Places to Visit in India in November: Clear Skies in the North, the Rains on the Tamil Nadu Coast

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) counts November as the middle of its post-monsoon season, October to December. The south-west monsoon has gone from most of the country by 15 October on IMD's normal dates, and the north-east monsoon is established over the south. IMD calls October to December the chief rainy season for Tamil Nadu, with about 48 per cent of its annual rain, and the primary cyclone season for the North Indian Ocean. So November splits India in two: dry and bright over most of the north, west and east, wet on the south-east coast. The table gives IMD's long-term averages for named stations, not a forecast.

Delhi, Jaipur, Srinagar, Bengaluru and Chennai carry IMD's 1991–2020 normals, Leh carries IMD's 2011–2024 averages, and Panaji, Kochi, Kolkata, Guwahati and Port Blair are taken from IMD's city climate profiles.

The north: clearer, cooler and foggier

November is Delhi's driest month, at 4.1 mm, and its days average 28.4°C, down from 33.0°C in October. Jaipur averages 29.6°C and Jaisalmer 31.2°C. Two things change from October. Fog: IMD's Safdarjung station averages 12.3 days of fog in November, against 3.4 in October. Air: the UK Foreign Office advises that severe air pollution is a major health hazard in India, especially from October to February, with north Indian cities worst affected. Our air quality guide explains how to read the index.

The Himalaya

Winter arrives. Srinagar's nights average 1.2°C, Gulmarg's -0.6°C and Leh's -4.8°C, and Leh gets 0.5 mm of rain. The Leh district gives the Srinagar–Leh highway a season to November or December and the Manali–Leh road one to September or October, and Himachal Tourism says heavy snow closes the Rohtang Pass in late November.

The south-east: not dry

IMD's average for Chennai in November is 373.6 mm on 11.3 days, the wettest month of its year. Madurai gets 117 mm, Kochi 162 mm and Thiruvananthapuram 198 mm, and IMD's normal rainfall for October to December is 492.0 mm in Kerala and 442.8 mm in Tamil Nadu. Cyclonic disturbances forming over the Bay of Bengal and moving west or north-west affect the coast of south-eastern India, IMD says, and add to the rain. Bengaluru, inland, is far drier, at 64.5 mm. Port Blair in the Andamans averages 236 mm.

The west coast and the east

Goa is dry, at 32 mm in November against 131 mm in October. Kolkata gets 28 mm and Guwahati 6 mm, and both days and nights are mild.

Rajasthan

Jaipur's days of 29.6°C and nights of 14.4°C, with almost no rain, make long days outdoors comfortable. The Pushkar Fair, which Rajasthan Tourism lists between October and November, is in its words one of the world's largest camel fairs; see our Pushkar Camel Fair guide. Our Rajasthan travel guide and the guides to Jaisalmer, Udaipur and Jodhpur cover the cities, and our Rajasthan tour packages list the routes.

Varanasi and the Ganga

Incredible India describes Dev Deepawali as celebrated on Kartik Purnima, fifteen days after Diwali, with millions of earthen lamps lit along Varanasi's ghats. The Government of Bihar says the Sonepur Mela, at the meeting of the Ganga and the Gandak, begins on Kartik Purnima and continues for a month. See our Varanasi travel guide, Bihar travel guide and Varanasi tour packages.

Goa

With 32 mm of rain against October's 131 mm, and days around 33.2°C, Goa is dry. Goa's Department of Tourism still asks swimmers to stay in zones marked by red and yellow flags, where lifesavers keep watch. See our Goa travel guide, the best time to visit Goa, our article on places to visit in Goa in November and our Goa tour packages.

National parks, and Kolkata

The parks are coming into season, and Kolkata is dry and mild. The Assam Forest Department gives Kaziranga a best season of November to April. Corbett's official zone table lists Dhikala, Durgadevi, Sonanadi and Pakhro from 15 November, and Kanha and Bandhavgarh are in season, by their own accounts, until 30 June. See our guides to Kolkata, Kaziranga, Corbett and Kanha.

• A dry-weather plan on the Tamil Nadu coast. Chennai is at its wettest, and the cyclone season is on; see the best time to visit Tamil Nadu and our Tamil Nadu tour packages.
• Kerala's coast. Kochi averages 162 mm, and IMD's profile for Thiruvananthapuram lists thunderstorms as frequent in October and November; see the best time to visit Kerala.
• Delhi's early mornings. Fog and the air quality both worsen, so leave slack in the schedule.
• The Andaman Islands for beaches. Port Blair's profile says the islands have heavy rain through the year except from January to April, and the Andaman tourism department keeps Jolly Buoy Island closed until mid-November.
• Ladakh by road. The Manali–Leh road's season is over and Rohtang closes in late November.

• Diwali. The Government of Bihar puts it anywhere from mid-October to mid-November on the Gregorian calendar, and Incredible India says it unfolds over five days; see our Diwali guide.
• Dev Deepawali, Varanasi. Kartik Purnima, fifteen days after Diwali.
• Pushkar Fair, Rajasthan. Between October and November, Rajasthan Tourism says.
• Sonepur Mela, Bihar. From Kartik Purnima, for about a month.

These follow the lunar calendar, so check the year's dates, and see what's on this month for the current month. India in October covers the weeks before and India in December the weeks after. The full calendar, region by region, is in our best time to visit India guide.