Experience 04 / 12
Food journeys across India
स्वाद की यात्रा
Kachori mornings, kebab evenings, coconut afternoons
You can eat your way across India and never repeat a grain. Wheat and dairy in Punjab, mustard oil and river fish in Bengal, coconut and tamarind along both coasts, millets across the Deccan. We plan the day around meal times rather than monuments, with street stalls, home kitchens and old-city walks.
- 14 of 56 places
- 7 journeys
- Best Oct–Mar
Photo: VinPrasad · CC BY-SA 4.0
The shape of it
What a food journey looks like
यह यात्रा कैसी होती है
Indian food changes with the fat, the grain and the water. Start in Amritsar with a kulcha pulled straight from the tandoor and weighed down with butter, then the dal at Kesar da Dhaba that has been on the fire since morning. Delhi gives you Paranthe Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk at breakfast and Karim's beside Jama Masjid at night. Lucknow's galouti kebab, ground fine enough for a toothless nawab, is still made at Tunday's in Aminabad. In Jaipur, pyaaz kachori and a saffron lassi in a clay kulhar do the morning, and laal maas, mutton cooked red with Mathania chillies, does the evening. Ahmedabad's Manek Chowk becomes a night market around eleven. Kolkata means phuchka, kathi rolls and shorshe ilish in the monsoon; Mumbai means vada pav at a station and Mohammed Ali Road through Ramzan. Hyderabad pairs biryani with Irani chai and Osmania biscuits near Charminar. Further south, Chettinad mansions cook with kalpasi and black pepper, Madurai drinks jigarthanda after midnight, and Kochi fries karimeen in a banana leaf. In Assam, khar and masor tenga reset the palate completely. We book home kitchens, market walks with a cook, and enough space between meals to be hungry again.
Where to go
14 places for a food journey
कहाँ जाएँ
Grouped by region, north to south. Each one earns its place for a different reason — open any of them for the season, the days it needs and how to get there.
North India
Himalayas, holy rivers and Mughal splendour
TempleThemes:SpiritualFoodCultureHeritagePunjab
Amritsar
The Golden Temple, the langar, and the border drums
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; November and February are the most comfortable
CityThemes:HeritageFoodCultureSpiritualDelhi
Delhi
Eight cities stacked on one river plain, still being built
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March; winter fog can delay flights in late December and January.
CityThemes:FoodHeritageCultureUttar Pradesh
Lucknow
Nawabi grace, slow-cooked kebabs and the city of tehzeeb
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; the Lucknow Mahotsav in November and the winter kebab season.
CityThemes:HeritageCultureFoodPhotographyRajasthan
Jaipur
Pink-walled planned city of astronomers, jewellers and Rajput kings
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March
RiverThemes:SpiritualCultureFoodPhotographyUttar Pradesh
Varanasi
The oldest living city, waking on the Ganga
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March; Dev Deepawali falls on Kartik Purnima in November.
West India
Deserts, forts, beaches and living heritage
CityThemes:HeritageCultureFoodPhotographyGujarat
Ahmedabad
India's first World Heritage City, of pols, mosques and mills
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- November to February; mid-January brings the Uttarayan kite festival
CityThemes:CultureFoodHeritagePhotographyMaharashtra
Mumbai
Seven islands, Art Deco seafront and India's loudest appetite
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- November to February; the monsoon from June to September is dramatic but floods the streets
East India
Sacred ghats, tea gardens and tribal heartlands
CityThemes:CultureFoodHeritagePhotographyWest Bengal
Kolkata
Colonial mansions, clay goddesses and the best street food in India
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March; Durga Puja falls in late September or October
Northeast India
Living root bridges, monasteries and mist
TempleThemes:SpiritualCultureFoodHeritageAssam
Guwahati & Kamakhya
The Brahmaputra's gateway city, crowned by the Kamakhya Shakti Peetha
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; June for the Ambubachi Mela
South India
Temple towns, backwaters and spice coasts
CityThemes:HeritageFoodCulturePhotographyTelangana
Hyderabad
Qutb Shahi arches, Deccan biryani and Irani chai mornings
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to February; Ramzan evenings
HeritageThemes:HeritageFoodCultureOffbeatTamil Nadu
Chettinad
Merchant mansions, Athangudi tiles and India's boldest curries
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- November to February
TempleThemes:SpiritualCultureFoodHeritageTamil Nadu
Madurai
Temple city that has not slept for two millennia
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; April brings the Chithirai festival and Meenakshi's celestial wedding
CityThemes:HeritageCultureFoodPhotographyKerala
Kochi
Chinese nets, a Dutch palace and five centuries of harbour trade
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; the Biennale runs through winter in alternate years
TempleThemes:SpiritualFoodNatureFamilyKarnataka
Udupi & Murudeshwar
The Krishna that turned around, and a Shiva above the sea
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; Paryaya falls in January of even-numbered years
7 journeys
Journeys built around food
हमारी यात्राएँ
Take one as it is, or hand it back to us with your dates and we'll rebuild it around them.
