India, City by City
Twenty-one city guides covering the whole country — the Golden Triangle and Rajasthan's desert forts, the Ganges and the Himalaya, Mumbai's coast and Kerala's backwaters — each written three ways: budget, family and luxury, with honest costs, gear lists and a map. For the country-wide picture, start with the India travel guide.
Golden Triangle
Delhi
Delhi travel guide: Old Delhi's lanes, Mughal tombs and forts, Lutyens' avenues and the metro that makes it all easy — budget to luxury plans and a map.
October to March for cool, walkable days; February for gardens in bloom before the heat arrives
Agra
Agra travel guide: the Taj Mahal at sunrise, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and the marble workshops — budget to luxury plans, costs, timings and a map.
November to February for cool mornings; the Taj is closed to tourists every Friday
Jaipur
Jaipur travel guide: Amber Fort, the City Palace, Hawa Mahal and the pink bazaars — budget, family and luxury plans with costs, an itinerary and a map.
November to February; late January for the Literature Festival and kite-flying skies
Rajasthan & the Thar Desert
Udaipur
Udaipur travel guide: Lake Pichola boat rides, the City Palace, Jagdish Temple and rooftop sunsets — budget, family and luxury plans, costs and a map.
September to March — right after the monsoon the lakes are full, which is when the city looks its best
Jodhpur
Jodhpur travel guide: Mehrangarh Fort, the blue old city, Jaswant Thada and the clocktower bazaar — budget, family and luxury plans, costs and a map.
October to March; late October brings the Marwar Festival and the desert nights turn cool
Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer travel guide: the living golden fort, carved havelis, Thar desert camel safaris and dune camps — budget, family and luxury plans with a map.
November to February; the Desert Festival falls in February and nights are properly cold
Sacred Cities & the East
Varanasi
Varanasi travel guide: sunrise boat rides on the Ganges, the evening aarti, the old-city lanes and Sarnath — budget, family and luxury plans with a map.
October to March; November's Dev Deepawali lights every ghat with oil lamps
Amritsar
Amritsar travel guide: the Golden Temple day and night, the world's largest free kitchen, Jallianwala Bagh and Wagah — budget to luxury plans and a map.
October to March; November for Guru Nanak Jayanti, when the temple is lit end to end
Kolkata
Kolkata travel guide: Victoria Memorial, the trams and coffee houses, Kumartuli's idol-makers and Durga Puja — budget, family and luxury plans with a map.
October to February; late September or October for Durga Puja, the city's defining festival
The Himalaya
Rishikesh
Rishikesh travel guide: yoga ashrams, white-water rafting on the Ganges, the Beatles Ashram and riverside aarti — budget to luxury plans and a map.
September to November and February to May; rafting season runs roughly late September to June
Shimla
Shimla travel guide: the UNESCO toy train, the Ridge and Mall Road, Jakhoo temple and snow season — budget, family and luxury plans with costs and a map.
March to June for clear mountain air; late December to February for snow
Manali
Manali travel guide: Solang Valley snow, Old Manali cafés, Hadimba Temple and the Atal Tunnel to Spiti — budget, family and luxury plans with a map.
March to June and September to November; December to February for snow, with passes closed
Leh
Leh travel guide: acclimatising at 3,500m, Ladakh's monasteries, Nubra and Pangong Lake, and the high passes — budget to luxury plans and a map.
June to September, when the passes are open and the lakes are reachable
Mumbai & the West
Mumbai
Mumbai travel guide: the Gateway of India, Marine Drive sunsets, Elephanta's cave temples and Bandra's cafés — budget, family and luxury plans with a map.
November to February; avoid June to September, when the monsoon is heaviest in India
Goa
Goa travel guide: choosing north or south beaches, Old Goa's churches, Panjim's Latin Quarter and the spice plantations — budget to luxury plans and a map.
November to February for dry, warm beach weather; everything closes in the June–September monsoon
Aurangabad
Aurangabad travel guide: the Ajanta and Ellora rock-cut caves, Daulatabad fort and Bibi ka Maqbara — budget, family and luxury plans, costs and a map.
November to February; Ajanta closes Mondays and Ellora closes Tuesdays
Kerala & the South
Kochi
Kochi travel guide: Fort Kochi's colonial streets, the Chinese fishing nets, Jew Town spice markets and Kathakali — budget to luxury plans and a map.
October to March; the Kochi-Muziris Biennale runs December to April in alternate years
Alleppey
Alleppey travel guide: choosing a Kerala houseboat, village canoe trips, the snake boat races and Marari beach — budget, family and luxury plans with a map.
November to February; the Nehru Trophy snake boat race falls in August
Munnar
Munnar travel guide: Kerala's tea plantations, Eravikulam National Park and the Nilgiri tahr, Top Station and hill walks — budget to luxury plans and a map.
September to March; Eravikulam National Park closes for calving roughly February to March
Madurai
Madurai travel guide: the Meenakshi Amman Temple, the nightly palanquin ritual, Thirumalai Nayak Palace and the food streets — budget to luxury plans and a map.
November to February; the Chithirai festival in April/May is the city's biggest event
Mysore
Mysore travel guide: the illuminated Mysore Palace, Chamundi Hill, Devaraja Market and Dasara — budget, family and luxury plans with costs and a map.
October to February; Dasara falls in September or October and is the city's defining festival