Foothills of the Himalaya — Self-Launched

Land at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Take the Airport Express Metro (approx £2) to New Delhi station, or a prepaid taxi (approx £4-5) if you arrive late. Check into a budget hotel/guesthouse in Paharganj or near the New Delhi station — the Broadway-area equivalents here start around £14-18 for a simple private room. Spend the evening acclimatising: a wander down Main Bazaar for street chai and parathas, then if energy allows a rickshaw ride to Connaught Place. Book onward train tickets this evening if you haven't already (IRCTC app or 12Go Asia, with the tourist quota at New Delhi station as a fallback).

🚌Airport Express Metro to New Delhi station ~£2

🛏Budget guesthouse in Paharganj, Delhi (~£16)

• →Airport transfer by metro/taxi
• →Evening stroll of Main Bazaar
• →Street food dinner

Catch one of the early-morning trains from New Delhi to Haridwar (approx 4h45m; Jan Shatabdi/Shatabdi from ~£4-6 booked online, or a sleeper class even cheaper). From Haridwar station, walk to Har Ki Pauri ghat and take lunch at a local dhaba — the pilgrim sit-down thali lunches at the ashrams near the ghat are a great, cheap authentic option. Afterwards, hop a shared auto or bus (approx £1-2, 1hr) into Rishikesh, itself criss-crossed by cheap shared autos. Check into a riverside guesthouse near Laxman Jhula or Tapovan (~£10-14/night). Light dinner on the Ganga.

🚌Train Delhi→Haridwar ~£5; shared auto/bus Haridwar→Rishikesh ~£2

🛏Riverside guesthouse, Rishikesh (~£12)

• →Har Ki Pauri ghat walk
• →Shared auto transfer into Rishikesh

Walk the classic route between the two suspension bridges — Laxman Jhula up to Ram Jhula — on foot, crossing by the local foot bridges. Then visit the ruins of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram (the Beatles Ashram) at Rajaji National Park edge; entry is roughly £4 and you can spend an hour amid the crumbling meditation domes and street-art murals. Afternoon: cross to the eastern bank for Swarg Ashram — a peaceful complex of ashrams and temples — and, if you're up for it, drop into a drop-in yoga class in Tapovan (many studios offer £4-6 drop-in sessions). Finish the day at the evening Ganga aarti at Shatrugan Ghat or Parmarth Niketan as dusk falls.

🚌Walking / shared auto within Rishikesh ~£2

🛏Riverside guesthouse, Rishikesh (~£12)

• →Beatles Ashram entry ~£4
• →Drop-in yoga class ~£5
• →Evening Ganga aarti (free)

The classic Himalayan drive day: Rishikesh to Shimla (~8-9h). Options are a hired shared taxi/private cab (approx £35-45 if split, or £50+ for a solo cab) or the cheaper combination of a bus from Rishikesh/Dehradun to Chandigarh plus a second bus or toy-train segment on to Shimla. If you go by road, break the journey at the Gurudwara Paonta Sahib — the serene riverside Sikh temple where Guru Gobind Singh is said to have written the Dasam Granth — and stop for a langar (free community meal) or a Pahari lunch at a women's-cooperative café at Sarahan. Roll into Shimla in the evening and crash in a guesthouse near the Ridge (~£14-20).

🚌Shared taxi/bus combo Rishikesh→Shimla ~£25

🛏Guesthouse in Shimla near the Ridge (~£16)

• →Gurudwara Paonta Sahib visit
• →Local cooperative lunch stop

Make this the nostalgic day. Ride the UNESCO-listed Kalka–Shimla Mountain Railway ('toy train') for a short scenic hop — Shimla to Summer Hill or Tara Devi is the cheapest taste (tickets from ~£1-2 in a general class carriage; booking a window seat on a longer segment like Shimla–Solan runs a few pounds). Back in town, walk to the Viceregal Lodge (Indian Institute of Advanced Study) — guided entry tickets around £3 — and see the wonderfully preserved colonial woodwork. Round out the afternoon with the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple (a short auto ride, free entry) and, if you like, the small art stop at a local artists' gallery near the pine slopes.

🚌Toy train ticket ~£2; shared autos ~£3

🛏Guesthouse in Shimla near the Ridge (~£16)

• →Kalka–Shimla toy train ride ~£2
• →Viceregal Lodge entry ~£3
• →Sankat Mochan Temple (free)

Start with a self-guided nature walk into the Shimla Glen — the dense deodar, oak and pine forest above town; several well-marked forest trails leave from near the Ridge and are free to access. Late morning, dive into the Lower Bazaar and Lakkar Bazaar, the hillside lanes packed with traders, woollens and dried fruit, and stroll the main Mall Road to Scandal Point. Pop into the historic Gaiety Theatre (small entry fee, sometimes free) or the neo-gothic Christ Church, and grab a coffee with a view of the snow-dusted Himalayan peaks if the sky is clear. Afternoon free for a bookshop or café.

