it, its Rudyard Kiplings “jungle book” country) or head straight to Bhopal. if you go to kanha, then go from there to Bhopal (bus/train)
# sanchi stoopa and a place called BHIMBETKA http://www.travelcentralindia.com/bhimbet.html
# mandu .. great place.. wsh I was lucky as you to go there.. I haven’t been yet… only heard 
# aurangabad… (by train or bus - like I said let me know if you like the plan and I will tell you EXACTLY HOW). See ajanta and ellora+dev giri fort from aurangabad.
# pune (train or bus)
# mahabaleshwar (bus)

refer first map (the “routes in pink and destinations in blue” portion)

# bijapur (by bus). You can chuck this one if you are not interested.
# hampi, hubli and jog falls in whatever order you please. I showed a possible route. All bus
# goa. (arrive by bus)
# Bombay (by bus train or by hovercraft.. I’ll let you know details later.. all r night journeys)
# mars, Neptune, mexico where ever you like

hope the plan comes in handy. This is only a “skeleton plan” everything can be changed. The time you spend in each place is up to you and next available train (not all trains are daily )
The reason I kept saying “overnight journey” is that if you are holed up in a train or bus, you lose a day . So where ever possible use a bus/train servce that can transport you to your next destination while you are sleeping.
I dunno much about the “ind rail” pass… you could see the IM archives. Also you could see what I had to say about commuting to ajanta and ellora basing it on aurangabad (also in IM )

Thanks.

ps; let me know by mail, if the links work or i will e-mail the maps to your yahoo or something

Bengal Tiger

woops.. i forgot to mention "kanyakumari" between rameshwaram and trivandum in my list.... its shown in the "route" however

tamaique

Hi Bengal,

Sorry for the prolonged absence...sigh. With our miserable illness we lost almost two weeks. Then everything just had to be done in a jiffy. Well, purchased the tickets, will be arriving in Delhi in 2 weeks time. Have to dedicate some time this week to fine tune itineraries a bit...so sorry for not answering sooner. Tomorrow it's off to the ophthalmologist for a new eyeglass prescription...

BTW...why can't I send you PM's anymore?