India is not a country — it's a continent disguised as one. Every state is a different world. The food will change your life, the chaos will test your patience, and the people will restore your faith in humanity. It's the hardest and most rewarding place on the trail. It's also where the Hummus Trail runs deepest: Goa, Kasol, Manali, Dharamsala, and Rishikesh have been fixtures of the Israeli backpacker route for decades.
Kasol & Parvati Valley, India — "Little Israel in the Himalayas" — treks, hot springs, hummus.
Goa, India — Beach shacks, trance parties, and the chillest vibes.
Manali, India — Mountain town, Israeli food, and gateway to Ladakh.
Pushkar, India — Holy lake, rooftop cafes, and camel fairs.
Rishikesh, India — Yoga capital of the world, on the Ganges.
Hampi, India — Ancient ruins, boulder landscapes, and sunsets.
Dharamsala, India — Home of the Dalai Lama. Mountains and momos.
The route, in order
India splits into three trips that most people do as one. The north — Delhi up into the Himalayan foothills — is where the trail lives: Rishikesh, Dharamsala, Kasol, Manali, cool in summer and snowed-in by winter. Rajasthan is the desert-fort circuit through Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur and Udaipur. The south is Hampi, Goa and Kerala, warm when the north is freezing. That inversion sets the order: if you land between October and March, do Rajasthan and the south first and save the mountains for spring; if you land in April or May, go straight up to the hills before the plains become unbearable.
Delhi, 2 days — Arrival, a SIM, and a train ticket out. Paharganj near New Delhi station is the backpacker strip; the city rewards a second visit more than a first.
The Himalayan north, 3-6 weeks — Rishikesh for yoga and the Ganges, Dharamkot above Dharamsala, Kasol in the Parvati valley, Manali and the road to Ladakh. This is where trips lose track of time.
Rajasthan, 1-2 weeks — Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Udaipur — trains and buses between them are short and frequent. Best November to February; searing by April.
Hampi, 3-4 days — Boulder fields and ruined temples across a river from a village of hammocks. The best-value stop in the country.
Goa, as long as you like — North for the markets and the trance scene, south for the quiet. The season runs November to March and shuts for the monsoon.
Kerala and the far south — Backwaters, Varkala's cliff, Kochi. Add it if you have a spare fortnight and want to end somewhere soft.
What it costs
India is the cheapest region on the trail by a distance. $15-25 a day (as of 2026) covers a guesthouse room, three meals, and local transport, and you can do it for less in the hill towns if you stay put. The expensive parts are the long-haul trains booked late, the tourist-price entry tickets at the big monuments, and anything involving a private taxi in the mountains. Eat where Indians eat and the food line of your budget almost disappears.
Beds — Guesthouse doubles 600-1,500 rupees, dorms 300-600 (as of 2026). In Kasol, Dharamkot and Hampi the long-stay rate is far lower than the nightly one — ask.
Food — A thali is 100-200 rupees and is all you need. Chai is 10-20. Israeli and Western cafes in the hill towns cost three or four times the local rate.
Trains — Sleeper class for a 12-hour overnight is 400-700 rupees; AC 3-tier roughly double. Book on IRCTC as early as you can — the good classes sell out weeks ahead.
The big tickets — Taj Mahal foreign-visitor entry about 1,100 rupees; a 10-day Vipassana course is donation-based; a Manali-Leh jeep seat runs several thousand (all as of 2026).
Money — Cash still rules in the mountains and at markets; UPI apps run everything else and mostly need an Indian bank account. Carry small notes — nobody has change.
When to go
India has three seasons and they invert the country. October to March is the good season for Rajasthan, the south and Goa — dry, warm, and busy. April to June is the hot season, when the plains hit 45C and everyone who can flees to the hills, which are at their best then. The monsoon runs roughly June to September, heavy in Kerala and the Western Ghats, and it closes Goa's beach season and washes out Himalayan roads, including landslide closures on the Manali-Leh highway.
October - March — The classic window: Rajasthan, Hampi, Goa and the south. The northern hill towns are cold, and Manali and the high passes are snowed in.
April - June — Go up. Rishikesh, Dharamkot, Kasol and Manali are at their best while the plains bake. The Manali-Leh road usually opens late May or June.
