Where to visit in India in January

[ed_tobin]

<p>Hi, </p>

<p>I will be landing in Delhi on Jan 9th and have 5 days before I meet up with some fellow photographers to photograph the southern area of India.<br>

I am well traveled in Asia but this will be my first time in India and I am not sure what I should do for 5 days. I want to photograph but it appears that Delhi maybe the wrong place to relax and adjust.</p>

<p>I would welcome any suggestions.</p>

<p>Thanks--Ed</p>

[jeff_delisio]

<p>Delhi is not a place to relax, but unless you are traveling only to villages in South India it would be as good a place as any to adjust.<br>

Depending on your level of enthusiasm/fatigue there are any number of sights in Delhi to photograph and for sure-fire immersion going over to old Delhi.</p>

<p>There is a crafts museum in Delhi, not to be confused with the crafts market or any number of the government emporiums there. This one is a real gem that will give you a taste for the diversity of India and not subject you to hard sell.</p>

<p>You are also a day away from the Taj. You can take a train down there and back in one day - which I would not recommend. Rather you can hire a car and driver, get shots at dusk, stay the night down there, get shots early and then also visit Fatehpur Sikri (sp?) - an ancient city with extremely interesting architecture.</p>

<p>Delhi traffic is an adventure trip in itself, as is riding the roads on down to the Taj. If it all seems too much at first, get a cab over to the Imperial or one of the other grand hotels and have a drink in the lobby.</p>

<p>There will always be too much to take in. I have been to India on eight separate occasions and spent over a year in total there and still have places I want to see. Try to relax in the chaos, record what you can and sort it out later.<br>

Enjoy</p>

 

[david_henderson]

<p>If you get a decent hotel in New Delhi it should be relaxing enough. You need a car and driver- and they aren't hard to find- there should be a line of candidates outside your hotel. I took mine on initially for one day and then extended it bit by bit as it became clear that he was actually doing what I wanted and not trying to take me shopping all the time, which is an occupational hazard. But you need to have sorted out from your guidebooks what sites you want to see and in what order. </p>

<p>If it were me, having spent rather more than a week in Delhi and Agra , I'd split my time 3 nights Delhi and two in Agra or even vice versa, and I'd make sure that in the latter I spent good time at the Taj - maybe going back two or three times at different times of day, including opening time and the view from across the river. But I'd also want to spend quality time in Agra Fort (much better than the Red Fort in Delhi IMO) and Fatehpur Sikri. I also made a very good morning trip along the ghats at Mathura. In Delhi I'd put Humayun's tomb high on the list and also the Jami Masjid, Safdarjung's tomb, and the Qutb Minar together with the maze-like bazaars. There are other places worth a visit in and around both cities, but in very general terms I didn't think that Delhi 's sights had the same heartstopping quality of those in and round Agra.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[ed_tobin]

<p>Thanks Jeff,<br>

I travel well so I do not think fatigue will be an issuse. Great suggestions, do you have any suggestions for hotels in Delhi or which area I should look for a hotel. I have been looking at trip advisor and found one that looks really nice but it appears to be more in New Delhi</p>

<p> </p>

[nsfbr]

<p>I would also suggest taking a trip to Agra to see the Taj, but I'd travel differently. Take the train. And don't pay the extra money for a reserved seat - buy a basic ticket and head into the cars where you are likely to experience India like you never have - including cooking right there on the floor of the car. </p>

<p>Also, forget cars in Agra. Find an autorick driven by someone on the younger side, and then negotiate an all day rate. Tell him you want to see the Agra Fort, the Taj, Bharatpur or Lucknow. Buy him lunch. Treat him well, and he will take care of you. You won't regret it. (I traveled to India some 10 or so times in the late 90s/early 00s, including 3 times to Agra - ostensibly on business. Amazing place. Amazing people.)</p>

[michael_dimarzio]

<p>If you get to Gugarat, the Modera Sun Temple. Five days in India is like a 1 second smoke break, you don't even get a puff.</p>

<p>There is so much to see, to do, to photograph, so many special things to experience, that maybe you should find only a places and spend a few days at each. I was there twice for about six months total.</p>

<p>Or maybe even all of your time in one place. But all of my Indian workmates said the Taj is the must see. It would be cool to see it and take a train to another place to camp for a few days.</p>

<p>Happy trails-md</p><div></div>

[leo_laksi]

<p>Five days give you plenty of time for you to wander Delhi and beyond. Agra is a fine destination. I would suggest that you spend some time in Delhi. Wander old Delhi near the Red Fort and Jama Masjid. It's chockful of photo ops what with colorful background and people. There are some very narrow alleyways that can be great opportunities for photos. I would recommend that you hire a rickshaw when you're in that area as it gives you a great vantage point and keeps you from being run over by all manners of traffic in these alleys. Old Delhi is a must see. <br>

