Experience 09 / 12
Romance journeys across India
प्रेम और एकांत
Lake palaces, shikaras and beaches with nobody on them
Two people, a boat and a long evening. Udaipur seen from the water at sunset, a Dal Lake shikara with kahwa from a copper samovar, snow above Gulmarg, a houseboat drifting through the Vembanad, and Radhanagar beach on Havelock as the sky turns orange. Quiet hotels, late breakfasts, no group of forty.
- 13 of 35 places
- 4 journeys
- Best Oct–Mar
Photo: Uri Sittan Tripo · CC BY-SA 3.0
The shape of it
What a romance journey looks like
यह यात्रा कैसी होती है
Romance in India is a matter of choosing the right hour and the right water. In Udaipur, take a boat on Lake Pichola at half past five, when the Aravalli hills go violet and the City Palace catches the last of the light, then eat on the terrace at Jag Mandir, where Prince Khurram sheltered long before he became Shah Jahan. Kashmir offers a shikara across Dal Lake past floating vegetable gardens, kahwa poured from a samovar, and the Gulmarg gondola climbing towards Apharwat at close to four thousand metres. Rajasthan turns the desert romantic at Jaisalmer, where the dunes near Sam deserve an evening with nothing but a fire and a folk singer. Kerala's answer is horizontal: a private houseboat that leaves Alleppey at noon, ties up in a paddy channel at dusk, and cooks karimeen on board. In Coorg and Munnar you wake to coffee and cardamom air with mist sitting below the room. The Andamans keep the last card, Radhanagar on Havelock, a two-kilometre curve of white sand facing exactly the right way for sunset. We book the room with the view, the boat without the crowd, and leave whole afternoons unplanned.
Where to go
13 places for a romance 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
LakeThemes:RomanceHeritageCulturePhotographyRajasthan
Udaipur
Marble palaces mirrored in Lake Pichola beneath Aravalli hills
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- September to March; the monsoon months of July and August fill the lakes and turn the hills green
DesertThemes:HeritageAdventurePhotographyCultureRajasthan
Jaisalmer
Golden sandstone fort alive on a Thar desert ridge
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to February; the Desert Festival is held in February around the Magh full moon
HeritageThemes:HeritageRomancePhotographyFoodUttar Pradesh
Agra
The Taj at dawn, and a city that outlives it
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; the Taj is closed on Fridays and open on five nights around each full moon.
LakeThemes:RomanceCultureFoodHeritageJammu & Kashmir
Srinagar
Houseboats on Dal Lake, Mughal gardens and chinar-shaded autumn light
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- April to October for gardens and lakes; late October to November for chinar autumn; December to February for snow
Hill stationThemes:AdventureNatureRomanceFamilyJammu & Kashmir
Gulmarg
A bowl-shaped meadow, one of the world's highest gondolas, Himalayan powder
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- December to March for snow and skiing; May to September for meadows and the gondola
Hill stationThemes:AdventureNatureFamilyRomanceHimachal Pradesh
Manali
Beas river, deodar temples and the road over the passes
- Ideal stay
- 4 days
- Best time
- March to June for orchards and open passes; October to November for gold larches and clear skies; December to February for snow and skiing at Solang
Hill stationThemes:SpiritualNatureHeritageFamilyRajasthan
Mount Abu
Rajasthan's only hill station, with Dilwara's marble Jain temples
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March for clear
West India
Deserts, forts, beaches and living heritage
BeachThemes:NatureRomanceFoodFamilyGoa
South Goa
Long empty sands, spice hills and grand Goan mansions
- Ideal stay
- 4 days
- Best time
- November to March
Northeast India
Living root bridges, monasteries and mist
Hill stationThemes:NatureSpiritualHeritagePhotographySikkim
Pelling
Sunrise on Kanchenjunga above Sikkim's old royal capital
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- March to May for rhododendrons
South India
Temple towns, backwaters and spice coasts
Hill stationThemes:NatureFoodCultureRomanceKarnataka
Coorg (Kodagu)
Coffee ridges, Kodava kitchens and the source of the Kaveri
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March; the June to September monsoon is heavy enough to close estate tracks
Hill stationThemes:NatureRomanceAdventurePhotographyKerala
Munnar
Clipped tea hills, Nilgiri tahr and the highest peak down south
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- September to March; June to August brings heavy monsoon and landslide-prone ghat roads
BackwaterThemes:NatureFoodRomanceFamilyKerala
Alleppey (Alappuzha)
Kettuvallam nights on Vembanad and paddy below sea level
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- November to March; the snake boat race falls on the second Saturday of August
Islands
Coral lagoons and untouched shores
IslandThemes:NatureAdventureRomancePhotographyAndaman & Nicobar Islands
Havelock (Swaraj Dweep)
Radhanagar sand, coral walls and India's finest scuba diving
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to May; visibility for diving peaks January to April
4 journeys
Journeys built around romance
हमारी यात्राएँ
Take one as it is, or hand it back to us with your dates and we'll rebuild it around them.
7 days · 6 nightsThemes:NatureCultureRomance
Easy · Best Apr–Oct
Kashmir Valley of Paradise
Seven days of Dal Lake, Gulmarg meadows, Lidder pines and Sindh valley snow
Route: Srinagar → Gulmarg → Pahalgam → Sonamarg
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹64,000 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
10 days · 9 nightsThemes:HeritageCulturePhotography
Easy · Best Oct–Mar
Royal Rajasthan Grand Circuit
Ten days from Jaipur's bazaars to the dunes and back to Lake Pichola
Route: Jaipur → Pushkar → Jodhpur → Jaisalmer +3 more
- Group
- 2–10 (private)
- From
- ₹1,18,000 pp
6 days · 5 nightsThemes:NatureAdventureRomance
Easy · Best Oct–May
Andaman Island Escape
Six days of coral, ferries and colonial ruins in the Bay of Bengal
Route: Port Blair → Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) → Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep) → Ross Island (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep)
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹48,000 pp
From the journal
Reading before a romance trip
पत्रिका
· Tips · 6 min
First Time in India: Practical Travel Tips That Work
Everything we tell first-time travellers before they land: how many places to attempt, what a SIM card and a day of cash actually cost, how to eat street food safely, what to wear into a temple, and the four scams worth recognising.
· Itinerary · 5 min
Golden Triangle Itinerary: 6 Days in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur
A day-by-day plan for Delhi, Agra and Jaipur that fixes the two mistakes most first trips make: too little time in Delhi and too much time on the Agra to Jaipur road. Includes ticket prices, closing days and drive times.
· Itinerary · 5 min
Ladakh Road Trip Planning Guide: Routes, Permits, Altitude
Everything that decides whether a Ladakh drive works: which highway to enter on, how many days to give altitude before Khardung La, what permits cost, when the passes open and close, and a tested twelve-day loop from Leh to Tso Moriri.