The ‘Walks in India’ series, which was running through the month of June is now complete. The series has featured fifteen walking tours from all corners of the country, and has covered a great variety, such as walking among ancient ruins, tropical forest, sand dunes, snow, beach, plains and cities. Here is the complete list.

* Introduction
* Old Delhi
* Rishikesh
* Varanasi
* Jaipur
* Shimla
* Auli, Uttarakhand
* Khuri Village, Rajasthan
* Pondicherry
* Gokarna, Karnataka
* Hampi
* Along
* Orchha
* Thekkady
* Pushkar
* Mumbai

A lot of work has gone into compiling these walks, and it was all possible, thanks to help from many friends and fellow bloggers who contributed in many ways to complete it. I received considerable help to promote the walks and spread the word and also to select, design and fine tune a few walks.

It was tempting to go on and add more – there are many more places that are great for walking and it did not feel too good not to have them in the series. Shekhawati, Melukote, Kolkata, Wayanad, just to name a few. But then, I had to stop somewhere.

At the end of it, I do hope that it has been a useful exercise, and people heading to any of the destinations covered would find the information here useful, and perform these walks. Do leave a comment if you happen to take any of the featured walks, and if you found the maps and description useful, and also if you happen to find missing or incorrect information here.

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Place: Mumbai

Highlights: Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Beach

Season: July to September, to get a feel of the monsoons in Mumbai. Also in December – January, when it is not very hot.

Time of the day: Evening – 4pm to 7pm

Distance: Approximately 5kms

Difficulty: Easy

Map. This is an interactive map of the walk. Zoom in to get a closer look. Click on the blue markers to identify of each location.

View Walks in India – Bombay in a larger map

Places to See and walking map of Marine Drive, Mumbai

The Walk.
With photographs from Poonam.

Mumbai’s walk is predictably along it’s sea shore. It is the most celebrated walk in the nation, adored by Bollywood, and the city’s rich and poor alike.

The number of sightseeing places along the walk are many – Prince of Wales Museum, National Gallery of Modern Art, Knesseth Eliyahod Synagogue, Taraporewala Aquarium – just to name a few. But the walk along marine drive is best done as a leisurely stroll without worrying about any sightseeing, and watching the life in the city.

Start from Gateway of India, one of the most well known monuments in the country. Take Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Marg to Regal Circle, and continue further on Madame Cama Road till you reach Marine drive or Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road. Take the long promenade of Marine Drive towards north, and get to Girgaum Chowpatty Beach.

Walk along the sandy shore at Girgaum Chowpatty and spend time here till dark. The walk ends at Chowpatty.

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Place: Pushkar

Highlights: Lakeside walk, Holy Ghats, Brahma Temple, Rangji Temple

Season: October to March, when it is not hot.

Time of the day: Evening – 3.30pm to 7pm

Distance: Approximately 3kms

Difficulty: Easy

Map. This is an interactive map of the walk. Zoom in to get a closer look. Click on the blue markers to identify of each location.

View Walks in India – Pushkar in a larger map

Places to see and walking map of Pushkar
The Walk.

Start from Rangji Temple near the North-East corner of the lake. This is a quiet and relatively less visited temple, but has beautiful Gopuras that are worth a visit.

From here, walk towards the lake, get down the steps and into the ghats at the north-east corner. You can see long ghats on either side of you which have steps leading into the lake, and many temples along the walls. You can watch people taking ritual bath, helped by priests or hire a priest yourself. Often you can see hundreds of pigeons along the ghats. If you wish to, buy grains on the ghats and feed the pigeons.

Spend leisurely time on the ghats, get back to the road and walk west. The road is full of shops servicing backpackers, selling colorful cloths, trinkets, restaurants serving international cuisine, internet cafes, etc. Walk on this road till you hit Brahma Temple, and get into the temple. This is said to be the only temple dedicated to Brahma in the world, since Brahma is usually not worshiped in temple. Walk along the narrow lanes around the temple, where you can discovering people preparing local delicacies in small restaurants. Stop for a sugary Malpua or an Aloo Tikki if you are up to it.

Continue circumambulating the lake. As you go further, you will see some open spaces and better views of the lake. You also cross a bridge, where it is required to remove your footwear and walk. There are many cafes along the walk where you can stop for coffee or snacks. All through the walk, you will also see small temples which you can explore.

The walk ends when you complete the circle and return to where you started.

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Place: Periyar Tiger Reserve

Highlights: Forest Walks, possible sightings from anything mundane to even the big cat, boat ride at the end of the walk.

Season: October to May, when it is not raining.

Time of the day: Morning – 6.30am to 8am

Distance: Approximately 3kms

Difficulty: Easy

Map. This is an interactive map of the walk. Zoom in to get a closer look. The walk begins near the intersection of four roads in the map and ends at the boat jetty.

The Walk.

Photos by Himanshu Sarpotdar and diametrik

Start from the gates of Periyar Tiger Reserve at Kumily. You need to pay a small entry fee to get in. Thick jungle begins the moment you enter through the gate.

It is almost an hour’s walk from the gate to Thekkady, where all the tourist facilities of the reserve are located. Stroll slowly in the thick forest that surrounds you. Occasionally, you will get teasing glimpses of the big lake in the reserve, but not a full view till you reach Thekkady.

What you can sight on the way completely depends on your luck. It could be some interesting birds like White Bellied Treepie or Malabar Grey Hornbill, or some mammals like Wild Boars and Sambar deer. Lucky ones might even spot the tiger, but since you are on foot, you might be better off giving the big cat a miss.

Once you reach the place where all the tourist facilities are, you can have breakfast in the restaurant, take a boat ride, or sign up for jungle walks. You can hire a rickshaw for your way back, or walk back again if you prefer.

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