When to travel

Best places to visit in February

February still wears winter's clean light. Beach season in Goa peaks, the Rann Utsav unfolds in Gujarat, and Ladakh's Chadar Trek runs for the brave.

Busy

Jammu & Kashmir

Gulmarg

Gulmarg is a bowl of meadow at 2,650 metres in the Pir Panjal, and it does two completely different jobs depending on the month. December to March it is the only serious ski resort in India. The Apharwat face has real off-piste terrain and the snow is dry enough to justify the trip. May to September the snow is gone and it is a meadow full of wildflowers with a golf course on it, one of the highest anywhere. The gondola climbs in two stages. The first, to Kongdoori, almost always runs. The second, up to just under four thousand metres on Apharwat, is frequently closed for wind and its tickets are capped daily — buy both stages early or accept that you may only get the first. If you are skiing off-piste, a guide is not optional. This is avalanche terrain and it has killed people.

Deep snow cover across all slopes with clear sunny windows.

Busy

Punjab

Amritsar (Golden Temple)

The Golden Temple sits lower than the ground around it, and you walk down steps to reach the water. That is deliberate: nearly every other temple in India makes you climb up to it. It has four doors, one on each side, for the same reason — the building is meant to be entered from any direction, by anyone. Head covered, shoes off, feet through the water channel at the entrance, and nobody will ask you anything else. The langar behind the complex feeds on the order of a hundred thousand people a day, more at weekends, on donated food and volunteer labour. The dish hall takes anyone who turns up to help, and half an hour in it tells you more about the place than any guidebook. The Akal Takht faces the sanctum across the water. It is the seat of temporal authority in Sikhism, and those two buildings looking at each other across a pool is the whole argument of the faith in one view.

Pleasantly crisp afternoons with beautiful winter sunshine.

Peak crowds

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 looks like nothing much at all. Time your first look for the last hour of light. The fort is one of very few in the world still lived in: several thousand people, with shops, homes, temples and plumbing inside the walls. That is what makes it extraordinary and also what is slowly destroying it, because the drainage was never built for modern water use and the bastions are being undermined. Conservationists ask visitors to sleep outside the walls rather than in the fort hotels. It is worth honouring. Patwon ki Haveli is the finest carved stone in the city. The Jain temples inside the fort are quieter and, to my eye, better. For the desert, the choice matters. Sam dunes at sunset is a full circus of camels, jeeps and loudspeakers. Khuri is further out, plainer, and gives you the silence people actually come to the Thar for. November to February. Nights in the desert get genuinely cold — bring more than you think.

Comfortable breezy afternoons with high horizon clarity.

Busy

Uttar Pradesh

Taj Mahal (Agra)

The Taj Mahal is a renowned white marble mausoleum built on the southern banks of the Yamuna River in Agra. Commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the monument stands as the pinnacle of Mughal architectural achievement. The entire structure is symmetrical and brings out flawless geometric design. The complex features a grand red sandstone gateway, a formal geometric garden divided by long reflecting pools, and a massive marble plinth topped by a central dome and four identical minarets. The white marble surfaces are intricately decorated with fine inlay work using semi-precious stones, creating a changing color spectrum that shifts from soft pink at dawn to brilliant white under noon skies and shimmering gold under full moonlight.

Pleasantly crisp afternoons with bright warm sunshine.

Moderate crowds

Goa

South Goa (Palolem)

Palolem is a crescent-shaped natural bay located in the Canacona region of South Goa, known for calm water, dramatic rocky headlands, and a dense fringe of leaning coconut palms, it presents a relaxed, alternative to the commercialized hubs of the north. The unique topology of the bay ensures minimal ocean currents. The shoreline features temporary eco-friendly wooden stilt cottages and slow-paced beach shacks that are dismantled entirely before the monsoon, preserving a village-like coastal environment.

Warm comfortable beach weather with high water visibility.