If you go to old Delhi, hire a car to take you there and then get your driver to hire a rickshaw. Have the driver wait for you. <br>

Another destination can be India Gate, which is a monument to India's military. It's not that far from old Delhi. It's great around sunset.<br>

I have other recommendations but that's enough for now. <br>

Regarding hotels, if you've got a big budget, I recommend the Imperial Hotel, a quasi-colonial hotel that's located central Delhi. It's one of the world's great hotels with loads of atmosphere. </p>

<p> </p>

[matteosponza]

<p>hi there!<br>

wll maybe Puskar is not so far from Dheli (ok, 24h by bus or even less if u rent a car). You can find a nice relaxing place and don't forget to go around in the country there are a lot of magic places.</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

[gungajim]

<p>David gives good advice. Jama Masjid is wonderful. Be sure to walk around the outside walls to the back side (riverside) of the Taj. Have the guys take you across the river at sunset - sunrise might even be better. As soon as you walk along the outer wall to the rear, little kids will be hustling you to let them lead you to the water taxis.</p>

[christianrafael]

David gave a good advice and really cant go wrong with that. i was there and recently got back (about 2

weeks ago) and the place is really magical. In Delhi you could visit Qutab Minar, its really a big place

and you can spend a great deal of time taking pictures there. The Taj is really the must see in all of

India,so the trip to Agra is a must. if you want to add another city and can squeeze all that in 5 days the

trip to Jaipur is also very nice on route from Agra (to Jaipur) you can tell you driver to visit Chand Baori,

that place has less tourist but really incredible, once you are in Jaipur there are a lot of other places to

visit but the best there was the Amber Fort (Photo wise, its better than the Red Fort). if i can

recommend 3 places it will be the Taj Mahal, the Chand Baori and the Amber Fort, IMHO these are the

best in the area, but note that these are from different places and the 3 cities creates a triangle that is

separated from each other with about a 4 hour drive each (now i thinking that you might be spending

more time travelling that taking pictures). My advice is to look around the internet for those places and

plan according to what you want to see

 

Christian<div></div>

[frank_bunnik]

<p>Jaipur is a half day drive from Delhi and a very pictoresque city (al least the old part). Nearby in Amber is a huge fortress that is well worth visiting. With 5 days to spare you can go from Delhi to Jaipur, spend 2 days there, travel from Jaipur to Agra with a visit to Akbars former capital Fatehpur Sikri on the way to Agra, spend 1 day in Agra visiting the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort (much more interesting than Dehli's Red Fort which is actually a waste of time compared to the one in Agra) and some of the other sites in and around Agra (the tomb of emperor Akbar is well worth visiting), and travel back to Delhi on day 5.<br>

Remember that Delhi in January can be chilly.</p>

[frank_bunnik]

<p>For a hotel in Delhi I can recommend the "Cottage Yes Please". It has a website. It is a clean hotel on the edge of the Paharganj area and not too expensive. Unlike the posh hotels it is in Delhi proper so you see the real Delhi when you step outside. Opposite the hotel are 2 very good restaurants. One vegetarian and one non-vegetarian. I had chicken there this summer and it was very good. Nearby are several ATM's.<br>

From the hotel it is a 5 minute walk to the subway station where you can take the tube to Chandi Chowk in old Delhi.<br>

I tried to make a reservation at the hotel over the internet but I never got a reply so I telephoned and got my reservation. I have stayed in this hotel several times when travelling in northern India and it suits me perfectly.<br>

Bring some cash that you can exchange at the airport. When I landed this summer in Delhi none of the ATM's at the airport was working so I was glad I could change some euro's for the taxi.</p>

[richard__]

<p>I'm with everyone else here in recommending the Taj.<br>

If I hadn't been taken to Agra by the India office for a conference, I'd never have seen it, and that would have been a big loss. I went back a second time on another day because I was so impressed. So the recommendations above that you visit it more than once at differing times are quite useful, especially to obtain the most interesting photos.<br>

Christian's photo above is a nicely done, and is quite reminiscent of one's first and last experience of the Taj up close.<br>

In New Delhi I was also impressed with <a href="http://www.henleygraphics.com/India.htm">Jantar Mantar</a> , <strong><em>Sawai Jai Singh</em> </strong> 's Astronomical Observatory, and would like to recommend that. It's one of a series of 5 sites across northern India that were built in about the same era as when telescopes were invented, and known. But Singh instead chose to build large masonry structures for his purpose of keeping the calendars in order and measuring the heavens. There's also one 'nearby' in Jaipur, more probably a better site, but as I only had an afternoon in Delhi, that's the one I visited. More old PhotoCD scans of those photos are posted at the linked, and heavily java-scripted web pages.</p>

