Visiting India during the monsoon season, June to September, offers quite an advantage: there are less tourists, main attractions are less crowded. During my month in India, I have never ever queued for an attraction except for the security check at the Taj Mahal, even at 6 am. Otherwise, anywhere else in India, I can assure you, you will not queue anywhere, not even in Delhi, the capital city. Once on the attraction site, you will be able to walk freely without stepping foot on other people and be able to stay as long as you want.
Monsoon is a very exotic concept to those travelers coming from more moderate climate zones and arouse different associations – from constant drizzle to short but heavy rainfalls to tropical storms and gales. But India is a big country with multiple climate zones and therefore the monsoon can develop differently in various areas of India.
However, and we don’t want to butter it up, it does rain a lot like A LOT. Not like British drizzle or the one shower for a couple of minutes you get in South-East Asia. It often rains for days and it rains heavily in the tropical areas of the west coast and in the north of India. The cities have an almost non-existent drainage system and the streets flood quickly. And on top of it there is the humidity, your constant travel companion. Clothes don’t dry for hours to days and the heat feels more discomforting.
It’s all about the attitude when you travel during the Indian monsoon.
CHEAPER ACCOMMODATION IN THIS TIME
Monsoon being the low season in India, you will be able to have cheaper accommodation than during the high tourist season (December to March). Even better, there is no need to book your hotels in advance, which give you the freedom to change your itinerary at the last minute or stay longer at a place if you wish.
At this period of the year, you are in a position of power, you have the choice. Hotel owners will do anything for you to choose their hotel over the neighbor’s one. So take your time and visit several hotels before making your final choice, visit the rooms. To make sure you don’t get cheated, ask to see a standard room and a deluxe room and then see for yourself if the price difference between the two rooms are worth it or not.
ONE OF THE BEST TIME THIS RAINY SEASON
But even though the weather can be sometimes quite unpleasant from June to September, there are benefits to this season. The nature comes to life, dry brown grasslands and forests become lush and green, the farmers welcome the season with full productivity and lakes and rivers as well as waterfalls fill up and become stronger than ever. This all is a pleasant sight in a country often struck by droughts in the recent past.
Many tourists avoid India in the monsoon which means that you have a lot of sights to yourself. That makes it easier to connect to locals and experience more authenticity. The typical tourist scams appear at a minimum and all together you just don’t feel like one in a thousand travelers while you stroll the lanes and monuments of ancient India.
Monsoon can be the perfect season for you, depending on what you are looking for and what activity you wish to do.
For example, it is highly recommended to choose August for a Trek to Ladakh. From July to September, roads are accessible and you will enjoy great temperatures while hiking the famous Himalayas.
Another great region during summer is Rajasthan. Most of Rajasthan is composed of arid areas. Therefore, you will rarely have any rain during your stay in Rajasthan. At least, we didn’t while we were in Rajasthan.
For all nature lovers and breath-taking landscape seekers, monsoon is the best season to go as you will see stunning waterfalls with a powerful flow and the vibrant green jungles will show you their best colors at this time of the year.
So it is the best time to hit the countryside and hill stations. As the nature and greenery is at full swing, it’s a great pleasure to walk through the lush hills and pass the freshly filled lakes and rivers and enjoy what makes the tropics to interesting and unique. Wayanad, Munnar and Thekkady are such places but also the Dudhsagar Waterfall Hike in Goa. Ooty in Tamil Nadu is very popular amongst domestic tourists to flee the heat of the cities.
If you want to escape the Indian monsoon all together and enjoy stunning landscapes in the mountains, Ladakh might be the best destination for you. The state in the most northern part on India is flanked by the high mountain ranges of the Himalayas and the Karkokram mountain range. The state offers breathtaking views and great opportunities for hikes. It’s also called the cold dessert for a reason as the precipitation is very low up here. It’s ideal to go there between June and August, when the days are moderately warm and the night pleasantly cool.
The rocky surroundings of Hampi where you can explore ancient temple and palace ruins of an empire long gone, might be worth a visit as it can get very hot and dry in central India during the rest of the year. Combine it with a visit to Mysore and Wayanad.
Nice information.
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