January : North vs South

edoq

Hi,

I've got about 18 days for visiting southern and north-western areas of India (excluding transit time) in January. I'm mostly interested in less crowded and less touted places, nature, scenery and culture then in architectural wonders. My preliminary plan was to spend 3 days in Tamil Nadu, 4 days in Kerala, 4 days in Rishikesh-Haridwar, 2 days in Shimla, 3 days in Kulu-Manali, 2 days in Dharamsala.

Now I think this schedule is very tight at least for Kerala, and maybe I have to skip or shorten my stay somewhere in the north. But I don't know what to shorten and what to skip, because:
1. Shortening time between overnight bus travels makes journey not so comfortable
2. On the other hand, it's winter and maybe not so much to see in the north except cities (passes may be closed, roads blocked by snow, no trekking and so on)
3. Rishikesh is interesting and has convinient train connection from Delhi, and also it's not so cold there. Shimla has at least scenic toy train route, Manali has best(?) surrounding mountain scenery, Dharamsala has relatively convenient night train connection to Delhi.

So what would you advise to see a bit of everything but not to turn this journey into constantly jumping from one train/bus to another?

Nitinthegreat

Hi,

What i prefer is that please shorten your north India trip. Spend enough time at Haridwar/Rishikesh and you can visit Dharamsha also. Visit any of the two Shimla or Manali and save some of your time.
Also, in south India spend more time in Kelara than Tamilnaidu.

Enjoy,
-Nitin

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machadinha

In eighteen days, not very realistic no matter how you look at it I'm afraid.

My usual advice, try to look up India on a map that shows it on the same scale as your home country (it's roughly the size of Western Europe), and realize infrastructure may not be quite what you're used to.

For your period, I'd focus on one general region, say a state or two adjacent ones. The mountains in winter will be obviously cold; whereas for the tropical south it's a good time of year to go.

Maybe if you got yourself a flight pass; I'd still not expect too much of it though, what with needing to land at a place then proceed to where you actually want to be, and so on. Not to mention flight delays and etc.

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Aupmanyav

I will go with Nitinthegreat, you are spending time at Haridwar/Rishikesh, Kullu/Manali, and Dharamsala/McLeod'sganj. Enough mountains. Perhaps you can use the two days somewhere else. Machadinha also is one of our wise men.

edoq

Please note that it's 18 days excluding transit time (i.e Kerala to Delhi). I agree that flights won't save daytime, so I'm planning night trains/busses whenever possible. Still I understand that maybe I have to skip some waypoints, just difficult to decide which ones.

edoq

So that means skip Shimla? Sounds interesting, but not very convenient considering 15-hour (AFAIK) bus ride from Haridwar to Manali. Skipping Manali I would travel from Rishikesh/Haridwar to Shimla by trains, then to Dharamsala by bus, then to Delhi by bus+train - only one overnight bus ride. But skipping Shimla I'll have to take very long Haridwar-Manali ride, then second overnight bus to Dharamsala. So fo me skipping Manali is at least much more convenient. But I've never been there and don't know what's more pleasant place to stay in winter - Manali or Shimla, so maybe it's great mistake to skip Manali instead of Shimla?

machadinha

Yes, I understand. Your mountain area there I know nothing about, could be doable in a few weeks I guess, I really don't know.

It's not clear if you know India at all & getting around there; you're speaking very confidently of it now, so maybe you do, and this would matter.

Beyond that, my eyes tend to glaze over when I read something like "3 days in Tamil Nadu, 4 days in Kerala, 4 days in Rishikesh-Haridwar...," and I'll either offer the precautions I gave above, or I won't respond at all.