Busy

Tamil Nadu

Srirangam (Ranganathaswamy Temple)

Srirangam is a temple town on an island between the Kaveri and Kollidam rivers near Tiruchirappalli. It is built around the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, one of the largest functioning Hindu temple complexes in the world, laid out as seven concentric walled enclosures (prakarams). The complex has 21 carved gopuram gateways, crowned by the towering Rajagopuram — among the tallest temple towers in Asia. At its centre, the inner sanctum holds the reclining form of Lord Ranganatha, a form of Vishnu, resting on the serpent Adisesha.

Pleasantly crisp afternoons under clear sunny skies.

Busy

Tamil Nadu

Chidambaram (Nataraja Temple)

Chidambaram is an ancient, vital pilgrimage town near the coastal plains of the Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu. The destination is known for hosting the Thillai Nataraja Temple, a multi-acre temple complex dedicated to Lord Shiva portrayed uniquely in his cosmic dance posture as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. The structural landscape features four massive sculpture-covered gopuram gateways, a grand sacred temple tank, and the Kanaka Sabha, the central inner sanctum topped by a pure gold-plated roof structure fastened using exactly 72,000 copper nails. The complex is managed by an exclusive, hereditary community of married priests known as the Dikshitars.

Pleasantly crisp afternoons with clear sunny sky perimeters.

Busy

Goa

Goa, India's smallest state on the western Konkan coast, pairs golden Arabian Sea beaches with a relaxed Indo-Portuguese culture. From the lively sands and nightlife of the north to the quieter palm-fringed south, plus whitewashed churches, spice plantations, fresh seafood and easygoing susegad charm, it remains India's favourite beach getaway.

Perfect beach weather

Moderate crowds

Leh & Ladakh

Zanskar Valley

Zanskar is one of the last genuinely difficult journeys left in India, and that is the whole appeal. The valley is cut off by snow for around seven months of the year. In summer a single road comes in over the Pensi La from Kargil, and it is long, rough and worth every hour of it. Padum is the only real settlement. Phuktal monastery is built into a cliff cave above a river and takes a walk of several hours to reach — there is no road to it, which is why it feels the way it does. In deep winter, when the road closes, the frozen Zanskar river itself becomes the route: the Chadar trek, walked on the ice in temperatures well below freezing. It is a serious undertaking, not a holiday, and it needs a proper operator and real cold-weather experience. It has also become less reliable as winters warm, and trips are cancelled. If you are coming in summer, budget more days than the distance suggests. Landslides close the road, and there is no alternative route. July to early September for the road. Late January and February for the ice.

Extreme sub-zero cold with stable thick ice paths.

Moderate crowds

Maharashtra

Shirdi

Shirdi is one of India's most visited pilgrimage towns, the home of the revered saint Sai Baba, who preached love, tolerance and the unity of all faiths. The Samadhi Mandir enshrining his tomb draws tens of millions of devotees of every religion each year.

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Kerala

Sabarimala

Sabarimala, set deep in the Western Ghats forests of Kerala, is one of the largest pilgrimage sites in the world, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. Devotees observe a 41-day vratham and trek through the hills to reach the hilltop shrine, especially during the Makaravilakku season.

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Andhra Pradesh

Srikalahasti

Srikalahasti, near Tirupati, is one of the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams of Lord Shiva, representing the element of wind (Vayu). Its ancient Dravidian temple is famed for the Rahu-Ketu rituals and a lamp that flickers in a windless inner sanctum.

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Chhattisgarh

Chitrakote Falls (Bastar)

Chitrakote, often called the 'Niagara of India', is the country's widest waterfall, where the Indravati River plunges in a dramatic horseshoe in the tribal heartland of Bastar, Chhattisgarh. A full horseshoe in the monsoon and a few channels by winter, it anchors a region rich in tribal culture and forests.

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Telangana

Warangal

Warangal, the former capital of the Kakatiya dynasty, is a treasure of medieval South Indian art. The Thousand Pillar Temple, the carved Warangal Fort gateways and the UNESCO-listed Ramappa Temple showcase some of the finest Kakatiya craftsmanship in stone.

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Bihar

Patna

Patna, the ancient city of Pataliputra, was the capital of the mighty Maurya and Gupta empires and is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Today it is a key gateway to Bihar's Buddhist circuit and a major Sikh pilgrimage site as the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh.

