Lonely_Planet_India_-_October_2019

Before winter comes...

As you might know, the LPMI office is in Mumbai, where ‘winter’, as the world knows it, is almost

non-existent. A slight drop in temperature towards the end of the year offers a chance to wear lighter

versions of the sweaters, pullovers and mufflers that the rest of India absolutely needs. As I write this

in sultry September, the snow-drenched image on our cover this month is exhilarating in its promise

of the cold that awaits in other parts of our planet.

Indians have long been cautious about approaching holidays in the snow. We worry that we would

be too cold to enjoy the destination, to explore, to do justice to the weather. That is slowly changing,

as more travellers gear up to take on the whiteness of a wintry world, as European Christmas markets

make their way onto Indian bucket lists, and as snow takes its place on the same lists. The world over,

ski lessons for beginners are becoming part of destinations’ essential offerings; the apres-ski traditions

of wining and dining need no teaching! This issue, Vermont in the USA beckons with a wassailing

tradition that embraces all visitors, and we have nightlife in Barcelona in Spain that will keep you

warm even in the cold. And, if you’d rather escape the winter altogether, Australia in the Southern

Hemisphere is in the throes of full summer. I thoroughly enjoyed eating and drinking my way through

the Margaret River region, and would drop everything to return to the sunshine Down Under if I could.

Uganda, too, seems to offer perpetual summer through the year, and December to February

is the dry season when our ape cousins will be in particularly fine fettle.

As the weather gets cooler, we think it’s the best time to go a-driving acrossIndia.

Enjoy the 10 road-trip ideas put together by Samarpan, who’s joined us from oursistermagazine,

BBC TopGear India. We’re always happy to bring you more ways to explore thi

of ours, andthispetrol-headknowshisroads– so it’s a win-winsituation.As

Dostartplanningyourwintergetaway.Youdeserveit.

Primrose Monteiro-D’Souza, Editor

Follow me on Twitter @PrimroseDSouza

& Instagram @primrosedsouza

editor’s note

THIS MONTH’S COVER

PHOTOGRAPH: MARK READ

Discover a classic American winter

in Vermont, the USA. There’s a lot

more to this snow-shrouded winter

wonderland than meets the eye