6 days · 5 nightsThemes:HeritageCultureFood
Easy · Best Oct–Mar
Golden Triangle Classic
Delhi's tombs, Agra's marble and Jaipur's pink grid in six days
Route: Delhi → Agra → Fatehpur Sikri → Jaipur
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹58,000 pp
8 days · 7 nightsThemes:NatureWellnessFood
Easy · Best Sep–Mar
Kerala Backwaters and Tea Hills
Fort Kochi to a Vembanad houseboat, by way of the high tea country
Route: Kochi → Munnar → Thekkady & Periyar → Alleppey (Alappuzha) +1 more
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹68,000 pp
9 days · 8 nightsThemes:CultureWildlifeHeritage
Easy · Best Nov–Mar
Rann of Kutch and the Gir Lions
Nine days from Ahmedabad's pols to the white desert, the lions and the sea
Route: Ahmedabad → Bhuj → Rann of Kutch → Gir National Park +2 more
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹82,000 pp
10 days · 9 nightsThemes:SpiritualHeritageCulture
Easy · Best Nov–Mar
Tamil Nadu Temple Trail
Ten days of Pallava granite, Chola bronze and Nayak gopurams, Chennai to Kanyakumari
Route: Chennai → Mahabalipuram → Pondicherry → Thanjavur +3 more
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹89,000 pp
7 days · 6 nightsThemes:HeritageCultureFood
Easy · Best Oct–Feb
Maharashtra Caves and Coast
Seven days from Mumbai's waterfront to Ajanta's brushwork and the Konkan
Route: Mumbai → Ajanta & Ellora Caves → Nashik → Lonavala & Khandala +1 more
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹66,000 pp
8 days · 7 nightsThemes:HeritageNatureFood
Easy · Best Oct–Mar
Karnataka: Coffee Hills and the Ruins of Hampi
Filter coffee in Bengaluru, pandi curry in Coorg, sunrise over the Vijayanagara boulders
Route: Bengaluru → Mysuru → Coorg (Kodagu) → Chikmagalur +1 more
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹62,000 pp
On the table
What you'll eat along the way
खानपान
Ordered where it is made, not where it is famous.
VegetarianRajasthan
Dal Baati Churma
Rajasthan on one thali: hard wheat baatis baked in embers until they crack, drowned in ghee, eaten with panchmel dal of five lentils and churma crushed with jaggery. You break the baati by hand, spoon dal over it, then finish sweet. Eat it at a Jaipur haveli lunch or a Jodhpur family kitchen.
VegetarianDelhi
Chole Bhature
Slow-cooked chickpeas darkened with tea and dry mango, served with a balloon of fried bhatura, raw onion, green chilli and pickle. Delhi eats it for breakfast, most famously at Sita Ram Diwan Chand in Paharganj and at the Kamla Nagar stalls, always with a glass of sweet or salted lassi.
VegetarianPunjab
Amritsari Kulcha
A layered maida bread stuffed with spiced potato, paneer or onion, slapped onto the wall of a tandoor and pulled out blistered, then crushed by hand and topped with white butter. It comes with chole and a sharp onion chutney. Eat it for breakfast in Amritsar after the morning prayers at the Golden Temple.
Non-vegUttar Pradesh
Galouti Kebab
Minced mutton tenderised with raw papaya and bound with scores of ground spices, then griddled into patties soft enough to eat without teeth, which is exactly why Awadh created them. Fold one into a warm sheermal or ulta tawa paratha. Tunday Kababi in Lucknow has been serving them since 1905.
From the journal
Reading before a food trip
पत्रिका
· Itinerary · 6 min
Northeast India in 10 Days: Assam and Meghalaya Itinerary
A tested ten-day route from Guwahati through Kaziranga's rhino grasslands to the satras of Majuli, then across the Khasi hills to root bridges, Nohkalikai Falls and the glass water of the Umngot, with costs, permits and honest driving times.
· Culture · 6 min
Varanasi Ghats Guide: From Sunrise Boat to Ganga Aarti
One full day on the ghats of Banaras, hour by hour: the pre-dawn boat, the walk from Assi to Manikarnika, the lanes behind Kashi Vishwanath, the kachori and malaiyo worth queueing for, and where to sit for the evening aarti.
· Culture · 5 min
Festivals of India: A Month-by-Month Travel Calendar
A year of Indian festivals arranged by month, with where each one is at its most vivid, how far ahead to book, and what actually happens on the ground, from Thrissur Pooram's elephants to Hornbill in Nagaland and Dev Deepawali on the Ganga.