Where to go in India, and what it really costs

A high-altitude cold desert of monasteries, fossil villages, and some of India's most dramatic roads. Spiti rewards slow travel and punishes rushing.

Best time

June to September (full loop)

Daily budget

₹1,800–3,000 backpacking

High passes, turquoise lakes, and monasteries on every ridge. Ladakh is simple to reach by air and demanding once you're there: the altitude sets the pace.

Best time

June to September

Daily budget

₹2,500–4,000 backpacking

Where the Ganga leaves the mountains: white-water rafting, yoga schools, evening aarti on the ghats, and easy hikes into the foothills.

Best time

September to November and February to April

Daily budget

₹1,200–2,200 backpacking

Living root bridges, some of the wettest places on Earth, and rivers so clear that boats seem to float on air. Meghalaya is lush, walkable, and still uncrowded.

Best time

October to April for clear rivers and dry trails

Daily budget

₹1,800–3,000 backpacking

Kanchenjunga at sunrise, monasteries above the clouds, and a clean, easygoing capital. Sikkim is small but mountainous, so distances take longer than the map suggests.

Best time

March to May and October to November

Daily budget

₹2,000–3,200 backpacking

Backwaters, tea hills, spice gardens, and cliff beaches, all within a few hours of each other. Kerala is one of India's easiest states to travel independently.

Best time

October to March

Daily budget

₹1,800–2,800 backpacking

The ruins of a 14th-century imperial capital scattered across a landscape of giant boulders. Hampi is best explored slowly, by bicycle, with sunrises and sunsets from the rocks.

Best time

October to February

Daily budget

₹1,300–2,300 backpacking

Two Goas in one small state: lively beaches and markets in the north, quiet coves in the south, with Portuguese churches and spice farms in between.

Best time

November to February

Daily budget

₹1,800–3,000 backpacking