Best Places to Visit in India in December: 17 for 2026

December is the easiest month to travel in India. The monsoon is out everywhere except a tail end on the Tamil Nadu coast, the desert and the Deccan are cool, the Northeast is dry, and the big winter festivals land in the first ten days. The two things that go wrong are fog in the north and price spikes in the last twelve days of the month. Plan around both and the month is as good as it gets.

Quick picks

• Festival trip: Rann of Kutch, Kohima
• Beach and nightlife: Goa, Andamans
• Snow: Gulmarg, Auli
• Wildlife: Ranthambore, Kaziranga, Corbett
• Heritage and slow walking: Hampi, Varanasi, Udaipur, Kolkata, Pondicherry
• Cold mornings and tea estates: Munnar, Meghalaya

The 17 places

1. Rann of Kutch, Gujarat

Rann Utsav 2026 to 27 runs from 1 November 2026 to 7 March 2027 at the Tent City in Dhordo. Dhordo is 80 to 85 km from Bhuj, so 1.5 to 2 hours by road. Tent City rates start around ₹6,300 per person on twin sharing plus 18% GST for a non AC Swiss cottage, ₹8,300 for a deluxe AC cottage, ₹9,300 for a premium tent and ₹10,300 for super premium. Premium tents go to about ₹11,300 on busy dates and ₹13,300 on peak dates. Packages usually cover meals, the cultural programme, the White Rann sunset and sunrise visits and Bhuj transfers.

If you are staying outside the Tent City, in Bhuj or at a private camp, you need the White Rann entry permit yourself. That is ₹100 per person above 12 years, ₹50 for ages 6 to 12 and free for small children. Full moon dates in December go first, book those a month or more ahead. Nights on the salt flat are genuinely cold, a sweater is not enough, carry a jacket and cover your ears.

Bhuj is the base. Flights from Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and trains from Ahmedabad. Most people do one night at the Tent City and one night in Bhuj for Mandvi beach and the craft villages.

2. Kohima and the Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

Hornbill 2026 is from 1 to 10 December at the Naga Heritage Village in Kisama, about 12 km from Kohima. Indians from outside Nagaland need an Inner Line Permit. Apply online at ilp.nagaland.gov.in, the domestic 30 day permit is ₹200 and comes through digitally. The festival gate ticket is separate and paid at Kisama. Past editions have been in the ₹100 to ₹150 per day range for Indians with a small extra for camera, confirm the 2026 rate at the counter.

Nearest airport is Dimapur, roughly 70 km from Kohima, allow about three hours because the road is slow. Kohima rooms sell out for these ten days, so people book homestays early or stay in villages on the Kisama side. Morning performances start mid morning and the ground gets full by then. Nights are cold, single digits.

3. Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

December is the best month here. Days around 24 to 26 C, nights 8 to 11 C in town and colder out on the dunes, and effectively no rain.

Important rule change: the Rajasthan Forest Department issued an order in October 2026 stopping tourist entry, camel safaris and sightseeing after sunset on the Sam and Kanoi dunes that fall inside Desert National Park, and banned powerful laser lights at camp shows. Camps are still running, but camel and jeep rides now finish at dusk and the evening programme happens inside the camp premises. Dunes outside the park boundary, Khuri and Lakhmana for example, are not covered by the order. If a camp is selling you a night dune ride, ask them which side of the boundary they are on.

Jaisalmer Fort charges about ₹50 for Indians, open 9 am to 5 pm. The Fort Palace Museum inside is separate, around ₹200 for Indians, 10 am to 5 pm. Keep the fort for early morning, it fills up by eleven.

4. Udaipur, Rajasthan

City Palace museum entry is ₹450 for Indian adults and ₹200 for children aged 5 to 12. Listed hours run 9:30 am to 9 pm, but the museum sections close earlier than the complex, so go by 2 pm if you want to see everything without rushing. Boat rides on Lake Pichola are ticketed separately at the Rameshwar Ghat jetty inside the palace complex.

Days are pleasant, nights need a jacket. Udaipur is a good second city to pair with Jaisalmer or Jodhpur, and it is one of the few Rajasthan towns where two relaxed days work better than one packed day.

