Quick verdict: India is the world’s cheapest major backpacking country — $20/day possible. Most-rewarding + transformative + intense.
More: When to visit India · India travel guide
Backpacking India: at a glance
| Classic route | Delhi → Agra → Jaipur (Golden Triangle) → Varanasi, or Rajasthan, or Kerala/Goa |
| How long | 3–4 weeks |
| Daily budget (backpacker) | $25–40/day |
| Highlights | Taj Mahal, palaces, Himalaya, backwaters, incredible food & diversity |
| Watch out for | Health & hygiene, scams, sensory overload — pace yourself |
| Best time | October–March (cool, dry) |
6 best backpacking spots in India
Delhi (Paharganj)
Backpacker hub
$5-25/night. Backpacker district adjacent to New Delhi station. Most arrivals start here.
Rishikesh
Spiritual budget
$5-20/night ashrams. Yoga capital. Ganges-side meditation. Sometimes free if doing yoga TT course.
Jaisalmer (Golden City)
Desert backpack
$8-25/night. Golden Fort + camel safari into Thar Desert. Off-beaten Rajasthan.
Hampi (Karnataka)
Ruins backpack
$8-25/night. Vijayanagara Empire ruins + boulder landscape. Quieter than Rajasthan tourist routes.
Goa (Anjuna + Vagator)
Beach backpack
$8-25/night. North Goa hippie scene + beach hostels + Western comforts.
Varanasi
Spiritual backpack
$5-25/night. Ganges ghats + cremation ghats + sunrise boat ride. Most intense Indian experience.
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Helpful Packzup guides
Backpacking India: routes, budget & tips
India is a backpacking epic — vast, intense and cheap. A typical trip runs $25-40/day and 3-6 weeks.
The classic route
Start with the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur), continue into Rajasthan (Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer), then fly south for Kerala (backwaters, Munnar) and finish in Goa or among Hampi’s ruins.
When to go
October-March is the sweet spot — cool, dry and comfortable across most of the country. Avoid the April-June heat and the summer monsoon.
Getting around & tips
Trains are the way to travel — book on IRCTC well ahead. Carry a scarf, eat busy veg restaurants, drink only sealed/filtered water, and budget extra time for India’s gloriously chaotic pace.
The scams that actually catch backpackers
The guide flags scams as a watch-out without explaining them, so here is how the common ones play out and the one habit that defuses most of them. The pattern is almost always the same: a stranger inserts themselves between you and the thing you booked, then collects a commission.
- The closed-hotel routine: a taxi or auto driver tells you your booked hotel has burned down, flooded, is fully booked, or sits in a bad area, then offers a better place where he earns a cut per guest. Call your hotel from the airport, and refuse to be redirected.
Three more worth knowing by name. At stations and airports, fake ticket agents sell confirmed train or bus tickets that turn out invalid, which is why you book trains only through IRCTC or apps like MakeMyTrip and RedBus. Prepaid-taxi quotes are inflated for foreigners, so use the official prepaid booths or Uber and Ola where they run. The gem scam is the costliest: a friendly local steers you to a shop where you buy stones to resell at a profit back home, and the stones are near worthless.
The through-line is simple. Anyone who approaches you unprompted near a transport hub, especially someone steering you toward a specific shop, hotel, or agent, is usually working a commission. Book transport and rooms yourself before you arrive, keep your passport in your own hands, and treat unsolicited help around stations as a sales pitch rather than kindness. That one rule blocks the costly versions before they start.
Backpacking India FAQ
How much does backpacking India cost?
Around $25-40/day, making it one of the world’s cheapest trips.
How long should I backpack India?
Three to six weeks to pair the north’s monuments with the south’s coast.
Frequently asked questions
Best India backpacker route?
Daily India backpacker budget?
India visa for backpackers?
India transport for backpackers?
Best India backpacker hostel?
Updated 2026. Some links on Packzup are affiliate links.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.