Off the tourist tracks in India

PeteWinson

Hi there,

Im planning to go to India on my own for 8 weeks from Januari 2th to Februari 28th.
I've never been to India before and even though I do really want to see things like the Taj Mahal and Varanasi, I dont want to end up hopping from one touristy place to another. Im am aware that probably even the tourist places will already be a culture shock, but I also want to see India in a more authentic way, talk/eat/drink/sleep with locals etc.

Any advice is welcome, which part of India should I start, and where to go? And what is possible in two months?
I didnt book a flight yet so everything is possible!

Oh and, is the Ladakh region too cold to travel in Januari/Februari?

Thanks

Pete

vonkla

Hi Pete,

I'm afraid that your question is to general to get many answers. Not many people, me neither, have knowledge off all the kind of places you want to visit.

During our last trips we too wanted to go to less visited towns. By looking for ideas I discovered that, beside in this sub-forum, there is a lot of information in the state-wise forums. Questions there will be more successful.

Another surprise was that in the rather superficial looking 'Capitool reisgids' (the Dutch version of DK travel guides), are useful entries for these kind of places.

During our last trip we went among others to Amarkantak and Chanderi in Madhy Pradesh, For a report of this see my travel journal Kochi - Delhi.
Other towns we visited where Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh, Jhalawar in Rajasthan and the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary in Orissa.

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snonymous

January and February are good months to explore the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. If you travel in the smaller towns and scenic rural areas, you will get ample opportunity to absorb the 'real' India. The south is generally quite safe, people are mostly courteous and there is a lot to see and experience culturally too. As Vonkla says, check the state specific forums to get a feel of what you are looking for.

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alouise

If you want to avoid tourist places then go to Orissa and make your way down to Chennai - few travel that route.

sushagro

ok
1. kerela although its pretty touristy u can still wander in villages etc

2. arunachal pradesh it will be crazy cold but its worth it u can go to tawang bhuddist festivles take place during jan-feb of the monpa tribe in the 400 year old monestry. and hardly anybody goes there (its also the least densely popullated state of india only 1 million ppl).

u can also try some not so commercial places in rajasthan like bundi and kota

sushagro

yup ladhak is pretty cold during jan-feb but if you go then u can do frozen zanskar lake chaddhar trek its one of a kind in the whole world

hitanshu

+1 to that.

That is a unique experience. definitely on my "100 things before I die" list

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bikashkataky

Hi Pete.

It is my first time in indiamike.com. You can visit the North Eastern states of India as they are off the regular tourist tracks in India. There are direct flights from New Delhi to Guwahati where you will see Mt Everest and Kanchanjunga through the left side windows of the airplane. Guwahati is the gateway to the North Eastern states. From here you can visit the following places:

Assam - Guwahati, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Kaziranga National Park, Majuli river island(largest in the world).

Meghalaya - Shillong, Cherapunjee(wettest place on earth.

Arunachal Pradesh - Bomdila, Tawang(2nd largest Buddhist monastery), Ziro, Along, Mechuka.

Nagaland - Kohima, Dzokou valley.

You will find decent hotels, cottages and paying guest accommodation in some places.January and February are good months for travelling in North eastern India.

Hope you will find North East India interesting.

Bye.

Bikash Kataky.

artwallah

South India was the first place I went on my first trip to India over ten years ago. I still love Tamil Nadu and am going back in 2 weeks. Once you are out of Mamallapuram, and maybe Pondicherry, it is rare to see another tourist. If you are travelling alone, as I was, you will be getting into conversations all the time and the people will be very kind and curious about you, but not pushing to sell you things. Tamil Nadu was the start of my obsession with India.
I am thinking that maybe Gujurat is the same way, but don't know, not having been there.