6 week Indian adventure??

Sounds fine, but have you thought about finding space in there for a wildlife park? They're often very rewarding and quite inexpensive compared to what you would pay in Africa.

Sasan Gir in Gujarat offers lions (and Gujarat in general is a good alternative to Rajasthan). Ranthambore in Rajasthan has a sublime landscape and the chance of tiger. There is a whole bunch of parks centred on the Kerala/Kanarkata/Tamil Nadu broader and while Periyer in Kerala is a bit over touristed, a quick spin around the lake usually produces a lot of game.

Thanks Yarra - we may look into one of those!

Thanks for your reply

{quote:title=cjscjh wrote:}{quote}
Hi
My Partner and I are travelling through India for 6 weeks, starting in Delhi on Boxing day. We are volunteering in Kerala for 6 weeks, starting around the 8th Feb 2014.

Okay - first thing to tell you is that it is illegal to volunteer on a tourist visa. So, if you do volunteer, know what you're doing.

As a possible itinerary, how does the following sound to people?

Delhi -> Agra -> Varanasi -> Khajuraho -> Jaipur -> Ajmer -> Jodhpur -> Jaisalmer -> Udaipur -> Ajanta/Ellora -> Mumbai -> Hampi -> Bangalore -> Pondicherry -> Madurai -> Kerala

I know it's a lot but we plan to spend a few days at most in any of these places.

Any thoughts from you seasoned India pros would be much appreciated!

How do you plan to travel between destinations? Should I assume the train? If train, you better get ready to book.

How do you plan to move from north to south? Train or plane?

Assuming train for the north, you need to amend the order. You are backtracking all over the place. Varanasi is in the opposite direction of your northern trip - so you either do it first or last in the north. Last works a bit better if you are flying south, not so well if you take the train south. Udaipur is the worst connected of any of the Rajasthan cities to other Rajasthan cities, so you need to be prepared to take a car here. I don't recommend Ajmer.

It makes sense to do the long train stretch out to Jaisalmer first, and then work your way back. Check http://erail.in/ for train connections.

Delhi - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - by car to Udaipur - Jaipur - Agra - Khajuraho - Varanasi; then south. (Be aware the Taj is closed on Fridays)

Personally, I would fly to Mumbai. The thought of spending more than 24 hours on a train is not one I relish.

Mumbai - Aurangabad (for Ajanta and Ellora. Be aware of cave closure days) - Hampi (via Mumbai) - Bangalore (I don't know why you are going here) - Pondicherry - car to Villapuram then train to Madurai - then to Kerala. You haven't said where in Kerala you are going, but the easiest option will be the train 16127 MS GURUVAYUR EX Madurai Jn to Ernakulam Town.

Hampi is difficult to get into and out of. From Mumbai, I'd really recommend you fly to Hubli, and take a car from there. To get out, you take a car to Hospet, and take the train from there.

Thanks for your advice Lifesupport.

We have planned carefully for the volunteering so don't panic, we know all about the visas!

We'll certainly look carefully at your ideas for an itinerary thank you :-)

C&C

Thank you Ashe203! We may well get back to you nearer the time. We are starting to finalise our plans so will quite possibly be after some extra Mumbai information soon. :-)