Weather/When to Go

India experiences weather extremes depending on the season and region. Climate plays a significant role in dictating when you visit India. While it can be stifling hot in the plains it snows on a routine basis in the mountains. There are multiple seasons in India depending on the region.  Typically weather is divided into the hot, cool, dry, & wet.  Typically the high season for India is from late October-February in most of the country.  The dry season lasts from around December through mid/late May in most of the country and during this time, especially in central India, it can be quite dusty and parched.  The monsoon roles in covering most of the country with rain until around late September to October.  


Unless you are in the Himalaya Range or the Western Ghat mountains in Tamil Nadu, India begins to heat up around late February, peaking around April/May when temperatures can reach up to 115 degrees Farenhiet or 45 degrees celcius.  Although most of the country experiences the monsoon from late May-early October Kerala has a short monsoon season from October-December.  If traveling in the Himalayan Mountains especially in the Uttarkand & Himachel Pradesh, be very careful in the monsoon season as the region is subject to ferocious landslides. The best time to visit India is typically October - February, especially if visiting Rajasthan, Gujurat, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, or the central plains.  The southern regions generally experience more humid conditions and although remains generally cool in winter months, really heats up for more than half the year.  

Here is an example of unpredictable weather patterns in India. We last visited Delhi, Rajasthan, Bodhgaya, & Varanasi from late September-October, 2013.  We had intense rain storms in Delhi half the time and it rained for two days straight in Jodphur however was beautiful and sunny the rest of the trip.  


Here is more information about weather patterns in India:


http://www.wildland.com/destinations/asia/india/seasonsclimate.aspx