India Travel Itineraries — Sample Trips by Length

Most travellers planning India ask the same first question: how do I structure my time? The country is enormous and the itineraries below try to provide useful, realistic templates rather than the everything-in-7-days lists you sometimes see in glossy guides. They are organised by trip length — short weekends through to two weeks — and grouped by region so you can mix and match if your interests cross categories.

Each linked itinerary article gives a day-by-day breakdown with travel times, recommended stops, and links back to the relevant city or hill-station guides for more depth. Use them as starting points; your own pace and interests should reshape them.

Short trips — 3 to 5 days

Ideal for weekends from a major Indian city, or as add-ons to a longer trip.

Hill stations (3 days)

• 3 Days in Shimla — a long weekend from Delhi. Colonial hill capital, the Kalka–Shimla Toy Train, Christ Church and Jakhu, plus a side trip to Chail or Naldehra. Read →
• 3 Days in Mussoorie — a long weekend from Delhi. The Queen of the Hills, Gun Hill and Camel's Back Road, an afternoon in Landour, plus a Day-3 side trip to George Everest's House or Cloud's End. Read →
• 3 Days in Nainital — a long weekend from Delhi. Naini Lake, Snow View ropeway, Tiffin Top, plus a Day-3 side trip to Sattal for birdwatching or Mukteshwar for the Himalayan view. Read →
• 3 Days in Darjeeling — a long weekend. Tiger Hill sunrise over Kanchenjunga, the Toy Train Joy Ride, Ghoom Monastery, Happy Valley Tea Estate, the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. Read →
• 3 Days in Munnar — a long weekend from Kochi. Drive up through cardamom country, Eravikulam National Park, the Tata Tea Museum, Mattupetty, Top Station sunset, plus a quiet tea-estate day. Read →

More 3-day hill-station itineraries to follow: Manali, Ooty.

Cities (3 days)

Coming: 3 days in Delhi; 3 days in Mumbai; the Golden Triangle in 5 days (Delhi–Agra–Jaipur).

Week-long trips — 7 days

The most useful single-trip length for visitors arriving from outside India. Each itinerary covers one region in real depth.

North Indian Himalayan loops

• 7 Days in Himachal — Manali, the Atal Tunnel and Spiti. The classic high-Himalayan loop combining the Kullu valley with a taste of the cold-desert country of Spiti. Mid-June to early October. Read →
• 7 Days in Uttarakhand — Mussoorie, Nainital, Rishikesh. The "Garhwal–Kumaon double" with the Ganga corridor at Rishikesh and Haridwar on the way back. Read →
• 7 Days in Sikkim and Darjeeling — Eastern Himalaya. Tiger Hill sunrise over Kanchenjunga from Darjeeling, then across to Gangtok for monasteries and the Tsomgo Lake day trip. Read →
• 7 Days in Ladakh — Leh, Pangong and Nubra Valley. The high-altitude headline trip — Indus Valley monasteries, the camel dunes of Nubra over Khardung La, and Pangong Lake. Mid-May to early October. Read →

South Indian hill loops

• 7 Days in the Southern Hills — Munnar and Kodaikanal. A tea-and-shola-forest loop combining Kerala's High Range with the quieter Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu. October to March. Read →
• 7 Days in Karnataka — Mysore, Coorg and Bandipur. Mysore's palaces, a tiger-safari night at Bandipur, and three nights in Coorg's coffee-and-rainforest country. Read →
• 7 Days in the Nilgiris — Ooty, Coonoor, Mudumalai. The UNESCO Mountain Railway, three nights at Ooty, two at the quieter Coonoor, and a tiger-safari night at Mudumalai. Read →

Classic North Indian circuits

• 7 Days Golden Triangle Plus — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Ranthambhore. The classic first-time India trip with two extra nights at Ranthambhore National Park for tiger safaris. Read →
• 7 Days in the Rajasthan Desert — Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner. The three western fort cities, with a desert-camp night at Sam dunes and a stop at the Karni Mata "rat temple." Read →

Southern temple and city circuits

• 7 Days in Kerala — Backwaters and Beaches. Fort Kochi's colonial old quarter, an overnight Alleppey houseboat, and the Arabian Sea sands at Kovalam or Varkala. Read →
• 7 Days in Tamil Nadu — Temples and Coast. Chennai, Mahabalipuram (the Pallava rock temples), Pondicherry's French Quarter, Tanjore's Brihadeeswarar Temple, and the Meenakshi Temple at Madurai. Read →

Two-week trips — 14 days

For travellers who want to combine multiple regions or follow a longer route.

• 14 Days Classic North India — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Rajasthan. The Golden Triangle plus Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer (with a desert-camp night) and Udaipur. The headline first-time-to-India trip done at a proper pace. Read →
• 14 Days Classic South India — Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Dravidian temples (Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry, Tanjore, Madurai) plus Periyar wildlife, Munnar tea country, the Alleppey backwaters, and Fort Kochi. Read →
• 14 Days Himalayan Special — Delhi, Shimla, Spiti, Manali, Leh. The great Himalayan road-trip crossing — a slow ascent from Shimla through Kinnaur and Spiti to Manali, then over the Manali–Leh highway. Mid-June to early October only. Read →

Tips for using these itineraries

• Pace — most are full, with little built-in slack. If you prefer slower travel, drop a day or two of side trips.
• Direction — almost all the loops can be reversed; check that the recommended direction makes sense for your starting point.
• Hotels — book ahead in peak season (March–June, October–November, December–January for Christmas/New Year). Some smaller mountain stays only have a handful of rooms.
• Travel time vs ground — Indian distances on a map are not the same as Indian distances on the ground. Mountain roads in particular halve average speeds.
• Permits — most domestic itineraries don't need permits, but Sikkim has internal permits for the higher passes, and Ladakh plus parts of Arunachal Pradesh require Inner Line / Protected Area Permits for foreign visitors. The relevant itinerary article will flag what is needed.

Related guides

• Top 12 Hill Stations in India →
• Trip Planning →
• Hill Stations →
• City Guides →