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Rajasthan

Pushkar

Pushkar is an ancient, sacred pilgrimage town curled peacefully around the perimeters of the natural, sacred Pushkar Lake. Flanked by the rugged hills of the Aravalli range near Ajmer, it ranks as one of the oldest living cities in India and a paramount spiritual core for Hindu theology. The town's unique identity is tied to hosting the rare 14th-century Jagatpita Brahma Mandir, one of the few temples dedicated to the Hindu Creator God. The landscape features 52 historic stone bathing ghats that step directly down into the clear waters, where pilgrims perform ritual cleansing dips among continuous chanting. The town transitions from a spiritual enclave into a massive cultural phenomenon during late autumn, when its outer desert fields host the world-famous Pushkar Camel Fair, attracting global communities.

Delightfully cool breezy conditions under open sunny skies.

Moderate crowds

Andhra Pradesh

Gandikota

Gandikota, the 'Grand Canyon of India', is a dramatic gorge where the Pennar River cuts through red sandstone cliffs beside a historic fort. Camping on the canyon rim, exploring the old fort and temples, and the sunrise over the gorge have made it a rising offbeat adventure spot.

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Meghalaya

Dawki & Mawlynnong

Dawki and Mawlynnong sit in the southern hills of Meghalaya near the Bangladesh border, famous for the crystal-clear Umngot River and for Mawlynnong's title as 'Asia's cleanest village'. Together they form one of the Northeast's most photogenic and increasingly popular offbeat circuits. The Umngot River at Dawki is so transparent that boats appear to float on air, drawing travellers for boat rides and camping. Nearby Mawlynnong brings out a model of community cleanliness, living root bridges and a sky-walk viewpoint over the plains of Bangladesh — a uniquely sustainable destination.

Cool dry days, transparent river.

Moderate crowds

Jharkhand

Shikharji (Parasnath)

Shikharji, atop Parasnath Hill — Jharkhand's highest peak — is the holiest pilgrimage site in Jainism, where twenty of the twenty-four Tirthankaras are believed to have attained moksha. Devout pilgrims undertake a demanding ~27-km barefoot trek across the forested ridge, visiting shrines (tonks) marking each liberation.

Mild comfortable conditions.

Moderate crowds

Gujarat

Palitana (Shatrunjaya)

Palitana, in Gujarat's Saurashtra, is one of Jainism's most sacred sites — the Shatrunjaya hill is crowned by an astonishing cluster of over 800 intricately carved marble temples. Pilgrims climb roughly 3,800 steps to reach the summit, where the temple-city gleams in white marble. No one, not even priests, may stay overnight on the sacred hill.

Mild comfortable conditions.

Moderate crowds

Karnataka

Shravanabelagola

Shravanabelagola is among the most important Jain pilgrimage centres, dominated by the colossal 17-metre monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali (Gomateshwara) atop Vindhyagiri hill — one of the world's tallest free-standing statues. Every twelve years it is the site of the Mahamastakabhisheka, when the statue is anointed from a scaffold built over its head.

Mild comfortable conditions.

Moderate crowds

Rajasthan

Dilwara Temples (Mount Abu)

The Dilwara Temples at Mount Abu are a group of five exquisite Jain temples built between the 11th and 13th centuries, known for marble carving cut so thin that the ceilings pass light — ceilings, pillars and panels worked into lace-like detail considered unsurpassed in India.

Mild comfortable conditions.

Moderate crowds

Rajasthan

Ajmer Sharif Dargah

Ajmer Sharif is the most revered Sufi shrine in India — the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the 12th-century saint who founded the Chishti order. Drawing millions of pilgrims of all faiths, especially during the annual Urs, it is a powerful symbol of India's syncretic spiritual culture.

Mild comfortable conditions.

Moderate crowds

Maharashtra

Haji Ali Dargah (Mumbai)

The Haji Ali Dargah is one of Mumbai's most recognisable landmarks — a white-domed Indo-Islamic shrine and mosque set on a tiny islet in the Arabian Sea, reached by a causeway that submerges at high tide. The tomb of the saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari draws pilgrims of all faiths.

Mild comfortable conditions.