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.

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.

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…

Comfortable breezy afternoons with high horizon clarity.

Busy

Uttar Pradesh

Taj Mahal (Agra)

The Taj Mahal stands in white marble on the southern bank of the Yamuna River at Agra.

Pleasantly crisp afternoons with bright warm sunshine.

Moderate crowds

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…

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.

Pleasantly crisp afternoons under clear sunny skies.

Busy

Tamil Nadu

Chidambaram (Nataraja Temple)

Chidambaram is an ancient pilgrimage town near the coastal plains of Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu, and the reason to come is the Thillai Nataraja Temple.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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…

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Telangana

Warangal

Warangal, the former capital of the Kakatiya dynasty, is a treasure of medieval South Indian art.

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.

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Rajasthan

Pushkar

Pushkar wraps around its lake — a natural one, and sacred — in the rugged Aravalli hills near Ajmer.

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.

Mild comfortable days.

Moderate crowds

Meghalaya

Dawki & Mawlynnong

Dawki and Mawlynnong sit in the southern hills of Meghalaya near the Bangladesh border, known for the crystal-clear Umngot River and for Mawlynnong's title as…

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…

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…

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)…

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…

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.

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…

Mild comfortable conditions.