See what you make of it. Think how you would respond if someone were asking about three days in Moscow, four in Siberia in winter, two in Vladivostok, a spell on the Black Sea, a sidestep to Mongolia. You know?

edoq

Yes, I've been there 3 times, and now planning my 4th trip, so I know a bit about getting around, but still not too much - my previous trips were rather short. So maybe it sounds confidently but really I'm full of doubts

Yes, I understand what you mean, that's why I'm trying to improve this itinerary, but it's difficult do decide what to skip - what places in the north or the northern part completely...

djm263

Depends on where you wish to start from.
Travel time from Tamil Nadu/kerala to Delhi can take upto 2 days(unless you fly) so keep that in consideration. Doing this is "possible" but seems a bit hectic.
7 days for TamilNadu/Kerala is okay.
It depends on how you wish to travel. Train links are
Onwards to Delhi. Rishikesh-haridwar and Shimla/Manali is a little weird unless you follow this pattern(one of the many options to do all of this):
Option 1:
Delhi-Chandigarh. Keep chandigarh as your base. Move from Chandigarh to Dharamshala. takes about 8 hours max. From Dharamshala, you may leave for Manali, Over 10 hours.
The usual way to do things would be to take the Bilaspur-Shimla route.
//From Manali you may opt to go to shimla via jallori pass. very scenic. Manali-Jallori is about 5-7 hours. Jallori-Shimla is about 5-7 hours. CLOSED in the winters.//
From Shimla, there is a road that may save you some time while going to Haridwar/Rishikesh.
Shimla-Kandaghat is about 45 minutes.
There is a road that connects Kandaghat to Nahan. its 75-80kms, takes about 2 hours. From there, Dehradun takes another 2 hours. Haridwar/Rishikesh are about 1 hour from dehradun, in opposite directions. You may want to visit Rishikesh first and then go from Haridwar to Delhi again.
All this depends on the mode of transport chosen by you.
Train links are until Haridwar/Chandigarh/Shimla.

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My preliminary plan was to spend 3 days in Tamil Nadu, 4 days in Kerala, 4 days in Rishikesh-Haridwar, 2 days in Shimla, 3 days in Kulu-Manali, 2 days in Dharamsala.

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djm263

I forgot to add that the north is going to be heinously cold in the winters!! south india would be pleasant, interesting and fun.
Expect temperatures between 0-10 degree C for anything up north of delhi.
Shimla/Manali/Dharamshala-it snows in all these 3 areas. Though it may and it may not, but then there is always a chance of the roads getting blocked for a few days. might mess up your plans.

Nitinthegreat

I totally agree with djm263, traveling is hectic in north India during winter that too in month of January/February. It would be nicer if you just spend first few days at lower Himalayas like Rishikesh/Haridwar, masouree, nainitaal.. etc and then go towards South and spend rest of days there. Even in kelara, you will find plenty of good places to visit especially hill stations. You can also try Goa. January is the most exciting month in Goa. In fact January/February is the best time to visit Goa.

edoq

Ok, I must agree it's unreasonable to ruin this journey by adding too much transit rides. So now I'm planning to spend more time (slightly more than 2 weeks) in the south (i.e. Tamil Nadu-Kerala-Goa) and then only a few days in Rishikesh/Haridwar area. Other northern areas will have to wait till better and warmer times. Many thanks to everybody for your wise advices!

machadinha

Ah, btw, from Jan. 14th and onwards for some months (and probably getting busy for some time before it), the Kumbh Mela will take place in Haridwar. Nice if that attracts you, maybe; you can otherwise expect it and the wider immediate area (Rishikesh is said to be favored by many to stay for it) to get packed to the brim & beyond. It's certainly something to take into account, if only in terms of transport and accommodation.

sdsudarsan

Shimla is now a crowded junky place! Typical Mall Road...

If it snows when you visit, then roads are typically blocked, otherwise, the trip is a waste.

Any given time, Manali will score over Shimla.

Like many have said, peaceful stay at Dharmasala/Rishikesh/Dalhousie or any one location in North would be ideal. Plan multiple places when you have more time on your side. South being very comfy in terms of weather in January, spend more time.

Also, flying long distances rather than train means, you are losing the luxury of scenic views. Particularly Konkan railways is great to be... There are decent hill stations in South worth covering ... consider Megha malai (closer to Suruli falls Tamil Nadu), Sri Sailam (Andhra), Ahobilam (Andhra), Kudremukh (Karnataka), Munaru (Kerala), Kunda (Tamilnadu), etc. You save lot of time and cover one region in more detail.

Aupmanyav

What are you after in Dharamsala/McLeod'sganj, Shimla, Kulu/Manali, Hardwar, Rishikesh? Perhaps the decision should depend on that. Manali, no doubt is better.