Editor's Letter: Weekend Getaways Near Delhi, Aug 2024

Dear reader,

Every Delhiite knows the Friday evening feeling. The week has been long, the city is hot or smoky or simply too loud, and somewhere just beyond the edge of the map there is a hill, a fort, a lake or a forest calling. Our August 2024 issue is devoted to the great Delhi tradition of the weekend escape.

Few cities in India are as well placed for short trips. Within a day’s drive lie the foothills of the Himalaya in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the forts and palaces of Rajasthan, the wildlife parks of the Aravallis and the terai, the temple towns along the Ganga and the quiet villages of Haryana. Improved expressways have brought many of these places closer, at least on a good day, and the rise of homestays has opened up villages that once had nowhere to stay.

What you will find inside

Our features already on the site cover a wide range of escapes: adventure spots for trekking, camping and rafting; monsoon destinations that come alive in the rains; underrated places within five hours of the city; the local dishes worth travelling for; our list of the top ten weekend getaways near Delhi; destinations for thrill-seekers; and itineraries tailored for couples, families and solo travellers.

The new stories in this issue take a different approach. One follows a single road, the old Grand Trunk Road north from Delhi through Haryana to the hills at Kasauli, as a way of understanding how weekend travel from the capital works. Another offers three unhurried days in the Aravallis around Alwar, Sariska and Bhangarh, a region many Delhi travellers rush past on the way to Jaipur. And we have written a candid guide to what you can skip on your first weekend getaway, from Friday-evening traffic to the most crowded viewpoints.

Four directions from Delhi

One way to think about weekend travel from Delhi is by direction. Head north and you reach the Shivalik foothills and the first hill stations of Himachal Pradesh, such as Kasauli, Shimla and the valleys beyond, passing through Haryana’s old Grand Trunk Road towns on the way. Head north-east and you reach Uttarakhand: Rishikesh and Haridwar on the Ganga, Mussoorie and Landour above Dehradun, the lake towns of Kumaun and the forests of Jim Corbett National Park. Head south-west and you reach Rajasthan: the forts of Neemrana and Alwar, the Sariska tiger reserve, the painted havelis of Shekhawati and, further on, Jaipur. Head south and east and you reach the Braj country around Mathura and Vrindavan, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, and the bird sanctuary at Bharatpur.

Each direction offers a different kind of weekend: mountains, rivers, forts, forests or temples. Part of the pleasure of living in Delhi is choosing which one suits your mood.

How to plan a good weekend

The best weekend trips usually share a few qualities. They involve no more than five or six hours of travel each way, so that you are not spending most of your time in a car. They are built around one base, not several. They include at least one early morning, when the light is soft and the crowds are thin. And they leave room for rest, because a weekend that exhausts you defeats its purpose.

Trains are often an underrated option. Services to Kathgodam, Dehradun, Haridwar, Kalka, Alwar and Jaipur can be faster and calmer than driving on busy weekends. Booking early is essential.

Why the weekend matters

It is easy to dismiss weekend trips as a poor substitute for “real” travel. I disagree. A good weekend away can do more for the spirit than a hurried fortnight abroad. It lets you step out of the city’s rhythm, sleep under a different sky, eat food cooked by someone who grew it, and return on Sunday evening feeling a little more like yourself.

Weekend travel also teaches us to look closely at the places nearest to home. Many of us have lived in Delhi for years without ever seeing the step-wells of Haryana, the birds of Sultanpur, the old havelis of Shekhawati or the forest rest houses of the Shivaliks. This issue is an invitation to discover them.

Travelling well, even for two days

Short trips come with their own temptations: to pack too much in, to drive too far, to treat a village as a backdrop for photographs. We would gently suggest the opposite. Choose one place, not three. Leave early and come back late. Avoid the busiest roads on long weekends where you can. Stay somewhere locally run, eat local food and talk to people.

August is also the height of the monsoon. The hills are green and the waterfalls are full, but landslides can close mountain roads, rivers can rise suddenly and highways can flood. Please check weather warnings and road conditions before you set out, and be ready to change your plans. Never enter swollen rivers or stand beneath waterfalls in heavy rain.

And, as always, travel lightly. Weekend crowds put enormous pressure on small hill towns and villages, especially on water and waste. Carry a refillable bottle, take your rubbish back with you and respect local rules.

A note on facts

Weekend travel information changes quickly. Road works open and close, entry fees change, homestays come and go and rules for parks and monuments are revised. We have tried to be careful, and where we are not certain we have said so. Please check current information locally before you travel, especially for wildlife parks, monuments and mountain roads in the monsoon.

Freedom, close to home

This issue falls in the month of Independence Day, and there is something fitting about that. The weekend escape is a small, personal kind of freedom: the freedom to leave the city behind, to wander a little, and to come back refreshed. It is a freedom many Delhi families have enjoyed for generations, from summer trips to the hills to winter picnics at old forts.

Thank you for travelling with us this year. Your letters and suggestions have shaped many of the stories in this issue, and I hope you will keep writing to tell us about your own favourite escapes. Perhaps the best weekend getaway is one you have not discovered yet.

Wishing you open roads, clear skies and good company.

With warm regards,

Khushi Anand, Editor