India When To Go

Best times for General Touring in India – Golden Triangle

India is a vast country with a vast variety of local climates, so it’s important to time where you go with when the best times to go.

For Golden Triangle trips, or general central India touring, the best time to go is mid-November through March into early April. By late April, it is getting extremely warm. The monsoon season runs June through September. October is hot though it’s a shoulder-season month where the climate is beginning to dry out, making for a nicer trip. Tourism continues throughout the year however, so tours around the Golden Triangle is a possibility year-round.

Best Times for Trekking in India

Ladakh Treks: For high altitude treks like ours, it’s best to travel from mid-June to early-September. High mountain passes start to clear of snow sometime in early June making passage more likely. By late June, most passes are clear completely and the ascents of higher mountain become more realistic. Days are in the 80’s, dry and sunny, with cold clear nights making for stellar star gazing. Especially in the higher altitudes, snow, sleet, and rain are always possible so we recommend being prepared for the worst even in July and August.

Especially if you are heading to ascend Stok Kangri, try to plan your hike around one of the colorful festivals in or around Leh. Here is a list of the some of the more notable festivals in Leh each summer – Hemis is arguably the premier event:

June: Hemis
July: Taktok, Phyang, Karjoj
August: Lamayuru

Sikkim Treks: The best months are mid-March to April and into early May and again in October, into early November (similar to Nepal). Monsoons wreak havoc in June, July, and August, while September remains quite cloudy. April is an especially fine time to go, as up to 60 species of rhododendron are blooming in that month, making an incredibly scenic trip that much more special.

Climate

The country has many sub-climates due to it’s north-south axis and the exreme differences in altitude. Most of the country however is warm (or blazing hot) and humid most of the year, while smaller areas in higher elevations are drier and freezing cold most of the year.

Delhi – the primary hub – is fairly hot and humid year-round along with Agra, while Jaipur is a drier heat. For trekking trips, remember that the higher altitudes help reduce the heat factor considerably. In the dry cool season, December through March, the temperatures in Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur dip to comfortable levels, making that period the best time to travel.

Delhi