5. Goa

Sunburn is currently listed for 28 to 31 December 2026 at Vagator, 18 and above only. The dates have shifted in past editions, so confirm on the official page before you book flights around it. Christmas and New Year week is when Goa charges what it likes, hotel rates and cab rates both go up two to three times.

Dudhsagar is the one inland trip worth doing. The forest department jeep safari from Kulem works out to roughly ₹810 per person booked online and about ₹910 at the counter, which covers the jeep, guide, life jacket and forest entry, seven people to a jeep on sharing. A full day taxi from North Goa beaches is around ₹3,200 to ₹4,500 for a sedan, less from Panaji or South Goa. Ola and Uber work in parts of Goa but patchily, most people end up with a local taxi or a rented two wheeler.

6. Hampi, Karnataka

The ASI combined ticket is ₹40 for Indians (a few sources still list ₹30 to ₹35, so carry change) and it covers the Vittala temple, Lotus Mahal, Elephant Stables and the Royal Enclosure for one day only. Children up to 15 are free. Use it in one day, do not split it across two. Virupaksha temple is separate and open roughly 6 am to 6 pm with a nominal fee, and it is the one monument at Hampi still in daily worship. Monuments generally run sunrise to sunset.

Hosapete is the railhead, about 13 km away, with overnight trains from Bengaluru. December days are warm in the sun and the boulders radiate heat by noon, so the standard plan is temples from 6:30 to 11 am, a long break, then the Vittala side after 3:30 pm. Mornings are cold enough for a light jacket.

7. Munnar and Alleppey, Kerala

Eravikulam National Park is ₹200 for Indian adults and ₹150 for children, camera ₹50, with a ₹50 reservation fee. Only 3,500 tickets go out per day, 75% of them online, and in the November to January rush the counter queue can run two to three hours. Book online. The park shuts for roughly 45 to 60 days in February and March for Nilgiri tahr calving, so December is one of the safe windows.

Munnar in December is dry most days, about five rainy days across the month on long term averages and around 96 mm total, which usually means a short evening shower rather than a washout. Days are comfortable, early mornings and nights in the higher estates are cold.

For Alleppey, a one bedroom deluxe houseboat with all meals starts around ₹10,000 plus GST a night, two bedrooms around ₹11,500, premium boats ₹15,000 to ₹20,000. From roughly 20 December to 5 January these rates about double. Check in is usually around noon and the boat anchors by 5:30 pm, so a houseboat is really an afternoon and a morning, not a full day.

8. Andaman Islands

December is dry and the sea is calm, which matters because the ferries are the whole plan. Port Blair to Havelock takes 90 minutes to 2 hours on the private catamarans. Fares run from about ₹1,050 for the cheapest Green Ocean economy seat up to ₹4,450 for Makruzz Pearl premium. Makruzz adds a ₹50 passenger service fee and a ₹100 peak season supplement from 1 December to 31 January. Makruzz sailings are typically 6, 8, 9 and 11:30 am and 2 pm, Green Ocean around 6:30 am and 1:15 pm. Book ferries before you book hotels, not after.

Cellular Jail is closed on Mondays, which trips up a lot of itineraries. Our Port Blair guide has the day trips, closed days and the 3 am Baratang start in detail.

9. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Kashi Vishwanath is open 2:30 am to 11 pm. General darshan is 4 to 11 am and again 12 to 7 pm, with a break from 11 am to 12:30 pm. Mangala aarti is at 3 am and needs a separate ticket booked ahead, Sandhya aarti is at 7 pm. The corridor brings you out at Lalita Ghat, and Dashashwamedh Ghat is about 400 m along the river, an eight minute walk.

Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh starts after sunset, in winter that is roughly 6 pm, and runs about 45 minutes. For a boat view, be on the water by 5:30. Mornings are foggy through most of December, the 5:30 am boat ride is still worth doing but do not expect to see the far bank. Trains into Varanasi run late in the second half of December, build a buffer day if you have a connecting flight.

10. Ranthambore, Rajasthan

Per seat rates for Indians are roughly ₹1,800 to ₹2,300 in a gypsy and ₹1,200 to ₹1,800 in a canter, varying by season and booking channel. Tatkal and last minute canter seats can cost nearly double on December weekends. Zones 1 to 5 are closed on Wednesdays and zones 6, 9 and 10 are closed on Tuesdays, so check which zone you have been allotted before you fix dates.

