Being the 7th largest country by area and the 2nd most populous country in the world, India is vast and diverse. With a cultural history spanning more than 4,500 years, India is notable for its religious diversity, with Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism, and Jainism among the nation’s major religions.
All these numbers (and more on Wikipedia), can be overwhelming and it can be really hard to find out where to start your trip from or what routes or mode of transport to take if you plan on traveling to India.
In this post, I have listed out the top 25 all-time travel books to help you explore India and discover it’s beauty, rituals, culture, history, scenic rail routes, and traditions. So, whether you plan to cover the whole of India or if you intend to travel from one city or state to the other, these popular travel books can be extremely useful for you.
#1. City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi
Author: William Dalrymple
Rating: 4.2 out of 5
#2. The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters
Author: William Dalrymple
Rating: 4.2 out of 5
#3. Banaras City of Light
Author: Diana L. Eck
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
#4. One Life to Ride: A Motorcycle Journey to the High Himalayas
Author: Ajit Harisinghani
Rating: 4.6 out of 5
#5. Coromandel: A Personal History of South India
Author: Charles Allen
Rating: 3.6 out of 5
#6. Following Fish
Author: Samanth Subramanian
Rating: 4.6 out of 5
#7. Wanderings in India and Other Sketches of Life in Hindostan
Author: John Lang
Rating: 4.3 out of 5
#8. Chai, Chai
Author: Bishwanath Ghosh
Rating: 3.7 out of 5
#9. The Land of Moonlit Snows: & Other Real Travel Stories from the Indian Himalaya
Author: Gaurav Punj
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
#10. Chandni Chowk: The Mughal City of Old Delhi
Author: Swapna Liddle
Rating: 4.2 out of 5
#11. India On My Platter
Author: Saransh Goila
Rating: 4 out of 5
#12. Around India in 80 Trains
Author: Monisha Rajesh
Rating: 4 out of 5
#13. Chasing The Monsoon: A Modern Pilgrimage Through India
Author: Alexander Frater
Rating: 4.3 out of 5
#14. The Nanda Devi Affair
Author: Bill Aitken
Rating: 3.7 out of 5
#15. The Travelling Belly: Eating Through India’s By-Lanes
Author: Kalyan Karmakar
Rating: 4.8 out of 5
#16. Butter Chicken In Ludhiana: Travels In Small Town India
Author: Pankaj Mishra
Rating: 3.9 out of 5
#17. If Its Monday It Must Be Madurai: A Conducted Tour of India
Author: Srinath Perur
Rating: 4 out of 5
#18. Holy Cow!: An Indian Adventure
Author: Sarah MacDonald
Rating: 3.4 out of 5
#19. Mother Earth, Sister Seed: Travels through India’s Farmlands
Author: Lathika George
Rating: 5 out of 5
#20. Worth Every Gasp: A Lone Woman’s Journey in the Himalayas…
Author: Anamika Mukherjee
Rating: 4 out of 5
#21. Hot Tea Across India
Author: Rishad Saam Mehta
Rating: 4.1 out of 5
#22. The Land of Flying Lamas & Other Real Travel Stories From the Indian Himalaya
Author: Gaurav Punj
Rating: 4.1 out of 5
#23. A South Indian Journey: The Smile of Murugan
Author: Michael Wood
Rating: 4.3 out of 5
#24. No Full Stops in India
Author: Mark Tully
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
#25. Truck De India: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Hindustan
Author: Rajat Ubhaykar
Rating: 5 out of 5
So, there goes my list of the 25 most popular and best-selling travel books to explore India. How many have you read from the above list or how many are you planning to order? Do let me know in the comments section below.
Lastly, if you loved the above compilation, I am sure you would also love this list of the 286 most popular books on Indian Railways. Do give it a look!
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