Travelling in India in the Hot Season

Where to Go in India During the Summer Season from March to May

Apr 22, 2009

Summer heat starts to build up in India in March, and in April and May many areas are unbearably hot. So where to go to cool down in India?

The hot season in India lasts from March until the South-Western monsoon starts from Kerala in June. During the month of May temperatures in many places regularly rise over 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Even when the monsoon rains make their way across the country from the south-western coast, the climate stays hot and humid for a while before cooling down. Delhi can be a very uncomfortable place to arrive to at this time of the year, with temperatures often reaching 45 degrees Celsius in June. This is the time to retreat to India’s hill stations.

Shimla, in the state of Himachal Pradesh, used to be the summer capital of the British Raj. These days it is a popular summer holiday destination for Indian tourists, especially honeymooners. The famous narrow gauge railway called Toy Train is a popular way to arrive to Shimla while taking a look at the mountain views.

Another Himachal Pradesh hill station is Manali, always a favourite with backpackers. It gets relatively busy in the summer season, but there are beautiful areas to explore nearby in the Kullu and Parvati valleys. There is also trekking, mountaineering, paragliding, rafting and mountain biking, as well as nice guesthouses for kicking back and admiring at the Himalayas.

Ooty in Tamil Nadu is very popular with Indian tourists in the hot season. At 2240 m altitude it has a pleasant climate even in the summer, and is surrounded by tea plantations, forests and the Nilgiri Mountains. Other hill stations in the nearby area are Coonoor, Kotagiri and Kodaikanal.

The area of Coorg in Karnataka is famous for its coffee plantations as well as trekking, and is a great place to escape the South Indian summer heat.

In Kerala the summer season brings unbearably hot weather to the beaches, but cooler climates can be found in Munnar, a pretty hill station in the middle of tea plantations in the forest-covered Western Ghats. The Periyar Wildlife sanctuary is another good option, even though it doesn’t get quite as cool here as in the hill stations of North India.

Darjeeling in the North-East of India is yet another hill station established by the British, best known for those famous tea plantations and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Toy Train). From Darjeeling it is easy to continue to Sikkim to explore this part of the Himalayas. Sikkim has Buddhist monasteries, beautiful mountain views, lots of trekking options as well as mountain biking and river rafting. Foreigners need a permit to visit Sikkim.

The copyright of the article Travelling in India in the Hot Season in India Travel is owned by Satu Susanna Rommi. Permission to republish Travelling in India in the Hot Season in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.