When to travel

Best places to visit in December

December is festive and cool. New Year on Goa's beaches, snow in Gulmarg, candle-lit ghats in Varanasi — pick your atmosphere.

Moderate crowds

Gujarat

Gondal

Gondal is a royal town in the Rajkot district of Saurashtra that has kept most of what it had.

Perfect, cool winter climate with highly pleasant afternoons.

Moderate crowds

Gujarat

Taranga Hills

The Taranga Hills are a rugged sandstone range in the Satlasana area of Mehsana district, part of the old Aravalli system, with jagged cliffs, scrub and caves.

Crisp winter mountain climate good for hiking the cliffs.

Low crowds

Gujarat

Idar Hill (Idargarh)

Idar Hill rises out of the Sabarkantha district of North Gujarat, a rough mass of pink granite boulders balanced one on top of another.

Crisp winter air, highly clear visibility from the boulder peaks.

Busy

Rajasthan

Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer is built from the same yellow sandstone it stands on, which is why at six in the evening the whole fort looks lit from inside — and why at midday it…

Crisp sunny desert daytimes followed by clear freezing nights.

Busy

Gujarat

Girnar Hills

The Girnar Hills rise outside Junagadh, an old volcanic range whose highest point, Gorakhnath Peak, reaches 1,031 metres — the highest in Gujarat.

Chilly morning mountain winds, exceptionally clear horizons.

Busy

Gujarat

Valsad

Valsad, once known as Bulsar, sits at the southern tip of Gujarat on the Arabian Sea.

Perfect, crisp winter weather with refreshing coastal sea winds.

Peak crowds

Goa

North Goa (Baga & Calangute)

Baga and Calangute are the commercial heart of North Goa, a continuous stretch of golden sand on the Arabian Sea and the busiest coast in the state.

Beautiful sunny daytime weather and lively cool evenings.

Busy

Goa

South Goa (Palolem)

Palolem is a crescent bay in the Canacona region of South Goa — calm water, rocky headlands at either end, and a dense fringe of coconut palms leaning out…

Delightfully warm daytime weather with a perfectly still sea front.

Peak crowds

Gujarat

Shatrunjaya Hill

Shatrunjaya Hill rises above the Shatrunjaya River near Palitana town in Bhavnagar district, and no other mountain in the world carries anything like what…

Crisp winter breezes, clear skies good for early morning climbs.

Moderate crowds

Gujarat

Shivrajpur Beach

A pristine Blue Flag-certified beach known for turquoise waters and fine white sand. It is ideal for swimming, scuba diving, and water sports.

Clear skies and calm sea.

Peak crowds

Gujarat

Kevadia (Ekta Nagar)

Kevadia, now officially Ekta Nagar, is home to the Statue of Unity — at 182 metres, the tallest statue in the world — on the banks of the Narmada River.

Crisp winter weather, good for all-day outdoor sightseeing.

Peak crowds

Tamil Nadu

Srirangam (Ranganathaswamy Temple)

Srirangam is a temple town on an island between the Kaveri and Kollidam rivers near Tiruchirappalli.

Pleasantly warm daytimes with cool refreshing evening river mists.

Peak crowds

Kerala

Alleppey (Backwaters)

The mistake in Alleppey is the day boat. A houseboat only becomes worth it once the day-trippers have gone home and the water goes quiet.

Delightful coastal weather with refreshing afternoon lake breezes.

Busy

Kerala

Varkala Beach

Varkala, in the Thiruvananthapuram district of southern Kerala, does not look like anywhere else on the Indian coast.

Beautiful sunny daytime weather with refreshing offshore sea breezes.

Busy

Karnataka

Gokarna

Gokarna is a coastal town in the Uttara Kannada district of northern Karnataka, and it has been two things at once for decades now.

Beautiful sunny daytime weather with refreshing offshore ocean breezes.

Busy

Gujarat

Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad's old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the way to see it is a walk that starts at seven in the morning.

Perfect, crisp winter weather good for walking tours.

Peak crowds

Gujarat

Somnath

Somnath is an ancient coastal temple town, and its temple is revered as the very first of the twelve sacred Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva.

Delightful cool coastal weather, high holiday footfalls.

Peak crowds

Gujarat

Dwarka

Dwarka is an ancient holy city on the westernmost tip of the Saurashtra peninsula, revered as the legendary ocean kingdom of Lord Krishna and a core part of…

Perfect winter conditions, crisp and bright mornings.

Busy

Gujarat

Bhuj

Bhuj is the historic capital of the Kutch district. Highly resilient following major earthquake eras, it is a maze of royal palaces, historic stepwells, and…

Cold desert nights, good for clear moonlit viewing of the Rann.

Moderate crowds

Gujarat

Vadodara

Vadodara, historically Baroda, is the cultural capital of Gujarat, and the Gaekwad dynasty made it the grand city it is.

Delightful, cool winter weather good for city touring.

Peak crowds

Kerala

Munnar

Munnar is a hill station at about 1,600 metres in the Western Ghats of Idukki district, set where three mountain streams meet — the Mudrapuzha, the…

Crisp chilly daytimes with beautiful refreshing morning mists.

Busy

Kerala

Kochi (Fort Kochi)

Fort Kochi is walkable, layered and unusually easy for a first trip to India — it is one of the few Indian towns where you can simply wander without a plan.

Delightfully warm coastal days with festive holiday lightings.