<p><img src="http://www.well.com/~rhenley/images/india/MisraYantra.jpg" border="0" alt="" width="666" height="268" /></p>

<p> </p>

[micah_hanson1]

<p>Agra is certainly worth a couple days if you are not going there with the group. remember there is more to Agra than just the Taj, make sure to also hit <em>Fatehpur Sikri</em> (worth a day), <em>Itmad</em> -<em>ud</em> -Daulah, and the red fort, and Akbar's Tomb is also worth a look if you have the time. A few pics from Agra:<br>

<a href="http://www.micahimages.com/journal_wp/?p=45">http://www.micahimages.com/journal_wp/?p=45</a><br>

Varanasi is also a great place for a photographer if you do go to Agra with your group, its a night by train from Delhi. Varanasi pics:<br>

<a href="http://www.micahimages.com/journal_wp/?p=423">http://www.micahimages.com/journal_wp/?p=423</a><br>

Otherwise as has been mentioned there are plenty things to see in Delhi if you don't want to travel too much</p>

[a_arun]

<p>I think you have some very good ideas to think thru in the replies above.<br>

I live in Delhi and so will try to limit my advice to Delhi alone:<br>

1. Qutab Minar.<br />2. Mehrauli Archeological Park is a treasure that's little known to most people, and yet it's located just 250 meters from Qutab Minar! Imagine tens of medieval monuments (some of the earliest in Delhi) in a park. This is it. If you choose to go alone here (i.e. without a guide) do remember to read up on the place and the monuments, for they are not well-signposted. Perfectly safe though.<br />3. The Red Fort (although you will not be able to photograph the museum exhibits, it is worth some time- it has priceless originals of Mughal-era documents, costumes, weaponry and everyday objects).<br />4. Lodi Gardens... visit at dusk, near 4 pm for good light.<br />5. Humayun's Tomb. Remember- it faces west, so visit in the evening light for the best photographic lighting. Or in the misty mornings typical of January.<br />6. National Railway Museum (if you are a railroad or machinery nut). Tens of locomotives and coaches.<br />7. Jantar Mantar, as above.<br />8. Safdarjang's Tomb.<br />9. India Gate.<br />10. Purana Quila, or Old Fort.<br />11. Remains of Tughlaqabad.<br>

Many others too. Chandni Chowk is right across from the Red Fort. Jama Masjid is close by.<br>

Tripods are not allowed at nos. 1, 3,5,6,7,8,10 above except by special permission (read: forget it). Still cameras of all types are allowed free admittance.<br>

Remember a polarizer to cut thru haze.<br>

There are guided walks organized by INTACH and India Habitat World in the mornings to Chandni Chowk and all the monuments listed above.<br>

Do visit the Indian Museum on Janpath if you'd like a quick tour thru the entire history of Indian civilization as told by exhibits.<br>

Bring lots of memory / film.<br>

India is very safe except for petty theft. I reckon, if you heed common sense and keep good situational awareness you will be much safer than I have felt in many cities in the west.<br>

The suggestion to engage a chauffeured car from a reliable source (e.g. known to your hotel) waiting on you is a good one. It's dirt cheap by western standards. INR 1000 or so will get you a chauffeured sedan for 8 hours/80 km. You can leave your stuff in there while you go out and shoot.<br>

'Dilli Haat' is a fair-price market for handicrafts (some made in front of you) that you can stroll thru without hard-sell being directed at you. It's very close to Lodi Gardens.<br>

You can visit either Agra or Jaipur in the time that you have. A little more, and you can expand it to include more towns in Rajasthan (besides Jaipur- Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Boondi).<br>

Have fun! </p>

[a_arun]

<p>City Palace Jaipur</p><div></div>

[a_arun]

<p>Fort Mehrangarh, Jodhpur</p><div></div>

[a_arun]

<p>Kid on Sandstone Steps, Fort Mehrangarh, Jodhpur</p><div></div>

[cm1]

<p><em>Delhi maybe the wrong place to relax and adjust....</em> that is so true.<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3340/3570673541_6c60aa774a.jpg" alt="" /><br>

Delhi is an extremely exhausting place...<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3580/3571499022_529e7b1af1.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="354" /><br>

If you need a rest go to the Tibetan colony, it's very silent there. Head north along Ring Road just past Majnu ka Tilla Gurudwara, or take the Metro to Vidhan Sabha station, and a cycle-rickshaw. They have some good guesthouses and tibetan restaurants there, prices are low.<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3578893632_0d69c973f7.jpg" alt="" width="332" height="500" /></p>