Gujarat

Gujarat, on India's west coast, is less travelled by international visitors than Rajasthan or Kerala, which is much of its appeal. The Rann of Kutch is a vast white salt desert that floods every monsoon and dries into a walkable, almost lunar landscape by winter, when the Rann Utsav festival sets up tented camps for visitors. Gir Forest is India's last wild home of the Asiatic lion. Ahmedabad carries a dense heritage core of stepwells, mosques and the old city's traditional houses. And Dwarka and Somnath, on the coast, are among Hinduism's most important pilgrimage sites.

November to February is the season for the whole state, and specifically for the Rann of Kutch, when the salt desert is dry and walkable and the Rann Utsav festival runs. Gir's safari season runs broadly October to June, closing through the monsoon. Summer, April to June, is very hot across the state.

The Rann of Kutch alone wants two to three days given the driving distances involved. Adding Gir for a lion safari and Ahmedabad's heritage core makes a rounded week-long Gujarat trip.