Safari slots shift with sunrise through the season, broadly a morning run from around 6:30 to 10 am and an afternoon run from about 2:30 to 6 pm. Confirm the exact reporting time on your permit. The morning drive in an open gypsy in December is cold enough that most people regret not carrying a cap and gloves. Sawai Madhopur is the station and it is well connected from Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai.

11. Kaziranga, Assam

The park reopened for the 2026 to 27 season on 3 October 2026. Jeep safari slots are 7:30 to 10 am and 1:30 to 3 pm. A private gypsy for up to six people is officially around ₹3,033 to ₹4,033, though some ranges quote ₹4,000 to ₹5,500 once guide and entry charges are added.

Elephant safaris restarted on 1 November, with a limited number of dawn seats at Kohora and Bagori. Indians pay about ₹1,800 per person and four people ride one elephant. These need a separate permit and they go fast, so book the elephant ride first and build the rest around it. Jorhat is the closer airport, Guwahati is the bigger one with more flights.

12. Jim Corbett, Uttarakhand

Dhikala is the zone people want and it opens 15 November, running to 15 June. Dhikala is for overnight visitors staying at the forest rest house, with canter seats at about ₹2,600 for Indians. For a day visit, Bijrani is the usual choice at roughly ₹7,500 per jeep for Indians, a three hour morning drive or a slightly shorter evening one in winter. Other zones are Jhirna, Dhela, Durgadevi, Garjia and Sonanadi.

Booking opens 45 days in advance for Indian nationals and December dates disappear quickly. Ramnagar is the railhead and the overnight train from Delhi is the easy way in.

13. Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir

Gondola Phase 1 is around ₹800, Phase 2 is ₹1,000, and both phases together ₹1,800. Tatkal tickets are ₹1,100 and ₹1,300 and a limited number are released on the official portal at 5 pm for the next day. To book Phase 2 you need the transaction ID from a valid Phase 1 booking. Operating hours are roughly 8 am to 5 pm, gate entry closes around 3:30 pm, and the gondola is normally shut on the second and fourth Monday of each month for maintenance.

Srinagar to Gulmarg is about 50 km, 1.5 to 2 hours, longer if the road is being cleared. Timing matters: early December is often brown and dry, snow usually builds up after the middle of the month, and Chillai Kalan, the 40 day deep winter spell, starts on 21 December. If snow is the whole point of your trip, go after the 20th and accept the peak rates, or keep your dates flexible.

14. Auli, Uttarakhand

The Joshimath to Auli ropeway is 4.15 km, runs about 9 am to 5 pm with the last return around 4:30 pm, and costs roughly ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 for a round trip depending on season. Tickets are sold at the Joshimath base station counter, there is no reliable online booking, so reach early on a holiday weekend. Weather, crowd and maintenance checks stop the ropeway without notice.

Joshimath is about 250 km from Rishikesh and that is a 9 to 10 hour drive on hill roads, so it is a two day approach, not a weekend. Reliable snow is usually late December onwards. If the road above Joshimath is blocked, the ropeway is the way up, which is also why it gets crowded.

15. Meghalaya

Dry and cold in December. Shillong sits around 12 to 18 C by day and 4 to 8 C at night, Cherrapunji about 8 to 20 C, Dawki and Mawlynnong a little warmer at 10 to 22 C. The odd shower still happens.

The double decker living root bridge at Nongriat charges about ₹50 per adult with ₹20 for a camera, and the single root bridge at Riwai near Mawlynnong is around ₹40. Nongriat is a long stepped descent and the climb back is the hard part, give it most of a day and do not start after lunch. Mawlynnong fills up with tour groups after noon, so reach by 9 am.

Guwahati to Shillong is roughly 100 km and takes 3 to 3.5 hours. Shillong over Christmas week is packed and hotels put rates up 40 to 60%, so either book in November or shift your dates to the first fortnight.

16. Puducherry

The northeast monsoon is on its way out. November is the wet month on this coast, December drops to roughly 50 to 100 mm and most of that falls before the 10th, with days around 22 to 29 C. Plan the first week loosely and the rest of the month confidently.

