Having a smooth trip where everything goes according to plan can be nice but shouldn't there be something different in your travels? I mean, what stories are you going tell back home? I had the most perfect trip ever, and that's it? Wouldn't it be great if you had travel stories to tell of your own?
Even though India holds an abundance of natural scenery, the all-pervasive tourist crowd, and bad planning makes it hard to enjoy beautiful places. In order to avoid this, you should travel in the off-season. Not only will it be a pocket-friendly option, it'll also be an awesome experience! Read on to know why.
1. You get to see what few have seen before.
Off-season is the time for some really amazing experiences that few may have seen before. For example, most tourists land up in the forests of Kanha during winter since that's the time the weather is pleasant, but end up just circling around in forest jeeps since most of the wildlife stays snuggled in during winters. Wildlife enthusiasts will tell you the best time to really visit Kanha are the summers. Kanha summers can be cruel, with scorching heat and a dry wind but this is the time to spot some incredible scenes, since this is the time for the animals to come out in search of water. In fact, a friend visited Kanha recently and even witnessed a tiger jump high on a tree in pursuit of a langoor!
2. Accommodation comes at dirt cheap prices.
This possibly can be the best thing about traveling during the off-season. Accommodation comes so cheap, a traveller can live in luxury during this time. Hotels and resorts slash their prices to almost half compared to peak season charges, and if you are good at bargaining, you have an added advantage. Off-season is the best time to try out hotels that you normally wouldn't afford. Sometimes, even 4-star, 5-star hotels in areas like Shimla and Rajasthan offer amazing deals during the off-season.
3. No crowded trains and no waiting lists
If you are someone who travels frequently by train, you know how crowded trains can get during the summer, festivals or school vacations. So much so that people sleep outside the washrooms and waiting lists don't seem to end. If you travel in the off-season, waiting lists will be super short if at all. You can book your tickets with much more ease and your travel will also be smoother.
4. Flight tickets. Cheap flight tickets!
If you check flight rates from Mumbai to Srinagar for April- May and July-August, the price difference itself will prove my point. Moreover, you get so many perks if you're travelling in the off-season as flights are nearly empty. They'll give you all sorts of upgrades like window seats without charges, free meals and beverages, or if you're lucky, even an upgrade to business class.
5. With business out of their minds, the locals are more laid-back and open up to you.
If you are a traveller who loves to meet new people, learn new stories and tell your own, this is just the right time to travel. During the peak season, the locals are busy trying to mint money and although they'll interact with you if you give them business, you'll never get to hear their wonderful tales sitting cross-legged with them around a bonfire sipping on hot chai like you would in the off-season. This is true for any Himalayan tourist destination.
6. You'll get better services, everywhere.
You'll have fewer fellow travelers to deal with, which means you might get better services from guides, activity organisers and hotel staff. For example, I went to Darjeeling in mid-January; it was snowing heavily and we were the only tourists in the guest house as it was off-season. The hotel crew took requests from us and made special preparations as per our wishes for lunch and dinner.
7. There are no "tourists" around.
This has to be the biggest advantage for those who can't stand the ubiquitous crowd, the screaming children, the screeching vehicles, and the loud conversations that come with a crowd at a serene place. When a million others are seeing what you are seeing, it isn't different or special anymore. Solang Valley in Shimla is so crowded in May, it feels no different than a Mumbai amusement park. Rajasthani deserts remind you of Juhu Beach minus the sea, but plus the crowd! But when you travel in the off-season, you get to have the entire place to yourself. It is just absolutely wonderful to feel the place, and to observe the surroundings with no distractions.
8. No tourists = No irritating photobombs
We all want the perfect picture, either picking the Taj Mahal with one hand, supporting the Qutub Minar on the littlest finger, a candid high jump in the snow-covered mountains or one with a baby elephant bathing. But all your plans shatter when you have squillions of tourists photo-bombing your pictures. When you travel in the off-season, you get all places tourist-free. There are no people getting in the way of your camera and you can click breathtaking panoramic shots of nature or try some fun poses with your friends in the gorgeous settings.
9. You won't just see the tourist spots but real scenes from the place.
Traveling in the off-season is great for someone who intends to gather experiences rather than a few postcard pictures. When you visit a place in the off-season, you'll actually see it raw and real, the way it is. You get to see the problems faced by the locals and the ways they get around it. Like for instance, how do the people of Pin Valley manage to stay disconnected from the world for six months when it snows? How do the people of Sikkim manage the incessant rains on the mountains and the really, really bad roads? When you see and understand their problems, you'll be amazed by the wonders that our country has and trust me, you'll fall all the more in love with it!
10. You get to witness and be a part of local festivals and events.
Most local festivals and celebrations in Indian holiday destinations don't fall in the peak season. We're not sure if it was intentionally designed in such a way so that it doesn't interfere with business. But there are so many places you must visit in the off-season to experience these wonderful celebrations.
Take, for example, the Himalayan Kumbh Mela that takes place once in twelve years near the Zanskar river in July, or the Black Hat Dance during the Naro Nasjal Festival in August in Ladakh or the Himachali Hariyali Festival in July among others.
11. You have a few adventures here and there!
Well, let's face it, it's called off-season for a reason! The heat is too much, or the cold or the rain. You are going to have some mishaps here and there, but you'll also get the thrill and that adrenaline rush of adventure. And don't we all await such once-in-a-lifetime adventures?
Whatever the place, plan your travel in the off-season and it'll be full of adventures, surprises, learning, fun and memories for a lifetime. So go ahead, who knows what you might discover!
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Posted by: fay jamshidi <fayjay87@gmail.com>
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