There's no single best month for India — it's always the right season somewhere. Winter suits most of the country; when the plains get too hot, go to the mountains; when the monsoon arrives, go to Ladakh.
Oct – Mar
The best time for most of India: Rajasthan, Delhi and Agra, the south, the beaches and the islands.
Apr – Jun
Too hot for the plains. Go up: Himachal, Kashmir, Sikkim, and Ladakh once its roads open.
Jun – Sep
Ladakh and Spiti stay dry in the rain shadow. The Western Ghats are lush but wet; many parks close.
Cold and often foggy across the northern plains (Delhi roughly 7–20°C). Snow in the Himalaya. Dry and warm in the south and west.
Where to go
Republic Day, 26 January. Makar Sankranti and Pongal mid-month.
Winter fog delays trains and flights in the north. High Himalayan roads to Ladakh and Spiti are closed.
Warming but still comfortable almost everywhere. The last reliably cool month in the desert.
Where to go
Goa Carnival in February or early March.
Little to avoid. Ladakh by road is still closed.
The plains heat up through the month, passing 30°C by the end. Still pleasant in the hills and the Northeast.
Where to go
Holi, usually in March. Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab.
Rajasthan and central India become uncomfortably hot at midday by late March.
Hot on the plains, often 35–40°C. Hill stations open up and are at their most comfortable.
Where to go
Baisakhi on 13 or 14 April — the Golden Temple in Amritsar is at its busiest.
Sightseeing at midday anywhere on the plains.
Peak heat, 40–45°C across the north and centre. Hill stations are crowded with Indian school holidays.
Where to go
The roads into Ladakh usually open between late April and early June, depending on snow.
Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan and central India. Book hill-station hotels well ahead.
The monsoon reaches Kerala around 1 June and spreads north through the month. Ladakh and Spiti, in the rain shadow, stay dry.
Where to go
Hemis festival in Ladakh falls in June or July.
Kerala and Goa beaches — rough seas, and many beach businesses close. Most national parks close for the monsoon.
Full monsoon over almost all of India. The Western Ghats are at their greenest and wettest.
Where to go
Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand begins its main bloom, peaking into August.
Landslides on Himalayan roads in Himachal and Uttarakhand. Most tiger reserves and Kaziranga are closed.
Monsoon continues. Humid, green, and wettest in the Northeast and along the west coast.
Where to go
Independence Day, 15 August. Onam in Kerala falls in August or September.
Flooding in Assam and Bihar. Himalayan road closures after heavy rain.
The monsoon withdraws from the northwest from mid-month. Rajasthan is hot but unusually green.
Where to go
Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, usually late August or September.
Late-season floods in the east.
Post-monsoon: clear skies, washed air and the best Himalayan views of the year. Comfortable across most of the country.
Where to go
Durga Puja in Kolkata and Dussehra, usually October. Diwali falls in October or November.
Cyclones are possible on the Odisha and Andhra coast in October and November. Ladakh starts closing late in the month.
High season begins. Dry, sunny and mild in most of the country.
Where to go
Pushkar Camel Fair in October or November. Guru Nanak Gurpurab at the Golden Temple.
Delhi’s air quality is often at its worst in November. The northeast monsoon brings heavy rain to Chennai and Tamil Nadu.
Peak season. Cool in the north, warm and dry in the south and on the islands.
Where to go
Hornbill Festival in Nagaland, 1–10 December. Christmas and New Year in Goa.
Fog in the north from late December. Goa and Rajasthan prices peak over Christmas and New Year — book early.
Weather notes describe typical years. Festivals set by the lunar calendar — Holi, Diwali, Durga Puja, Onam, the Pushkar fair — move by several weeks from year to year, so check the date for your year before booking.
