If you want to travel in India but you don't know where to start ... don't worry: it's here India (north) backpackers guide! We are going to tell you toooodo: what to eat, where to sleep, what budget you need… but first let us tell you our itinerary!
We have spent the first 30 days traveling through India to travel in the north: we backpacked by Delhi, the bustling capital, for Amritsar where we visited the golden temple Sikh, we went to Agra to contemplate the Taj Mahal, and we explore one of the most colorful and richest regions of history of the subcontinent: the Rajasthan. In addition, after our passage through southern India, we returned to the north to visit the cities of Khajuraho and end in Varanasi.
India is a wonderful country! It is good (the cuisine is delicious), beautiful (nature, cities, mountains, sea, animals, culture ... it has everything) and cheap (we spend just over € 6 per day per person!
The route
This has been our ROUTE through northern india, Rajasthan and our last stage:
The interactive map of the entire tour in India is this:
Our expenses
The daily average of our expenses has been of € 6.24 per day (exchange rate € 1 = INR 84) per person thus broken down:
- Food: 2,94€ per person / day. We have eaten (almost) always in gh or tourist restaurants so if you want to reduce the price it is possible to eat in a street place (the truth is that we did not see as much offer as in other countries), eating snacks (pakoras, samosas ...), or vegetarian (Meat dishes tend to be more expensive, obviously).
- accommodation: -€. Thanks to the blog we were able to stay in accommodation for free. We also used couchsurfing and only twice did we have to stay in hostels: in Amritsar where do we pay 500 INR and in Chittorgarth where do we pay 350 INR. In general the accommodations are cheap: a double room with bathroom and fan should not cost more than INR 300-500 (about € 4-6).
- Transport: 1,63€. In this first part of the trip we almost always moved by train (Sleeper Class) and used the odd public bus. In this section of expenses we also include trips within the cities (bus, tuktuk, trickshaw ...) We leave you some reference prices:
- Train from 10-12h in sleeper class about 250-300 INR
- Local bus 3h about 75 INR
- Tuktuk flag drop 12-15INR and 8-10INR per km
If you want to see the detail of the costs of each trip between one city and another you can check the useful info, at the end of each blog post. - Tickets: 1,20€. The expense can be reduced as we visit many things (especially forts and palaces of Rajastan). The most expensive entrance is the Taj Mahal (750INR) but in general, at most, the tickets cost between 100-200 INR.
- Various: 0,47€. In this section we calculate the expenses of personal purchases (clothes, soap, shampoo, etc ...). Obviously it depends on what type of buyer you are: we for example do not buy souvenirs, if you are more generous hehe, calculate that you will spend a little more!
You can see more details of our expenses in this article.
The POST we have written about the places are:
- CHRONICLE OF TWO NEWLY BACKPACKERS LANDED IN INDIA (DELHI)
- IN THE LAND OF THE SIJS (AMRITSAR)
- BACKPACKING AGRA
- ONE DAY IN FATHEPUR SIKRI
- BACKPACKING BY JAIPUR
- IN THE BLUE CITY OF RAJASTAN: JODHPUR
- ONE NIGHT IN THE THAR DESERT (JAISALMER)
- DESVENTURAS: EL MONO MORÓN
- SHANTI SHANTI PUSHKAR
- BUNDI: BETWEEN CHAI, PALACES AND MONKEYS
- EXPLORING THE STRENGTH OF CHITTORGARH
- UDAIPUR: THE CITY OF THE HUNDRED LAKES
- A POST "GUARRINDONGO" (KHAJURAHO)
- FAREWELL IN VARANASI
We also wrote several posts that can help you prepare a trip to India:
- HOW TO REGISTER FOR CLEARTRIP WITHOUT GOING CRAZY
- TRAIN BY INDIA
- INDIA TRANSPORTATION GUIDE
- EATING BY INDIA
- SLEEPING BY INDIA
- CURIOSITIES AND RARES OF INDIA
- SPENDING FOR INDIA
- HOW TO BUY AN INDIAN SIM
- HOW TO GET THE INDIA VISA
You can see ALL articles related to India if you click here.
The best of the trip
- How different everything is: every day you discover something new!
- The food: we find it delicious ... although yes, it is spicy!
- The Jama Masjid of Delhi, the prettiest mosque we saw so far.
- Visit the golden temple of Amritsar, an incredible experience, especially sleep in the temple and eat in the community dining room.
- The Taj Mahal of Agra ... impossible not to fall in love with such a place!
- Jodhpur: We had read that it was not a pretty city, but we found it lovely! And his fort is impressive.
- Sleep in the Thar desert: you, me, the stars and the camels (well, and a Turk and a Canadian :-P)
- Jaisalmer, unique and super beautiful desert city.
- Outdoor zoos: cows out there, monkeys over there, dogs over here, goats with shirts there ... a damn chaos!
- The sunsets: they are magical ...
- The tuktuks, we love what we are going to do!
- Spend a few days in the homestay of Udaipur with Samvit, his family and Donna, the most beautiful dog in India.
- Traveling by train… a trip within the trip!
- The krishna chai in Bundi, it sure hasn't been the cheapest but super ricoooo (thanks Jairo for the tip!)
- The gulabs jamun.
- The Rajastan palaces ... how the Maharajas lived!
- People who greeted us and stopped to chat with us spontaneously
- How cheap everything is!
The worst of the trip
- The scammers and tricksters of Connaught Place in Delhi: how tired of God!
- Trash everywhere ... have no ecological conscience?
- Poverty. Sometimes it is very hard to endure!
- The tickets, with prices so different between locals and foreigners. We understand that you can make a discount to foster culture among them, but not at the expense of tourists!
- Bed bugs in the bedroom of the Amritsar temple. According to the Taiwanese, they were like fists! They were pushing the door! I exaggerate!
- Beg for non-spicy food and that it arrives just as spicy as if you had not said anything ... come on, take it from the same pot.
- You can not walk quietly in the streets almost anywhere. Among the traffic, people, animals and the absence of sidewalks for a walk is almost impossible mission.
Photos
If you want to take a look at our photos visit our facebook page
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What would you do if you ran out of work and without any motivation to remain anchored to a life that no longer represents you? What would you do if you suddenly found yourself with a sign that magically indicates a path you had never planned to take? Iratxe had it - more or less - of course and started out in the company of his diary to live the adventure of his life ... to India! Among scams, corners taken from theOne thousand and One Nights, tuktuks, gay bodyguards, malai koftas, butterflies in the stomach, ramming cows, sacred rivers, meditation retreats, infinite beaches, volunteers and the occasional surprise, Iratxe will learn to live in an area of 'comfort' where you will feel more alive never.
