India itinerary: 1 month, region by region

Thirty days changes what an India trip can be. Instead of picking one region and moving fast through it, you can cover two properly, or go deep into one without the constant sense of a clock running down. The recommended route below is the north-and-south combination from our 3-week India itinerary, slowed down and filled out with the stops a shorter trip has to skip. Two more month-long alternatives follow it, for the north on its own and for a properly demanding high-altitude route. For the full range of lengths, see the India itinerary guide.

The recommended route: north and south, unhurried

A month gives you room for the parts the three-week version has to cut: the full Rajasthan desert loop through Jaisalmer, a proper stop in Gokarna between Goa and Hampi, and enough days in Kerala to add Munnar's tea estates rather than choosing between the hills and the backwaters. See the Rajasthan route guide and the Kerala route guide for both halves in full.

Other ways to spend a month

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  1 month · October to March

  North India classic: full Rajasthan, Varanasi, Rishikesh and Amritsar

  A slower, all-north loop that never needs a domestic flight. |

  Best for Forts, the desert, the Ganges, the Himalayan foothills

• 

  1 month · June to September

  The mountains: Himachal, Spiti and Ladakh

  A serious, fit-traveller-only month with two separate acclimatisation stretches. |

  Best for High-altitude lakes, monasteries, two of the world's highest roads

North India classic: full Rajasthan, Varanasi, Rishikesh and Amritsar

Everything on this route sits within a day's road or rail journey of the last stop, so it's the one month-long option here that never needs a domestic flight.

See the Rajasthan route guide, the Golden Triangle route guide and the Amritsar guide for each stretch. The Wagah ceremony sits on the Pakistan border, and the UK government advises against travel within 10 km of it, so read the Amritsar guide's note on the current position before you plan around it.

The mountains: Himachal, Spiti and Ladakh

This is a serious month, not a casual one. It spends more than two weeks above 3,000 metres, crosses two of the highest motorable roads in the world, and needs two separate acclimatisation periods, one before Spiti and a second, fresh one before Ladakh, rather than treating the whole month as one long climb. It only works June to September, when Kunzum Pass and the Manali-Leh road are both open, and it suits a fit traveller who has already spent time in the mountains, not a first high-altitude trip. Foreign visitors need a Protected Area Permit for Ladakh's Nubra, Pangong and Tso Moriri areas. It is issued to groups of two or more through a registered travel agent, usually arranged in Leh, so solo travellers should ask the agent how the group rule is handled before paying. They also need an Inner Line Permit for the protected villages on the Kinnaur and Spiti roads.

See the Himachal Pradesh route guide, the Spiti Valley route guide and the Ladakh route guide for each stretch in full, and don't treat this as a route to compress: the buffer days exist because mountain roads lose days to weather more often than plains routes do.

Choosing between them

What this costs

A month adds up: outside flights into and out of the country, a careful backpacker spends about ₹2,900 to ₹3,400 a day in the north, a little less on the coast and in Kerala, and considerably more on the mountain month, where jeep hire, permits and remote prices all push costs up. Domestic flights (Udaipur to Mumbai and Bengaluru to Kochi on the recommended route, Delhi to Leh on the mountain month) are worth budgeting for separately. Our India cost guide breaks it all down.

Best time to go

October to March suits both the recommended route and the all-north classic, when the plains are dry, Goa's beach shacks are open and Kerala is past its monsoon. The mountain month only works June to September, when Kunzum Pass and the Manali-Leh road are both clear of snow; outside that window, cut Spiti and Ladakh and stick to the Himachal towns below them instead.

Getting around

Trains and vans cover most of the north, with two short domestic flights bridging the gaps to Mumbai and Kochi on the recommended route. The all-north classic runs entirely on trains, vans and the odd overnight bus. The mountain month is shared taxis and jeeps throughout, plus one flight each way to Leh, since none of these mountain towns sit on a railway line.

Keep planning

• India itinerary guide
• 2-week India itinerary
• 3-week India itinerary
• Best time to visit India
• How much does India cost?
• India visa guide