The Best Time to Visit India, Region by Region and Month by Month

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) divides the year into four seasons: winter in January and February, the pre-monsoon season from March to May, the south-west monsoon from June to September and the post-monsoon season from October to December. Four facts explain most of the planning:

• The south-west monsoon brings about 75 per cent of India's annual rain. On IMD's normal dates it reaches Kerala around 1 June, covers the whole country by 8 July, starts to leave the north-west around 17 September and has left most of the country by 15 October.
• A second monsoon follows in the south-east. The north-east monsoon normally sets in over coastal Tamil Nadu on 20 October. October to December is Tamil Nadu's chief rainy season, with about 48 per cent of its annual rain, and Kerala Tourism says Kerala has two rainy seasons.
• The heat comes before the rain. IMD says heat waves occur mainly from March to June, and May is the peak month.
• The Himalaya follows a different calendar. The Leh district describes Ladakh's climate as mainly dry, while the southern slopes take heavy monsoon rain: July is Shimla's wettest month, on IMD's profile.

The table gives the months that are driest and most comfortable on IMD's averages. It is a starting point, not a rule: the guides below go region by region.

Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan

November to February is the comfortable window. IMD's averages for New Delhi give days of 28.4°C in November, 22.8°C in December, 20.1°C in January and 24.2°C in February, with nights falling to 7.5°C in January. Jaipur runs a little warmer. After that the heat builds: Delhi averages 36.5°C in April and 39.9°C in May, Jaipur 41.1°C and Jaisalmer 42.1°C in May. Winter has its own cautions. Safdarjung records fog on 21.6 days in January, and the UK Foreign Office says severe air pollution is a major health hazard in India, especially from October to February. See the best time to visit Delhi, the best time to visit Rajasthan, our air quality guide and our Rajasthan tour packages.

Ladakh and Spiti

June to September. Leh averages 23.3°C by day in June, 27.8°C in July and August and 23.5°C in September, with no more than 13.8 mm of rain in any month. The Leh district gives the Srinagar–Leh highway an open season of May to November or December and the Manali–Leh road May or June to September or October, and the Lahaul and Spiti district says the Kunzum route is generally closed from about October or November until June or July. From November to March Leh's nights average between -3.2°C and -13.4°C. See the best time to visit Ladakh and our Ladakh tour packages.

Kashmir and the hill states

Srinagar's days average 20.6°C in April, 24.7°C in May and 28.5°C in June, and its driest months are September to December. Himachal Tourism gives Manali a summer visitor season of April to July and an autumn one of October to December. On the southern slopes the monsoon is heavy, with 334 mm in July at Shimla, and the Geological Survey of India says landslides strike India every year, mostly during the monsoon. Autumn is clearer, and IMD's profile for Shimla says the skies are clear to lightly clouded in October and November. In winter Gulmarg's nights are below freezing from November to March. See the best time to visit Kashmir, our guides to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and our Kashmir tour packages.

Goa and the west coast

November to February. Panaji's rain is 32 mm in November, 12 mm in December, 1 mm in January and almost none in February, with nights of about 20 to 23°C against 26°C in May. The dry spell runs to April, but nights are warmer then. The monsoon brings 874 mm in June and 926 mm in July, and Goa's Department of Tourism lists swimming in the monsoon among the things not to do. See the best time to visit Goa and our Goa tour packages.

Kerala and the far south-west

December to March. Kochi averages 46 mm of rain in December, 25 in January, 22 in February and 38 in March, against 679 mm in June. September to November are not dry: Kochi still gets 295 mm in September and 331 mm in October, because the north-east monsoon arrives in mid-October, and IMD's normal rain for October to December in Kerala is 492.0 mm. See the best time to visit Kerala and our Kerala tour packages.

Tamil Nadu and the south-east coast

January to March. Chennai averages 16.2, 5.5 and 2.2 mm of rain in those months, with days of 29.7 to 33.1°C. From October to December it is wet: Chennai gets 300.3 mm in October, 373.6 mm in November and 182.4 mm in December, and IMD calls this the primary cyclone season for the North Indian Ocean. April to June is hot, with Chennai averaging 34.7°C, 37.3°C and 37.2°C. Bengaluru, on the plateau, is driest from December to March. See the best time to visit Tamil Nadu, our guides to Chennai and Bengaluru, and our Tamil Nadu tour packages.

Kolkata, Assam and the north-east

November to February. Kolkata averages 28 mm of rain in November and under 25 mm a month to February, against 377 mm in July, and Guwahati gets 6 mm in November and 2 mm in December. IMD's profile for Shillong notes abundant rain from April to October. The Assam Forest Department gives November to April as Kaziranga's best season. See our guides to West Bengal, Assam and Kaziranga.

The Andaman Islands

January to April. Port Blair averages 42, 18, 23 and 74 mm of rain in those months and 399 mm in May, and IMD's city profile says the islands get a large amount of rain through the year except from January to April. The Andaman tourism department keeps Jolly Buoy Island closed from mid-May to mid-November. See our guides to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Havelock.

Tiger reserves and national parks

Kanha and Bandhavgarh say on their own sites that they are usually open from 15 October to 30 June. Corbett's official zone table lists Bijrani from 15 October to 30 June, Dhikala and three other zones from 15 November to 15 June, and Jhirna, Dhela and Garjia all year. The Assam Forest Department gives Kaziranga a season of November to April. See our guides to Corbett, Kanha and Bandhavgarh, and our wildlife safari season guide.

• **January:** Delhi's coldest month, with nights of 7.5°C and fog on 21.6 days; Goa, Kerala and the islands are in their dry months.
• **February:** Panaji's driest month, and Delhi's fog days fall to 10.9.
• **March:** the plains warm fast, with Delhi at 29.9°C by day, and Srinagar has its wettest month.
• **April:** Delhi averages 36.5°C, and the hills are the cooler choice.
• **May:** IMD's peak month for heat waves; Ladakh's roads begin to open.
• **June:** the monsoon crosses India from Kerala; Ladakh and Spiti stay dry.
• **July:** on IMD's normal dates the rain has covered the whole country by 8 July.
• **August:** Delhi's wettest month, at 226.8 mm.
• **September:** the monsoon starts to leave the north-west around 17 September.
• **October:** the south-west monsoon leaves most of the country, and the north-east monsoon starts in the south-east.
• **November:** clear in the north, and Chennai's wettest month, at 373.6 mm.
• **December:** Delhi averages 22.8°C by day and 8.4°C at night, with fog on 19.2 days; Chennai still gets 182.4 mm.

Many festivals follow the lunar calendar and shift from year to year. The Government of Bihar says Diwali falls between mid-October and mid-November on the Gregorian calendar, and Rajasthan Tourism places the Pushkar Fair between October and November. Odisha Tourism puts the Rath Yatra in Ashadha, June–July. Check the year's date before you book; what's on this month lists the current month and our festivals pages explain each one. For packing, see our packing guide; for a first visit, see planning a first trip to India, our monsoon guide and our India tour packages.