India in October: what to expect

October is the handover month. The south-west monsoon has withdrawn from most of the north and centre, the air clears, and daytime temperatures drop from the September peak without reaching the winter chill. Delhi and the northern plains sit around 33 °C by day and 20 °C at night, with humidity falling through the month. Rajasthan is similar but drier, and desert nights start to cool.

The Himalayan hills — Shimla, Rishikesh, Darjeeling, Sikkim — are at their clearest, with crisp mornings and 18–22 °C afternoons. Ladakh and Spiti are still open but winding down: pass roads close roughly from late October, and nights drop below freezing.

The south splits in two. Kerala and the Konkan coast are between monsoons, warm and humid with showers. Tamil Nadu and the east coast are entering the north-east monsoon, which brings heavy rain and cyclone risk to Chennai, Puducherry and the Andhra coast from October into December.

October is medium on both counts, and the month has two halves. The first three weeks are quiet by Indian standards: hotels in Rajasthan and the hills still sell shoulder-season rates, trains are bookable a few weeks out, and the Golden Triangle is manageable. From around the middle of the month the festival season starts and domestic travel picks up sharply.

Durga Puja in Kolkata and Dussehra across the north draw huge domestic crowds, and Diwali falls in November this year, so late October is the run-up: hotels fill, flights to Kolkata, Varanasi and Jaipur get expensive, and trains sell out. Book sleeper and AC classes on IRCTC as soon as your dates are fixed, and reserve hill hotels before you arrive.

The festival calendar drives the month. Durga Puja, the biggest event in West Bengal, fills Kolkata with pandals, processions and street food for about a week, usually in late September or October depending on the lunar calendar. Dussehra (Vijayadashami) follows, marking the end of Navratri with effigy burnings in Delhi and Ramlila performances across the north. Karva Chauth is observed in the north, and Gandhi Jayanti on 2 October is a national holiday with closures.

Head north and west. Rajasthan is the strongest pick: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer are dry, warm and clear, and Udaipur's lakes are still full after the monsoon. The Himalayan hills give the year's clearest mountain views — Darjeeling, Sikkim, Shimla and Rishikesh all work well. Delhi and the Golden Triangle are comfortable, though smog starts building late in the month and peaks in November.

The northeast is at its best in October, with Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal drying out after the monsoon. Ladakh and Spiti are still accessible early in the month but plan to leave before the passes close. In the south, Kerala and the Konkan coast improve through the month, while Tamil Nadu and the east coast should wait until January. Mumbai is hot and humid but usable, and Thiruvananthapuram sits on the edge of the second monsoon burst.

Pack for warm days and cool nights, with a layer for the hills and a rain shell for the south. Modest clothing helps at temples and in smaller towns, and slip-on shoes make shrine visits easier. Bring a scarf or light shawl for air-conditioned trains and for covering your head at gurdwaras and mosques.

September is still wet in much of the north but cheap and quiet, and Rajasthan starts to work again late in the month. November brings the best weather of the year but also Diwali crowds, Delhi's worst smog and cyclone risk in Tamil Nadu. December is peak for Rajasthan, Kerala and Goa, with Christmas and New Year booked far ahead.