Where to go
Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
The golden triangle: Mughal Delhi and its tombs, the Taj Mahal at dawn — go at opening and it is worth every early alarm — and the palaces of Jaipur. Well organised, heavily visited, and the standard first trip. Six to seven days.
Rajasthan
Beyond Jaipur: Udaipur on its lake, the blue city of Jodhpur, the fort at Jaisalmer in the desert, and Bikaner. Forts and havelis at a density found nowhere else. October to March only. Ten days.
Kerala and the south
The backwaters by houseboat, the tea hills of Munnar, Fort Kochi and its Chinese fishing nets, and the Kathakali theatre. Gentler, greener and easier to travel than the north, with excellent food. Ten days.
Varanasi and the Ganges
The oldest continuously inhabited city in India and the spiritual centre of Hinduism: the ghats at dawn, the evening aarti, the cremation grounds. Intense and unforgettable, and best approached with a guide who explains rather than performs. Two to three days.
Ladakh and the Himalaya
High-altitude desert, Buddhist monasteries, Pangong lake and passes above five thousand metres. Accessible June to September; acclimatisation to Leh's altitude takes two days and cannot be skipped.
Mumbai and the Deccan
The financial and film capital, the colonial waterfront and Elephanta island, with the rock-cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora inland — among the great achievements of world art, and far less visited than they deserve.
Building the itinerary
- Three stops a week, no more. Every move costs half a day at minimum, often a whole one, and you see nothing of a place where you sleep one night.
- Alternate the pace. A dense city, then two quiet days: that is what makes travelling as a couple sustainable, especially if one of you lives there and works.
- Keep a buffer day before the flight home, in the departure city. Domestic transport delays are the leading cause of missed flights.
- Ask the person who lives there what they want to show you. Guidebook itineraries and the places that matter to them rarely overlap — and the second list is the better one.
Two reflexes that change a trip
Distances deceive. On a map two points look close; on the ground, road conditions, checkpoints and terrain double or triple the time. Plan fewer stops and more time at each.
Ask before photographing anyone, and never insist. Official buildings, soldiers, airports and bridges are best avoided almost everywhere — the most banal and most avoidable source of trouble.