My India list
My India list: top places, events and festivals I want to see
I believe in magic. How else can you explain that the more I travel in India, the longer the list of places I want to go gets?! I was inspired to write this list by Mighty Girl’s Mighty Life List, so here goes. Here’s my list at the time of this writing (and I am sure I am missing several things …):
Top 10
- see sunrise over the Himalayas from Tiger Hill, near Darjeeling
- watch the start of the monsoon in Trivandrum
- attend the Pushkar Camel Festival
- climb Mount Arunachala
- see a tiger! — perhaps in Kanha National Park, the place that inspired Kipling to write Jungle Book
- watch Indian classical dance at sunset in front of the temples during the Khajuraho Dance Festival
- stay in tea gardens in Darjeeling, Assam and the Nilgiri Hills
- have tea at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai
- stay at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata and watch the Kali Puja
- go on Char Dham pilgrimage to source of the Ganga (Ganges River)
And the list continues …
- be in Jaisalmer for the Desert Festival
- visit Gandh’s ashrams: Sabarmati and Sevagram
- take part in Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai
- see the Brahmaputra River in Assam
- visit the Ellora and Ajanta Caves
- hike in Ladakh
- be in Mathura for Janmashtami
- take a boat cruise through the Sunderbans
- join the Chariot Festival in Puri
- hike in Sikkim
- stay at Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur
- see the Republic Day Parade in Delhi
spend some time writing in Bundi, where Kipling wrote- undertake 10-day Vipassana retreat near Jaipur
- brief stop in the world’s wettest place, Cherapungi
- see Dal Lake, Srinagar
- stay at a spice garden in Kerala
- visit the spice market in Old Delhi
- finally go to Akshardham in Delhi
- see the sun set and the moon rise at Kanyakumari (happens only two days per year)
- attend Jaipur Literature Festival
the list is awesome. wud u be traveling alone? when?
“see a tiger! — perhaps in Kanha National Park, the place that inspired Kipling to write Jungle Book”
Me too. I’m trying to plan a big India trip this winter, starting in the north and traveling to the south by local transport. I’ll definitely have to add some of the others to my list!
~me
http://www.pickmeupgirl.com
You missed one that I would’ve put in my top 5 – the Holi water fights!
Hi Gurpreet,
I didn’t put on this list things I have already done — and I’ve lived through two Holi’s in India (one with family in Delhi and one with yoga family in RIshikesh. Too much fun!!).
I have also been in India for Diwali, attended a huge Indian wedding, studied yoga in an ashram and had many other wonderful experiences that I’ve checked off my list.
Thanks for comment.
Mariellen
Hi Mariellen,
Kipling would be more Pench and less Kanha.
If anything, Pench is a less travelled tiger reserve and it has a high density of tigers. I’d recommend it to you.
Of course Kanha is replete with young tigers this season. Check for the comments in the pics…
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/arrrow/KanhaJune2008
Excellent post. Its really inspiring to see a westerner so well traveled in India. I’ve added a lot of above things to my must do/visit list!
One observation i had on the above is most of the items listed here are from north India. There are lot of great things to do in south India as well – Ayurvedic massage in Kerala, Beaches in Goa, Heritage tour covering historic temples in Tamilnadu and Karnataka, Stay at boat house in Alleppey/kumarakom, hikes in nilgiris etc.
Hello Mariellen, You have summed all the great places in your list. Its nice to see a westerner to be so versed with India.
Hi Mariellen,
This is a wonderfully inspirational list of things to do in India!
Also, thanks for including our link to The Best Parks to See Tigers in India under “Links I Love”! Kanha offers an amazing opportunity for you to check off #5 on your list!
I think you are a travel planner. You choose very good places.
Today Navratri festival started…. it will be enjoyed till 16th october. So if you are in India…. go to gujarat for enjoying this festival.
Are you yet to visit Jaipur Li. Fest. ? Are you coming this year?
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