5 tips for cycling in India, and 5 reasons you must go!

Five top tips for cycling in India, and five reasons to go!

 

 

We caught up recently with Dave and Michelle Garner, who are curently riding around the world, and asked them about their cycling adventures in India. Here are their five top tips for riding in India, and five reasons to go. In fact, why it’s a must-do…!

We have added a few editor’s notes in italics to indicate the relevance to our own holidays.

“From December 2024 until May 2025, my wife Michelle and I crossed the Wagah border into India and cycled 3,500 miles through 11 states. We first travelled south east from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. We then headed predominantly south west, through the Maharastra and over the Western Ghats – a mountain range that runs about half the length of India on its west coast – to Goa and the Arabian Sea. From there we followed the coast to Kerala where we climbed back over the Western Ghats through hill stations and tea plantations to Tamil Nadu. The plan had then been to cycle to Nagapattinam on the Bay of Bengal and get the ferry to Sri Lanka, but we still had a month left on our visas! Not wanting to miss out on the chance of one more month in India, we therefore continued north into Andhra Pradesh, visiting Puducherry on the way, before looping inland and to Nagapattinam.

Although we spent 5 months in India, there is still much much more to see and do. It’s a country we both know we’ll return to one day and one that we found ourselves missing almost as soon as we left. It was a very easy therefore to compile our five top tips for cycling in india and five reasons to go!

(editor’s note (ed) – Pedal Nation has 4 cycling holidays in India, and 1 in Sri Lanka. Dave and Michelle rode through many of the areas covered in our own holidays, including Rajasthan and the Taj Mahal, the Maharashtra, the Ghats and Goa, Kerala and Sri Lanka).

5 top tips for riding in India

1. Don’t be scared of the traffic. It’s different from what we are used to in Europe, and although there appear to be no rules, it works! Just focus on what’s in front of you and be wary of Tuk Tuks and people pulling out, and the people behind you will do the same. Indian drivers aren’t impatient (ed: the beeping of horns is just to let you know they are there) and if you do something silly drivers will stop for you.

2. Get off the highways and on to the village roads. India’s reputation for crazy traffic only really applies to big towns and cities. On the village roads it’s quiet and almost traffic free. You will get to see daily life and pass through villages where almost everyone waves and shouts hello. (ed: Pedal Nation’s India holidays entirely avoid highways and busy polluted city streets).

3. Try to travel through different states. Each state in India is different and unique. People wear different clothes, the temples are different and the food changes. (ed: Pedal Nation are currently looking at the dates for our autumn 2026 and 2027 tours so as to offer consecutive holidays. This will enable you to enjoy the variety which Dave refers to by, for example, tagging a Mumbai to Hampi tour onto a trip to Rajasthan. Once you have bought a flight, you might as well make best use of it!)

4. India has proper seasons so if you plan for a favourable time of year you shouldn’t have a problem with heat (ed: our trips are all planned for the cooler months of the year, apart from Ladakh where the Himalayan climate requires a high summer tour!) If you do struggle with heat nonetheless, try covering up, wear UV protective arm sleeves and cover your head with a cap or bandana under your helmet. These things will actually keep you cooler than bare skin especially if you keep them wet: petrol stations all have toilets where you can wet your clothes in the sink. Start early, the heat builds at about midday and gets hotter until the sunset. Take plenty of breaks to get out of the sun and keep hydrated, and try Kokum juice if in the Maharashtra. (ed: our excellent guides will also make sure to look after you and ensure you stay hydrated and cool!)

5. Be prepared for lots of attention, especially in the north. You will be stopped for many many selfies, by people who want to buy you drinks or offer local specialties, or just to say hello. (ed: top tip – this is in fact charming rather than irritating as you could possibly imagine).

5 top reasons to go on a cycling holiday in India

1. History: India has an incredibly rich history. Sights include ancient temples, forts, neolithic cave paintings…. The Taj Mahal and Jaipur are obviously world famous but when you’re cycling between these tourist hotspots you will also come across wonderful sights that are much less well known. (ed: we use local guides to help lead you to sights and experiences you might not otherwise know about or discover.)

2. Food: Indian food is very different than the takeaway food we’re familiar with at home – much more varied and with fresher spices. Hundreds of years of vegetarian cooking has also developed great satisfying alternatives to meat such as Gatta (gram flour dumplings) that we loved even though we aren’t veggie.  Tips to avoid upset stomachs? Eat at places where locals are eating. Avoid salad and fruit that you are not going to peel yourself. Be careful with water, unless you see a water filter in good condition always drink bottled water. Tea and coffee are fine as they’re boiled, tea with ginger and jaggery and the local filter coffee in the south are a must try. (ed: again, our guides will also keep you right.)

3. Culture: Indian religion and culture is a diverse mix. And there are plenty of ways to find calm – we did during a visit to India’s biggest mosque in Bhopal and sitting with Buddhist monks chanting in a 1000 year old cave temple at Ajanta. But it’s true – it’s more often a riot of colour, sound and the smell of incense. There are also festivals happening all the time so it’s quite likely you’ll end up following a moving carnival with music blasting from huge speakers where the whole village is out in the street. (ed: I found Ladakh calmer than mainland India, as is Sri Lanka. But the riot on your senses is one of the true features of mainland India, and needs experienced to be believed!)

4. Scenery and wildlife: India is a very green country. Places like the cool green tea plantations of the Nilgiri mountains and the Western Ghats are just a couple of its national parks. On our trip we didn’t go on any specific safaris but we saw many monkeys, mongoose, antelope as well as lizards and snakes (ed: our Bengal tiger safari is a massive highlight of our Rajasthan tour – fear not, we ride the safari in trucks on a rest day!) There is loads of birdlife almost everywhere from Kingfishers and Great racket tail Drongos to Rhinoceros Hornbills and Peacocks.

5. The People: For us one of the things that made India such a great place to visit was the people. Indians are friendly, welcoming and hospitable. You may receive lots of attention, but this is because people are interested and want to welcome you. They are also very kind and we had lots of occasions where we were invited for tea or to eat with families or people that we had met – a great way to see other peoples’ ways of life and enjoy each other’s company rather than just seeing the tourist sights.”

Pedal Nation is THE specialist in cycling holidays in India and Sri Lanka, through our partnership with Welcome Travels, an award-winning adventure travel company based in Delhi (run by the father of our own Sunny Wattal) who run our tour operations out there. Our holidays provide a taste of the immense variety in India which Dave refers to above. Check them out here: Rajasthan, Mumbai to Hampi, Kerala, Ladakh and Sri Lanka. Why not treat yourself to an adventure of a lifetime?!

Massive thanks to Dave and Michelle for taking the time out to write this blog. They are still riding around the world – in Malaysia last time I heard!