Biking in India is a yearlong affair, but there’s a special joy in breaking a sweat on one of the many Winter Cycling Tours of India compiled by us.
Ever since the lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic began to ease and ever since the caseload of infections in India started the downward slide, we at Cycling in India have been putting our heads together to innovate and improvise our regular biking tours to make them Covid-safe. To that end, we have altered the itineraries, changed the routes, and adopted strict safety protocols. We have singled out the India biking trails that cut through the least crowded parts. The hotels and restaurants are chosen after careful inspection by our tour leaders. The bikes are sanitized regularly and the group is spread out on the road to maintain social distancing.
Our aim is to give you a hassle-free Covid-Safe cycling holiday in India, targeting particularly the areas that make for excellent biking hotspots in the winter season.
These winter cycling destinations of India are found mostly in the west and south of the country, namely the states of Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
Rajasthan, particularly, is an excellent destination for a biking adventure. Its landscape varies from the Aravalli Hills and scrubby forests to arid plains and desert sands. Its weather is pleasant in the winters, with chilly mornings and nights flanking the moderately cold days. Our Covid-safe Cycling Tour of Rajasthan targets the biking trails in popular tourist hotspots as well as far-flung areas of the state.
Without ever going easy on the social distancing norms, we aim to bike to the famous Rajasthani cities of Udaipur, Jaipur and Jodhpur, where, besides cycling, you get to experience the rich royal heritage of Rajasthan. Old forts, palaces, gardens and museums are the biggest attractions here and we may visit some depending upon how safe they are from the social distancing point of view.
Udaipur, the city of lakes, is where our Rajasthan cycling tour kicks off. Even if we skip visiting the famous City Palace and other tourist landmarks of Udaipur for reasons of safety, the tour of the lakes aptly makes up for it. Biking buffs itching to hit the road have the option of cycling to the hilltop Monsoon Palace (elevation 944 meters) on the outskirts of Udaipur. Those wishing to take it easy can just do short bike rides around Udaipur before the long journey to Kumbhalgarh begins the morning after.
Kumbhalgarh is a hilltop fort situated 84 km north of Udaipur. The ride to it cuts through small towns of Rajasthan and the last stretch of the journey is a 15-km long uphill slog, steep enough to test your pedal power. If you don’t feel like pushing yourself, you are always welcome to hop into our spacious cab. The following day’s journey to the town of Ranakpur is easier and it concludes with a visit to the Ranakpur Jain Temple, which is a work of art and architecture, what with its exquisite marble carvings on pillars, walls, ceilings, apses and friezes. Ranakpur onwards, our Rajasthan biking adventure moves into the rural country. Over the course of three days, we visit the villages of Korta, Bhenswara and Bhadrajun to experience the rural life and meet (at a distance) the camel herders, farmers, and folk artists who inhabit these hamlets.
Popular Rajasthani cities of Jodhpur and Jaipur are the next pit-stops in our Rajasthan cycling holiday. They have many tourist attractions, but we will drop by only the ones that are safe to visit. The final leg of the trip takes us first to Ranthambore for a tiger safari in Ranthambore National Park and then to Agra in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh for a sightseeing tour of Taj Mahal, one of the seven modern wonders of the world.
Equally adventurous and perhaps with more of cultural exposure is our package of South India biking tours, covering the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka, with its famous Mysore Palace and the island town of Srirangapatna gives you the culture fix. A biking excursion into Bandipur National Park kindles the nature lover inside you. And the ride up to the hill station of Ooty (altitude 2177 meters) tests your endurance and biking mettle. Ooty is one of the most popular tourist hotspots of South India. It lies in the region of Nilgiri Hills where the three states meet. To the north is Karnakata and to the west is Kerala, where our Covid-Safe South India Cycling Tour next heads.
Kerala, famously called God’s Own Country, is a land of beautiful landscapes comprising of lush green tea estates, spice plantations, coconut groves, the Western Ghats hills, lowland forests, stunning coastlines, pristine beaches, and breath-taking backwaters. It is also home of ancient temples, churches and heritage towns. We visit the Guruvayur temple, which is dedicated to Lord Krishna, and the Palayur Church, which is said to have been established in 52 AD by none other than St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Our cultural biking tour of Kerala hits a peak at Fort Kochi, a heritage town full of Dutch, Portuguese and British art and architectural influences from the colonial times. Here, we visit a 16th century church that had the remains of Vasco Da Gama, the Portuguese explorer who first found the sea passage to India. We visit the Jewish Synagogue, the Jain Temple, the Dutch cemetery and the Chinese fishing nets on the coast.
The final leg of our Covid-Safe South India cycling adventure takes us to the famed Keralan backwaters of Alleppey, where we check into a houseboat and even go for a boat ride. We wrap up the biking tour on the following day at Marari Beach, which was rated as one of the world’s top five Hammock Beaches by National Geographic.
Besides these elaborate trips, our Winter Cycling Tours of India also give you the option of choosing shorter tours that are targeted at particular areas in the West and South of India. For example, our Rural Rajasthan Cycling Tour takes you to the remote villages of Rajasthan. Our Kerala biking holiday includes the jaunt to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary.
We are also open to customizing any of our India Biking Tours for your convenience in these covid times.
In short, if you are willing to return to adventure, we are game.
