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January 13, 20265 Amazing Benefits of Slow Travelling in India
What is Slow Travel?
Does it mean to reduce your speed? Does it mean to book less vacations in a year?
Well, to put it in simple words: Slow Travel is about travelling with intention, exploring destinations at a comfortable pace through authentic immersive experiences, and meaningfully connecting with the local communities of a region. It is the exact opposite of a fixed, rushed itinerary, hopping through a checklist featuring overexposed and crowded tourist spots.
Being a slow traveller for a long time and having crafted journeys for international travellers for 2+ years, my guests and I have experienced innumerable benefits of slow travel in India, but here are five of them, I resonate with the most
1) Discover an untold side of India at Offbeat Destinations.
Offbeat destinations are lesser-known regions beyond typical tourist circuits, often missed out even in travel guidebooks and popular media. They are not included in the common cookie-cutter itineraries of most travel companies. Slow travel allows you the time to explore a region in depth, through its villages, plantations, farms, and mountains. It lets you immerse in its culture, savor its cuisine and connect with people, steering clear of typical sightseeing and social media trends at a comfortable slow pace.
2) Foster Meaningful Connections through Cultural Immersion
When you’re not in a rush, you take your time to build equations with people that surpass the initial judgments or unconscious biases. Slow Travel in India lets you explore the diverse country through authentic cultural immersion, homestay experiences, and unscripted interactions with local people. It is through such heart-to-heart conversations and participation in real experiences like cooking a meal with a family or celebrating a small regional festival with the community that meaningful connections are fostered.
3) Support Local and Indigenous Communities
When you ditch a fancy hotel at a popular tourist destination and choose to stay at a cozy homestay in the mountains of Kumaon or coffee plantations of Wayanad or amidst the tea gardens of Assam, your money goes straight to a family instead of a major global corporation. Your vacation supports local communities in preserving their generational home intact. As a traveller, the service you receive is also personal and from the heart, beyond the typical corporate-like hospitality guidelines. Slow travel with Unfollow gives you a real and authentic ‘slice of life’ in India, while supporting the local communities of the region.
4) Reduce Travel Fatigue and Nourish Better Health
Travelling to a foreign country across time zones is often tiring, adding on factors such as weather differences, food & flavour options, and the overall vibe of a new place. While travel is meant to be relaxing, filled with often ‘once in a lifetime’ memories, you are instead bombarded with the same typical cookie-cutter itineraries. But slow travel is the antithesis to it as it allows you to take a breather, immerse yourself in a region, and dwell in the surroundings peacefully, away from a rushed schedule. It lets your body and mind naturally slow down, sit, talk, listen, and engage in a different perspective, as you spend more time in a chosen region and have a more immersive experience in the place with its local people.
5) Reduce Waste and Environmental Impact
Slow travel alone cannot combat the global climate issue, but it’s a step in the right direction. When you spend more time in one location and eat and stay local, you are doing your bit in reducing carbon footprint and waste production, and it truly deserves a small pat on your back! Many communities in India have inherited ways of sustainable living that often do not get the limelight it deserves. You’ll also be surprised to see plastic-free initiatives, solar-powered homes, organic farming, and optimum use of natural resources in many offbeat locations of India while travelling with Unfollow.
Slow Travel: The Need of the Hour in a Fast-Paced World
The Beatles said, “Love is all you need”, and looking at the current worldscape around us, it’s the need of the hour. In the words of one of our travellers, Mette Baker from Canada, “Our extremely kind host in Vagamon, Matthew, drove up from Kochi to make sure we got to see and do everything we possibly wanted.” Warm gestures like these with fellow humans are what make a vacation truly memorable beyond a regular hospitality guidebook. Beyond sightseeing, it’s the human connection that lives with us after a trip ends, giving and receiving love in the purest form.
At Unfollow Travel, I craft customized slow travel itineraries for you to experience the untold side of India, best suitable as per your individual style through.
Things You’ll Want to Know
1) How to Slow Travel in India?
Slow Travel is the best way to experience India. It is a large, diverse country with varied landscapes, cuisine, and cultures, and cannot be experienced by hopping from one place to another. The real India wants you to slow down, sit, talk, listen, and engage in a different perspective, as you spend more time in a chosen region and have a more immersive experience in the place with its local people.
2) How long should a slow travel itinerary be in India?
You can go as slow as you need! Ideally, I suggest a minimum of two weeks to explore a region to its fullest. For more regions, a minimum of three weeks is ideal.
Usually, our travellers from Europe and the UK prefer a 2-week region-specific trip. 3-4 weeks for an immersive monthly vacation is loved by travellers from Australia.
3) Is Slow Travel more expensive than regular tours?
No. Slow Travel is not expensive. At Unfollow Travel, we work as per our guests’ budget. We tailor the itineraries accordingly, by choosing accommodations and including experiences that suit your budget.
4) When is the best time for UK / European / Canadian / Australian travellers to visit India?
The usual inbound travel season in India is October – March. You can travel anytime within these months. However, one can also opt for the monsoon season, which is offbeat and one of a kind. You can experience surreal road trips in Maharashtra during this time.
5) Which regions in India are best for Slow travel?
India has a lot to offer beyond the Golden Triangle. You can slow travel anywhere across India, but here are some of mine and our travellers’ favourites:
- Uttarakhand & Himachal for the Himalayas in North India
- Gujarat & Maharashtra for Sahyadris and village life in West India
- Assam and Meghalaya for tribal culture in North-East India
- Wayanad, Vagamon, Coonoor for Nilgiris and coffee plantations in South India
Exploring Maharashtra in monsoons is also a unique offbeat experience.
6) Is India safe for solo travellers?
We work with solo travellers and accompany them on the tour too. India is perfect for a solo traveller, especially the North Indian regions of Himachal and Uttarakhand.
7) Will there be a tour guide accompanying us?
Yes! With Unfollow Travel, a dedicated journey host will be accompanying you and will take care of every end-to-end detail of the tour so that you can relax and focus on enjoying the experience.
8) Will I get help with my visa and other procedures?
Yes.
9) What are the inclusions and exclusions?
You’ll receive these in the product docket once you get in touch.
10) What’s the procedure to book a trip with Unfollow Travel?
At Unfollow Travel, I provide a wholly tailor-made itinerary for you to explore India at your own slow pace.
- Fill out our short 2-minute form with 5 quick questions.
- I’ll get on a 1-1 call with you to understand your interests, travel style and preferences.
- I’ll curate the trip entirely customized for you, around the kind of India you are seeking, adding selective delightful new experiences.
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