At Auroville, the Matrimandir viewing point is free. You collect a pass at the Visitors Centre after a short introductory video, no booking needed. Getting inside the inner chamber is different: same day booking is not possible, dates open about five working days ahead, and from December to February you should put in the request the day you arrive. If it rains, the chamber is closed and bookings for that day are cancelled.

Chennai to Puducherry is about 150 km on the East Coast Road, 3 to 4 hours by car or bus.

17. Kolkata

December is the one month Kolkata is genuinely comfortable to walk in, and Park Street in Christmas week is an event in itself. Most museums charge ₹20 to ₹80 for Indians and shut on Monday, Alipore Zoo shuts on Thursday, and Marble Palace shuts on both. Two full days covers the city centre and the river. Details, fees and the order to do them in are in our Kolkata guide.

Best time to visit within December

Split the month in two. From 1 to about 18 December, flights and hotels are at normal season rates, parks and monuments are not crowded, and the Hornbill Festival and the early Rann Utsav dates fall here. From roughly 20 December to 2 January, Goa, Rajasthan, Kerala, Andaman and Shillong all go up two to three times, safari permits and ferries sell out, and you are paying peak money for a more crowded version of the same trip.

The exception is snow. Gulmarg and Auli are more reliable after the 20th, so if you want snow you are stuck with peak pricing. Everyone else should take the first fortnight.

Fog is the other calendar item. The aviation regulator treats 10 December to 10 February as the fog season window. On bad mornings Delhi airport has seen dozens of cancellations and hundreds of delays in a single day, and Delhi bound trains routinely run three to four hours late. If your trip connects through Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi or Amritsar in the second half of December, take afternoon flights instead of early morning ones and keep a spare day before any international connection.

How to reach, in short

• Rann of Kutch: fly or train to Bhuj, then 80 to 85 km by road to Dhordo
• Kohima: fly to Dimapur, then about three hours by road
• Jaisalmer: overnight train from Delhi or Jaipur, or fly to Jodhpur and drive
• Hampi: train to Hosapete, 13 km from the ruins
• Kaziranga: fly to Jorhat or Guwahati
• Corbett: overnight train to Ramnagar
• Gulmarg: fly to Srinagar, 50 km by road
• Auli: Rishikesh to Joshimath is 250 km and a full day's drive
• Andaman: fly to Port Blair, then ferry

A sample 2-day plan, Rann of Kutch

Day 1: reach Bhuj by the morning flight or overnight train. Drive to Dhordo, 1.5 to 2 hours, check into the Tent City by afternoon. Sunset at the White Rann, then the cultural programme at the camp. Carry a jacket, it drops fast after dark.

Day 2: sunrise at the White Rann if you can manage the wake up, breakfast, then drive back towards Bhuj stopping at Kalo Dungar for the view over the salt flat and at one of the craft villages like Nirona or Bhujodi. Reach Bhuj by evening for an onward train or flight. If you have a third day, add Mandvi beach and the Vijay Vilas palace, about 60 km from Bhuj.

A sample 2-day plan, Munnar and Alleppey

Day 1: Eravikulam in the morning with tickets booked online, then the tea museum and Mattupetty in the afternoon. Keep the long drive for after lunch, Munnar roads are narrow and slow.

Day 2: leave Munnar by 8 am for Alleppey, roughly four to five hours, board the houseboat around noon. The boat anchors by evening. Next morning you check out by 9. So a houseboat night really needs you to plan the drive, not the other way round.

What to carry

A proper jacket, not just a sweatshirt, if you are going to Kutch, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Corbett or Ranthambore. Open gypsy safaris and the desert at night are colder than the forecast suggests. A cap and gloves for Gulmarg and Auli, plus shoes with grip, because the snow at Auli gets packed and slippery around the ropeway top station.

Carry some cash. Forest department counters, village entry points at root bridges and small ghat side shops in Varanasi are not always on UPI, though Jio and Airtel coverage is fine in most of these places except inside Corbett and parts of Kaziranga. Keep printouts of safari permits and ILP, phone batteries die in the cold.

If you want any of these planned end to end with transfers, permits and safari bookings handled, see our trip packages.