Leaving in less than a month, considering a total route change??

paddyof

Hi everyone,

Thought I had our route roughly planned but stumbled upon this great site a few days ago and am now considering changing the route.

We are a couple aged 25 from Ireland going for 2 months to India, first time. Been to South America, Europe, Pacific Islands, U.S for a few months on separate occasions and like to have a rough idea of our route with nothing in set in concrete.

The problem is we had decided to stay north due to the monsoon hitting the south around our arrival time(could be totally wrong here!) and had a rough idea of where we were going -

Flying into Kolkata - Darjeeling - make our way towards Agra - Jaipur - Delhi - Up North towards the mountains - Jailsalmer - Back down to Dui - around to Mumbai(and home).

Upon reading a few threads it seems that a lot of people recommend going south for the monsoon season, as a lot of the wildlife parks etc are closed up north. We aim to do a few good long treks, some kind of wildlife retreat(elephant treks etc), some chill out time in as many places as possible and a few weeks contemplating the meaning of things.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated, if you need any more info let me know...

Thanks

wandering_soul

hi
though am not sure abt ur iteneraries here are few suggestions:
1) monsoon generally hit india post mid june in south and gradually move upwards.
2)if you want to enjoy monsoon rains in india : u can travel south (specially waynaad..kerala state) or north kumaon himalayas (ranikhet, nainital etc) of uttarkhand state.
3)from june end-mid sept wild life sancturies or national park remain closed all over india...as a foreign tourist u also require permit atleast 15-20days before)
4)u can also opt for spiti-lahaul and leh laddakh in Himachal pradesh and kashmir state resp. these are rain shadow areas , rough terrain, high altitude but unmatchable beauty and good trekking routes.
5)rajasthan is a good option (must visit)
6)cities like kolkata and mumbai become mess during monsoon.
7)in mountains incidence of landslides are maximum.
8)india is a very diverse country and every state has something unique to offer.

paddyof

Thanks for the advice. So would you advise us to stay north away from the monsoon?