Golden Triangle + Rishikesh (November)

Spanky

Planning first visit to India for early November. This will be sandwiched between stops in Bangkok and Hong Kong. Leaving from San Francisco. Possible date range is 25-Oct to 19-Nov. Traveling solo. I'm male, almost 40 yrs old, in excellent physical shape, have traveled a bit on my own (Paris, Hong Kong, Ireland). Budget is upper mid-range. I assume the Golden Triangle cities will each be a madhouse so I'd like to get up north for some quieter and cooler time. I'd leave sooner and go longer but I'm worried that October weather would be awful (and I need to be back home by no later than 20-Nov.

Basic itinerary I have in mind is as follows:
Bangkok - 4 days
Delhi - 4 days
Jaipur - 4 days
Agra - 2 days
Rishikesh - 4 days
Hong Kong - 3 days

Concerns/Questions:
1) Getting from Agra to Rishikesh looks like it would be difficult and time consuming. I've only done preliminary research so I don't know much yet, just wondering if anyone can speak from personal experience. Would then have to get back to Delhi to fly out.

2) I know that Delhi, Rajasthan and UP start to cool down in November. What's the likelihood that there will still be cruel heat and humidity end of Oct/beginning of Nov?

3) What's likely weather situation in Rishikesh in mid-Nov?

4) I would really like to do Golden Triangle + Dharamsala but I'm assuming that would be too much to cover in just a few weeks. Is it dumb to even consider this?

Thanks in advance!

mike mike

Hi Spanky,

It's realy nice n decent itinerary but if i could advice u something better i would be happy .
As far as month is concerned it's a beautiful weather for all u have chosen...........now for delhi if u have some personal visit or some official work it's worth spending 4 days but otherwise for delhi two days r enough.(As u have not many days)
Jaipur is a very nice place but u can combine pushkar with jaipur as it is a nice option in 4 days also very close to jaipur(Same 4 days r realy much for jaipur)From pushkar u can travel to ranthambore wild life centuary over night than go to Agra.
Agra beautiful Taj but dirty city not worth even one night stay but if u want to see Taj at sunrise than u have to stay over night .
Rishikesh is worth 4 days even more as it is a beautiful place in uttrakhand but don't forget to go to haridwar as it comes on the way to rishikesh.
Most welcome to India.
Rgds
Mike Mike

bijapuri

itinerary looks ok for first survey. Nice to see another from my area venture forth!

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Spanky

Thanks for the feedback. I like to spend at least a few days in any destination otherwise you don't get a feel for the place. I also don't like to be constantly on the move as it just wears you down. For Delhi though, maybe I will remove one day. One of my main objectives is photography and I like to shoot chaotic urban streets so Delhi will no doubt be good for that.

Everything I have read about Agra makes me want to skip it completely. I will probably stay one night to see the Taj at sunrise as you say.

I'm very excited about Rishikesh. Looks interesting. Haridwar maybe. WIll have to see.

Thx,
Spanky

Spanky

After endless deliberation, I've come up with my basic itinerary for 15 days starting 01-Dec:

Delhi - 2 nights
Jodhpur - 3
Jaipur - 2
Agra - 1
Rishikesh - 4
(planning to get day train back to Delhi from Haridwar for evening flight out)

I hate rushing around, so to me this is already too many places to cover, but it seems conventional wisdom for most of these places is "a couple nights then move on" with Rishikesh being an exception. Looking for suggestions on where to add 2 more nights to existing list of places??? Does the above sequence look ok?

I'm a semi-serious amateur photog, so a place's photo potential is important. This is why I think I will like Jodhpur. The otherwordly blue old city looks fascinating. The idea with Rishikesh is relaxation, clean air, possibly a meditation class or other spiritual pursuit.

Thanks!!!

incitatus

You've got time to do quite a lot of things.
I think you would feel you've missed out if you went to India and missed out Agra but if you don't mind ONE day of rushing about you can visit it with minimal hassle.
After a few days in Delhi take
the 2002 Shatabdi Express from New Delhi to Agra. It departs at 06.15 and arrives Agra Cantt station at 08.12.
Leave your luggage in the left luggage office for the day.
Take a fixed price auto rickshaw to the Taj Mahal.
Do the Taj.
Take a gentle walk along the river to Agra Fort.
Visit Agra Fort.
Take an auto (or cycle) rickshaw back to Agra Cantt railway station (negotiate fare) retrieve your luggage and depart on train 2988 Gwalior-Jaipur intercity which departs at 17.40 hrs arrives Jaipur 22.20.
Travel to Jodhpur is by train or bus.


After your stay in Jodhpur there is a direct overnight train to Hardwar. 4888A BARMER-Haridwar link Express departs Jodhpur10.30 arrives Hardwar 09.35 next day.
Rishikesh is a short bus ride away.

(It's always a good idea to book rail tickets in advance-particularly overnight journeys)


Should you wish to visit Dharamsala there are overnight buses of various degrees of luxury departing Delhi every day.If you don't mind travelling by bus it's the most efficient way of getting there.

It probably wouldn't be possible to do both Rishikesh and Dharamshala in your timescale.
Dharamsala is higher up than Rishikesh, has Tibetans and spectacular mountain scenery.
Rishikesh is lower, warmer,has attractive scenery
and the River Ganges.
I'd choose Rishikesh but I don't think either would disappoint.

Spanky

Thanks incitatus! That's not a bad plan.