July - September — Monsoon. Ladakh and Spiti are the rain-shadow exceptions and are excellent. Elsewhere expect closed beaches and blocked roads.
Festivals worth planning around — Holi in March, Diwali in October or November, and the Pushkar camel fair in November. Book beds well ahead for all three.
Getting in and around
Almost every nationality needs a visa in advance: the e-visa is applied for online, costs roughly $25-80 depending on length, and takes a few days, so do it before you book anything non-refundable. Fly into Delhi for the north or Mumbai and Goa for the south. Inside the country, trains are the backbone — book on IRCTC, take sleeper class at least once, and expect delays measured in hours. Buses cover the hills, where trains do not go, and the overnight Volvo from Delhi to Manali, Kasol or Dharamsala is a rite of passage. Domestic flights are cheap enough that one long jump can be worth it.
E-visa — Apply on the official Indian government portal — the lookalike sites charge several times the fee. Print the approval; you will be asked for it.
Trains — IRCTC app or website, and register early because verification takes a day. Sleeper is the experience, AC 3-tier is the compromise, and Tatkal is the day-before emergency quota.
Night buses to the hills — Delhi to Manali, Kasol, or McLeod Ganj is 10-14 hours from ISBT Kashmere Gate or private operators near Majnu ka Tilla. Government HRTC and the reputable private lines are worth the extra.
In cities — Uber and Ola in the big cities, autorickshaws everywhere else — agree the fare first or insist on the meter.
Your stomach — It will happen once. Carry oral rehydration salts and loperamide, skip ice and raw salads for the first week, and drink only sealed or filtered water.
The scene
India is where the trail runs deepest, and five towns carry it: Kasol in the Parvati valley, Dharamkot above McLeod Ganj, Old Manali, Vashisht, and north Goa in season. Hebrew appears on menus and guesthouse signs, hummus and shakshuka are standard, and Chabad houses in Kasol, Manali, Dharamsala, Pushkar, Rishikesh, Goa, Hampi, Delhi and Mumbai run Shabbat dinners that double as the local information exchange — anyone can come, and most guests are not religious. The flip side is worth naming: these towns have been travel destinations for fifty years, they have a drug-tourism problem in places, and the people who live there are hosts rather than scenery. See the Chabad house guide for the full list.
Kasol and Parvati valley — The most concentrated stretch of the trail anywhere. Treks to Kheerganga and Tosh, hot springs at Manikaran, and cafes with Hebrew menus.
Dharamkot — Above McLeod Ganj: meditation courses, Tibetan food, the Triund trek, and a long-stay crowd that arrives for a week and leaves in a month.
Old Manali and Vashisht — Stone guesthouses, apple orchards, and the staging post for the road to Ladakh.
North Goa in season — Anjuna and Arambol from November to March: the flea market, the trance parties, and the largest winter gathering on the route.
Practical Info
Budget: $15-25/day (as of 2026) — guesthouse doubles 600-1,500 rupees, thalis 100-200, sleeper trains 400-700 for an overnight. India is as cheap as you want it to be if you eat local and stay put; taxis in the mountains and late-booked trains are what break the budget.
Best time: October to March for Rajasthan, Hampi, Goa and the south. April to June for the Himalayan north, when the plains are unbearable and the hill towns are at their best. The monsoon (June-September) closes Goa and blocks mountain roads, but Ladakh and Spiti sit in the rain shadow and are excellent then.
Getting there: Fly into Delhi (DEL) for the north or Mumbai and Goa for the south — Delhi has the most direct fares from Tel Aviv and Europe. Every nationality needs the e-visa in advance; apply on the official portal a week or more before you fly.
Budget: $15-25/day (as of 2026) — India is incredibly cheap if you eat local and stay put.
Best time: October to March for the south and Rajasthan; April to June for the Himalayan north; monsoon June to September.
Visas: almost every nationality needs an e-visa. Apply on the official government portal before you fly — the lookalike sites overcharge.
Stomach: it will happen once. Carry oral rehydration salts and loperamide; skip ice and raw salads the first week.
Trains: book on the IRCTC app, and register early because verification takes a day. Sleeper class is the experience; AC 3-tier is the comfortable compromise.
Haggle everything: autorickshaws, markets, and long guesthouse stays. Agree the fare before you get in.