A month in India is enough to cross the north from the Sikh holy city of Amritsar to the tea slopes of Darjeeling, with the Himalayan foothills, the Ganges and the temple towns of Bundelkhand in between. This itinerary suits travelers who have some patience for long rides and want both the famous sights and the smaller towns. The pace is moderate: three or four nights at most stops, plus three overnight journeys spread out so you never do two in a row. You’ll rely on express and sleeper trains, HRTC buses in Himachal, road transfers in Madhya Pradesh, shared jeeps in the Darjeeling hills, the Delhi Metro and a final flight out of Bagdogra.
Days 1-3: Delhi
This time, use
Delhi to see what came before the Taj.
Humayun’s Tomb, finished in the 1570s, is the red sandstone garden tomb that set the template Shah Jahan later perfected in Agra, and early mornings there are quiet enough to hear parakeets. Walk across the road into Nizamuddin Basti for qawwali at the dargah on Thursday evenings. Give …
read more 👉A month in India is enough to cross the north from the Sikh holy city of Amritsar to the tea slopes of Darjeeling, with the Himalayan foothills, the Ganges and the temple towns of Bundelkhand in between. This itinerary suits travelers who have some patience for long rides and want both the famous sights and the smaller towns. The pace is moderate: three or four nights at most stops, plus three overnight journeys spread out so you never do two in a row. You’ll rely on express and sleeper trains, HRTC buses in Himachal, road transfers in Madhya Pradesh, shared jeeps in the Darjeeling hills, the Delhi Metro and a final flight out of Bagdogra.
Days 1-3: Delhi
This time, use Delhi to see what came before the Taj. Humayun’s Tomb, finished in the 1570s, is the red sandstone garden tomb that set the template Shah Jahan later perfected in Agra, and early mornings there are quiet enough to hear parakeets. Walk across the road into Nizamuddin Basti for qawwali at the dargah on Thursday evenings. Give a separate morning to the Qutub Minar Complex in Mehrauli, then let the jet lag settle in Lodhi Garden among the 15th-century tombs.Day 4: Golden Temple
The Shatabdi Express reaches Amritsar in about 6 hours. Go to the Golden Temple twice: after dark, when the gilded sanctum glows on the water, and again before dawn, when the Guru Granth Sahib is carried in with chanting. Eat at the langar, the free community kitchen that serves tens of thousands of people a day, and offer to help with the washing up. Cover your head and leave your shoes at the counter.Days 5-9: McLeod Ganj
Buses via Pathankot take 6 to 7 hours to McLeod Ganj, home of the Tibetan government-in-exile and the Tsuglagkhang temple complex. Stay up the hill in Dharamkot, where cafés, yoga shalas and pine forest replace the main square’s traffic. The Triund Trek climbs about 9 kilometers from McLeod to a ridge at roughly 2,850 meters facing the Dhauladhar range; start by 7am and you’ll be back for dinner. On day 9, board the evening Volvo bus to Rishikesh, roughly 11 to 12 hours.Days 10-12: Rishikesh
Arrive at dawn and sleep it off. Rishikesh earns three nights: whitewater rafting from Shivpuri, about 16 kilometers upstream, the evening Ganga aarti at Parmarth Niketan, and the overgrown Beatles Ashram with its graffiti-covered meditation huts. The town is vegetarian and alcohol-free, which your liver will appreciate after the hills.Days 13-14: Agra
From Haridwar, a direct train to Agra takes about 8 to 10 hours. Instead of the standard sunrise shot, see the Taj Mahal both ways: inside the complex one morning, and from Mehtab Bagh across the Yamuna at sunset, where the marble turns pink with almost no crowd. Spend the other half-day in Agra Fort, where Shah Jahan spent his last years imprisoned with a view of his own monument.Days 15-18: Orchha and Khajuraho
The Gatimaan Express gets you to Jhansi in about 2 hours 30 minutes, and an auto covers the last 16 kilometers to Orchha. This Bundela capital has palaces, the Ram Raja temple and riverside cenotaphs on the Betwa, all walkable and nearly empty after Agra. Then it’s 4 to 5 hours by road to Khajuraho, where around two dozen of an original 85 Chandela temples survive, carved in the 10th and 11th centuries with dancers, warriors and the famous erotic panels. Rent a bicycle for the eastern and southern groups.Days 19-21: Varanasi
A direct train runs from Khajuraho to Varanasi. Three nights here is the minimum. Take a rowboat along the ghats at first light, watch the cremations at Manikarnika from a respectful distance, and get lost in the lanes behind Dashashwamedh for lassi in clay cups. Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon, is 10 kilometers away by auto.Days 22-24: Kolkata
Take the overnight train to Kolkata (10 to 14 hours). In two days you can do the white marble Victoria Memorial Hall and its gardens, the second-hand book stalls of College Street, and Kumartuli, where artisans shape clay idols for the festivals. Eat kathi rolls on Park Street and rosogolla from a sweet shop. On day 25, the overnight train to New Jalpaiguri takes about 10 hours.Days 26-30: Darjeeling
A shared jeep climbs to Darjeeling in 3 to 4 hours. Five days at 2,000 meters is the right way to end a month on the plains: Tiger Hill at sunrise for Kangchenjunga, a joyride on the UNESCO-listed toy train, a tea-plucking walk at Happy Valley estate and plates of momos in Chowrasta. On day 30, it’s 3 hours down to Bagdogra airport for your flight out.
If a friend had one spare evening in Orchha, I’d send them to the chhatris on the Betwa riverbank at sunset, after the Khajuraho-bound tour buses leave, when vultures nest on the domes and you can sit on the steps alone.v2.webp){kind=logo}
Best Backpacking