Only issue I can see is the 4888a from Jodhpur to Haridwar is a long slow slog, eating up an entire day of travel. Also, lots of stops during the night and I imagine I would have trouble sleeping with 1-2 stops per hour.

I will probably save Dharamsala for another trip. Rishikesh is a bit more accessible given the rest of my itinerary. Thx for the info.

johnyoga2

As a photog, when in Rishikesh, take a taxi to the Nil Kantha temple. I think you'll see some excellent photo opportunities. You might also want to go to Vasistha's cave. It's down on the Ganga and very scenic. The drive to either location from Rishikesh has some good views. Rishikesh, which is really five areas sharing a common name (except locally), might give you some chaotic street scenes if you go the the business area around the main ghat. There are lots of hotels around, but you might enjoy staying at an ashram. PM me if you want the name of a contact there.

incitatus

I realised there was a long slog on the Jodhpur- Hardwar journey but I was wondering what to do with your luggage while you were sightseeing in Agra.
If you solved that problem there is an overnight train from AGRA FORT station to Jodhpur-2703 Howrah -Jodhpur Express departing Agra Fort at 19.35 hours arriving Jodhpur 07.20.
After travelling back to visit Jaipur you could take train 9105 Haridwar Mail departing Jaipur 23.05 arriving Hardwar 12.30 next day.

You would be leaving Agra from a different station you arrived at.
Agra Cantt and Agra Fort are several miles apart-though you do have plenty of time.
One solution is to hire a taxi for the day.You can hire one at a fixed rate on arrival at Agra Cantt.This not only means you could put your luggage safely in the boot but you could visit the deserted city of Fatephur Sikri.
There's plenty of time to visit the Taj,Agra Fort and Fatephur Sikri with time to get dropped off at Agra Fort station for your onward journey.
Cost of the day's taxi hire is less than Rs1000, but I cant remember how much less!

Spanky

I've been warned in other threads by the train gurus to avoid trains with a source station which is a long way off. The 2307 HWH JU EXP comes all the way from Kolkata 8 hrs before reaching Agra Fort. Wonder if this train is likely to be late because of this?

I've tried nearly every combo I can think of using www.indiagroove.com, and the closest I can come to a workable sequence is the following. Trying to avoid night trains. One problem is getting from Jaipur to Haridwar. Can't find a decent direct train, so I'd have to stop over in Delhi on MON night. This kinda sucks.

Delhi to Agra day trip - 2002 & 2001 SHATABDI
TUE: Delhi to Jodhpur - 2461 MANDOR EXPRESS (20:45 to 08:00)
FRI: Jodhpur to Jaipur - 4864 MARUDHAR EXPRES (09:15 to 15:20)
MON: Jaipur to Delhi - 2016 AJMER SHTBDI (15:50 to 22:45)
TUE: Delhi to Haridwar/Rishikesh - 2017 DEHRADUN SHTBDI (06:55 to 11:22)
SAT: Haridwar to Delhi - 2018A DDN NZM AC SPL (08:45 to 14:40)
---> then straight to Delhi Airport for 21:00 flight

I think I will post this in the train forum as well, to see if anyone can comment. Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.

Spanky

Thanks johnyoga. I will make a note of these suggestions. I like chaotic streets scenes (for photos anyway) and I wasn't sure Rishikesh had any. I plan to stay upriver thought not sure where yet. Priority is peace and quiet. Not sure of the pros/cons of staying at an ashram...

atala

You won't find any street in India that is not chaotic compared to Western streets.

As to peace and quiet you have to stay in the Ashram side of Rishikesh. I suggest Vanaprast Ashram (which is not really an ashram as what you might think of, but it is sort of time sharing luxury housing). In november when it's too cold for Indians to take vacations up there you can rent an appartment there for a few days.

Ask for the Ramjhula area, which is the lower bridge over the Ganga to the quiet side. You will give your luggage to a porter with a carriage (as cars cannot pass to the other side)and he will bring you over the bridge to Vanaprasth Ashram, which as already mentioned is more of a luxury rental place than an actual Ashram with a teacher.

For photo shooting you should not miss Haridwar where Hindus take ritual baths in the dangerously strong current of the Ganga there.

Spanky

Thanks atala. Do you have a link for the ashram you mention? Maybe there are different ashrams with similar names but the only info I could find via google was for: Vanprastha Ashram.

My guidebook refers to a place called Banaprast Ashram, next to Ved Niketan.

atala

Yes, that is the same thing. In Indian transliteration they often interchange B and V, because V is spoken as B.

So you will find Brindaban for Vrindavan (the important rural Hindu pilgrimage place 50 km north of Agra), or Goberdhan, for Goverdhan and so on. (A strange change in transliteration is Baroda for Vadadora, a city in Gujarat).

You do not need to make an advance reservation for Vanaprast "Ashram" in November, since the temperature is on the cooler side there at that time, there are not many tourists visiting.

By the way, Ved Niketan situated next to Vanaprasth "Ashram" is one of the very few real classical ashrams in all of India, in contrast to the many neo-Hindu ashrams all over the place. The teacher there is a learned yogi, now close to a hundred years old or over. I asked around in Rishikesh recently whom natives considered real yogis there, and I was pointed to that gentleman as one of the very few present.

Spanky

Thanks for the informative post, atala. I did not realize V is spoken as B (I have a lot to learn about India!). So would Varanasi be pronounced by Indians as 'Baranasi'? If so, I guess this would help explain the British name 'Benares'.

I realize this is way off topic now, but what is the basis for this pronunciation? Is this basically English influenced by Hindi?