Best time to go cycling in India

2 min summary When to go Map & highlights Kerala cycling Rajasthan cycling Chennai to Kochi Tips & advice All our India guides

BEST TIME TO GO CYCLING IN INDIA

People used to worry about Kerala’s second monsoon in Oct and Nov, but this has pretty much fizzled out now. The odd shower, but nothing much more.

For cycling in Kerala, avoid the Jun-Aug monsoon. Kerala is busy around Christmas, but cycling takes you well off the beaten track and up into the Ghat Mountains, for example. In Rajasthan, the best times are Oct-Mar as days are sunny, not too humid, with cooler nights. It’s too hot after that and then monsoon comes Jul-Sep. For the Manali to Leh route, trips tend to go in Jun-Aug as it’s too cold after that and roads can be impassable. This is high altitude desert, so be prepared for 30°C plus during the day, but freezing at night, and it can be windy up there too. Read trip notes carefully.

CYCLING IN INDIA, MONTH BY MONTH

Just after the monsoon in Kerala, around September, the forests are gloriously green. If you want some pretty much guaranteed sun head, there between October and February. March until May are also lovely, although a lot more humid. There is a second shorter monsoon in southern India in October to November. However, many local people say this is now disappearing. The hottest time to visit hill stations such as Dharamsala is March-June, when temperatures can reach 35°C. It can get pretty cold in rural Central India in December and January so bring hats and gloves for night time. It’s always a delight to combine any trip to India with Diwali, the great Festival of Light, falling in either October or November. In Goa, if you want to combine cycling with swimming, avoid March to May as the winds pick up and the sea gets rough. A lot of businesses close during this month. Small group cycling vacations usually take place after November, traditionally the monsoon month. Hill stations in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu, such as Ooty, can get very cold between October and February, getting as low as 5°C in February. They are very humid in April to June.

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WHAT DO OUR EXPERTS RECOMMEND?

Andrew Appleyard from our supplier, Exodus:

“I do love cycling in Rajasthan just after the monsoon season; it is incredibly green and beautiful. The birdlife is just absolutely phenomenal in October.”

Sophie Hartman at Chinkara Jounrneys specialising in Central India cycling vacations:

“I love Central India in October – it is still hot, but is green and lovely after the monsoon – but cycling anytime between October and April is lovely. May and June are pretty full on, heat wise. People also often underestimate how very cold in can get in rural central India in the December and January – literally woolly hats and gloves and hot water bottles for nights and early mornings – but then gloriously sunny days.”