India in January: Weather, Where to Go, and What to Avoid

• Golden Triangle and Rajasthan — cool, sometimes cold, mornings and evenings; mild, pleasant days. Fog is common in Delhi and can delay flights and trains.
• Kerala and South India — warm and largely dry; comfortable for backwaters, beaches and temple touring.
• Goa — the tail end of peak season; warm, dry, and busy.
• Kashmir and Ladakh — deep winter. The Kashmir valley is cold and often snowbound; Ladakh's high passes are closed and most touring stops.

Rajasthan and the Golden Triangle are arguably at their best right now, alongside Kerala and South India for a warmer trip. Gulmarg, in Kashmir, is one of the few Himalayan spots that come alive in January, for snow rather than sightseeing.

• Makar Sankranti — a harvest and kite festival, 14 January (fixed date).
• Republic Day — 26 January (fixed date), marked with parades, most visibly in Delhi.
• Pongal — Tamil Nadu's harvest festival, in mid-January.

• Early-morning fog in Delhi and the wider north can delay flights and trains — build in a buffer if you have a tight connection.
• Packing only for "warm India" — mornings and evenings in Rajasthan and the north are genuinely cold.
• Assuming Kashmir or Ladakh are open for normal sightseeing — most of both are shut down for winter.