Looking to fill in gaps for 4 month trip, South to North

jwitt

Firstly, I apologize for the typically generic title of this thread but I couldn't think of anything more descriptive.

I'll be in India from late Jan. until early June, traveling solo. I have a fair bit of experience traveling the Western World but this is my first venture to the East and I am a bit anxious. I'm hoping to average $20 USD/day or less. Here is my skeleton itinerary so far:

Fly into Bangalore - stay for at least one week to adjust to the culture shock and jet lag

take a week or two to stroll around Karnataka, spend about 3 days in both Hampi and Mysore, looking for other suggestions here

Kanniyakumari - spend between 1 and 3 weeks in an Ayurvedic hospital which has been recommended to me by a friend

After this I have a big, gaping hole in which the only requisite is to spend some train time and end up in...

Dehra Dun - three weeks beginning March 28 for a yoga intensive that I have pre-registered for

Rishikesh - 10 day yoga intensive beginning April 25, also pre-registered

From here I have another open spot until my flight from Delhi the first week of June. I plan to do a week long trek during this time and would like to arrive in Delhi a few days early to check the city out and avoid any hassles catching my flight.

I know that all of the usual suspects, i.e. Golden Triangle, would fit in nicely here but I wonder if after spending all of this time I will be underwhelmed by tourist central. I also wonder if exhaustion may lend itself to finding a comfortable place to recharge after back to back Yoga intensives and before the trek. In general, I do tend to spend more time in less places rather than try to fit everything in at once. This trip is mostly about learning yoga and ayurveda and how they intertwine with Indian life and culture. I would also be interested in anything having to do with coconuts and mangoes (orchards, specialty dishes, etc.), taking a week or two long class in Sanskrit, Vedic chanting, or any local language, visiting temples and ashrams, and listening to and/or learning about indigenous music or dance.

Thanks to all who made it this far into my long post!

arunchs

ok, looks like you have a hole lasting for a good one month. Let me try giving some inputs.

First, note that after second week of March, it starts getting hotter all over India. Climate is pleasant till then.

Wandering around Karnataka:

You have already covered Hampi and Mysore, which are prime attractions of Karnataka. Spend a little longer in Mysore. Most travellers make a quick-trip to Mysore to see the palaces here and miss all its natural beauty. Go to Kabini River Lodge and spend two days. It is expensive($50 a day, food, jungle safari etc inclusive), but since you have a decent budget of $20 a day, you can put savings from other days here. Spend two days wandering around Belur, Halebeedu and Sravanabelagola. You could head to Coorg from here and stay there for 2-3 days or more if you feel like it. And when you are at Hampi, go to Badami and Pattadakal for a day or two, and also spend 2-3 days in Dandeli(very under-rated, but very beautiful).

On your way back from Kanyakumari, you can return via Kerala where you can easily spend a month. A rough itinerary I would make is like - Varkala(2-3 days), Alleppey(2 days), Fort Kochi(2 days), Thekkady(2 days), Madurai(2), Kodai(2-5 days), Ooty(2-4 days), Bangalore, Dehradun.

As you seem to be interested in Yoga, you can also spend consider spending some time at the Art Of Living international center in Bangalore.

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jwitt

Arunchs - Thanks for all the input. Sorry I am lazy and should have broken my trip down better. I have a total of about 18 weeks and here is a week by week breakdown:

1 - Bangalore
2 - Hampi + travel
3 - Mysore
4 - ??? (Kabini?, Coorg?)
5,6,7 - Kanyakumari
8 - get up to Dehra Dun by train
9,10,11 - Dehra Dun <confirmed dates>
12,13 - Rishikesh <confirmed dates>
14,15,16,17,18 - ??? with a week long trek in there,
Last few days - Delhi

So it looks like I actually have more open time towards the end rather than the beginning. I like the idea of spending a week in Mysore. Of course there are plenty of yoga teachers in both Bangalore and Mysore so I would like to leave open the possibility of staying in either city for an extra week or two.

I will look into all of the stops you have suggested around Karnataka. I could also get to Kanyakumari sooner to leave time for Kerala but, at the moment, Karnataka seems more interesting to me.

The Kabini River Lodge looks interesting but is it really worth the extra cost? I am skeptical as I have been to too many wildlife preserves in the U.S., Caribbean, and Europe which are just depressing with bored, lazy animals propped up for tourism.

Coorg looks like a place I could soak in for a few days or a week and do some more outdoorsy, nature stuff. I like the sound of that and will do more research.

How long should I expect the train ride to Dehra Dun to take? It would be nice to find a 2 or 3 day stop or two on the way to break the train ride up.

So 4 weeks in the North now, what to do?

Thanks again!