🚌Walking; occasional shared auto ~£3

🛏Guesthouse in Shimla near the Ridge (~£16)

• →Shimla Glen forest walk (free)
• →Gaiety Theatre visit ~£1
• →Mall Road & Christ Church (free)

A scenic transfer day (7-8h) from Shimla down to Palampur in the Kangra Valley. Take a shared taxi (approx £20-25 if split) or the combination of a local bus toward Kangra with a change, which brings the cost down to around £10-15. Palampur is surrounded by tea estates, pine forests and old temples, with the snowy Dhauladhar range dominating the view. Check into a homestay or guesthouse among the tea gardens (~£15-22/night). Late afternoon: walk out among the tea bushes for the sunset light on the peaks.

🚌Shared taxi or connecting bus Shimla→Palampur ~£18

🛏Tea-estate homestay/guesthouse, Palampur (~£18)

• →Tea-garden sunset walk
• →Kangra Valley viewpoints

Take a local bus or shared taxi (~£3-4, 1hr) from Palampur over the ridge to McLeod Ganj/Dharamsala. Visit the Gyuto Tantric Monastery (famous for its deep overtone chanting), then the Norbulingka Institute, the beautifully landscaped Tibetan arts campus and workshop (small entry ~£2). Continue to the Tibetan Museum and the Namgyal Monastery / Dalai Lama Temple Complex (free entry, respectful dress and quiet required). Late afternoon, choose between a short hike or shared taxi out to Naddi village for forest-wrapped lanes and close-up Dhauladhar views. Bus back to Palampur in the evening.

🚌Local bus to Dharamsala ~£3 each way

🛏Tea-estate homestay/guesthouse, Palampur (~£18)

• →Gyuto Monastery (free)
• →Norbulingka Institute ~£2
• →Tibetan Museum ~£2
• →Namgyal Monastery (free)
• →Naddi village walk

A self-designed rest day in the Himalayan foothills. Book any of these directly at your homestay or with local guides in walking distance: a village walk through the tea workers' communities, a birdwatching walk along the valley streams, a half-day pottery or Kangra-painting/handloom weaving workshop (approx £8-15), an authentic Himachali cooking session in a family kitchen (approx £10-15), or a drop-in yoga class in Palampur. Otherwise, do nothing but read on a terrace and watch the Dhauladhar light shift. Lunch and dinner at the homestay is cheap and superb.

🚌On foot / local auto within town ~£2

🛏Tea-estate homestay/guesthouse, Palampur (~£18)

• →Optional village walk, weaving or cooking workshop ~£12
• →Drop-in yoga class ~£4

Travel day (approx 6h) from Palampur to Amritsar by local bus (change at Kangra or Pathankot) or by a shared taxi, roughly £8-12. In Amritsar, check into a guesthouse or budget hotel in the old city near the Golden Temple (~£15-20), which puts the temple within walking distance for the whole stay. Late afternoon, join a Punjabi village experience — the rural villages around Amritsar run farm and tractor tours with a sunset over the fields (bookable through local operators or your guesthouse, usually around £12-18) — and share dinner with the family.

🚌Bus Palampur→Amritsar ~£10

🛏Budget hotel in old Amritsar (~£17)

• →Punjabi village farm and tractor tour ~£15

Start at Jallianwala Bagh memorial park (free entry), the moving site of the 1919 massacre, right by the Golden Temple. Then spend unhurried time at the Golden Temple itself (free entry — dress modestly, cover your head, remove shoes): cross the marble causeway over the sacred tank, see the Guru Granth Sahib, and volunteer or just watch in the vast community kitchen (langar) that feeds up to 100,000 people daily. Lunch free or near-free at the langar hall — a genuine and unforgettable experience. Later, take a shared auto or taxi to Ram Tirath Temple (about 30 min out of town) and, if timing works, return to the Golden Temple around 9pm for the daily Palki Sahib ceremony as the holy book is carried to its night sanctum.

🚌Walking and shared auto ~£3

🛏Budget hotel in old Amritsar (~£17)

• →Jallianwala Bagh (free)
• →Golden Temple & langar (free)
• →Ram Tirath Temple ~£3 transport

Morning at the Golden Temple for the dawn opening ceremony if you didn't make the night one, then board the Vande Bharat Express from Amritsar to New Delhi (approx 6h; AC chair car tickets from around £10-14 booked on IRCTC/12Go). It's a comfortable modern train with meals available on board. Arrive Delhi by evening and check back into a Paharganj guesthouse (~£16). Last-night dinner — Mughlai food in Old Delhi or a rooftop in Connaught Place.

🚌Vande Bharat Express Amritsar→Delhi ~£12

🛏Budget guesthouse in Paharganj, Delhi (~£16)

• →Golden Temple dawn ceremony (free)
• →Old Delhi evening wander

Depending on your flight time, spend the morning on a final dose of Delhi: the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk (metro to Lal Qila, entry ~£6 for the fort, the bazaar is free), or Humayun's Tomb. Then take the Airport Express Metro (approx £2) or a prepaid taxi out to IGI Airport for your onward flight. If your departure is early, arrange a late checkout or left-luggage with your guesthouse the night before.

🚌Airport Express Metro to IGI ~£2

🛏None (departure day)

• →Optional Red Fort & Chandni Chowk morning ~£6