blgerber

Hey everyone,

I would like some advice:

I have been dreaming of this trip for years. I just booked a 2.5 month trip to India flying into mumbai march 1st and out of Delhi may 15th. I have backpacked Europe and parts of South East Asia so I have some experience but not much. The only problem now is where to go. There are so many amazing places to see but not enough time. I love the mountains and hiking and could skip the beach.There are only a few musts on my trip
1. Agra (Taj)
2. Amritsar
3. Udaipur, Jaipur, jodhpur, Jaisalamar
4. Varanasi
5.At least one national park

Things I would like to do: Sikkim, Sunderbans, Kerala backwaters, Ooty, Darjelling, Dharmasala (almost a must), What does Kerala look like in terms of heat during April? Bhopal (maybe volunteer to help the survivors of the Bhopal tragedy).

Please help me decide or even plan a rough route.

Thanks,

Ben (feel free to send to my personal email)

blgerber

I forgot to mention I am doing this on the cheap but will splurge when necessary.

thursdaysd

Ben - I did 2.5 months on an Indrail pass back in 2001, but in a different direction. I did a big semicircle starting in Siliguri (on the way to Darjeeling) and finishing in Chennai. I didn't get to Dharamsala, but I did go to Bhopal. Aside from one flight and a few car trips, I did the whole thing by train. You can read my trip reports at www.wilhelmswords.com/asia2001. Feel free to email me through the site if you have questions, or post here.

NatureBug

Hey There !
When I saw Sikkim on your list I had to reply… I belong to Sikkim the North East of India and this is a side of India that people have not experienced much before. Visit my URL ( http://naturexperience.blogspot.com/) for a snapshot of things… if you need more info let me know. It would be a pleasure to make your visit an EXPERIENCE.

Regards,
Nature Bug

hobbes

I so envy uou haviing 2.5 months to explore India. Some general comments. For an itinerary llike yours buying the Jet or Indian Airways 3 week flight pass makes a lot of sense - use it to do your long distances eg east India to Kerala. North India gets warm faster then south India so try to do your Delhi-Rajashthan bit first. As a matter of fact, if possible fly into Delhi and out of Mumbai? Then you can get into Delhi, take the train and see the Golden Temple in Amritsar, then go to Dharamsala, come back to Delhi, take a car-driver (which is really very cheap in India) and go to Agra-Jaipur-Jodhpur-Jaisalmer-Udaipur in that order, back to Delhi, to Varanasi and back by train, then start your 3 week air pass, fly from Delhi to Calcutta then on to see Sunderbans, then fly Calcutta to Baghdogra which is the nearest point for Darjeeling, if you are going to Darjeeling I suggest you see Gangtok as well, then fly to Kerala, see Kerala then fly Kerala to Mumbai in time for your air pass to expire. In case your pass does not alllow Kerala Mumbai ie. you have already exceeded 3 weeks, it is still ok, the sector is manageable by train. From Mumbai you can go by train to see either the Kanha or Bandhavagarh national park, Bhopla if you want tho the tragedy is very old and relief assistance workers have mostly left, then see Mumbai and out of Mumbai. Other things you can consder are Pondicherry, Madurai, Hampi, Bangalore, Mysore.

thursdaysd

No reason to backtrack to Delhi from Varanasi in order to fly to Kolkata. There's a perfectly good night train from Varanasi to Kolkota. There's also a night train from Kolkata to Siliguri, where you can catch the "toy" train up to Darjeeling. Agra to Jaipur and on to Jodhpur can also be done by train.

ladibugg

I am also planning a trip to India and will be arriving in Dehli on March 5th. After spending two days in Dehli, I will be traveling to the lower regions (Garwahl) of the Himalayans (9000 ft will be the hightest elevation). I was wondering what kind of weather to expect and if a mosquito problem exists that time of year. Has anyone traveled to those areas in March?