Best Known Backpacker Hangouts in India

India’s backpacker centres offer a combination of Western food and cheap backpacker accommodation, surrounded by mountains, beaches or ancient runs. Here homesick travellers can meet other backpackers, eat Western-style food while swapping stories from the road, and recover from the inevitable Indian culture shock.

One of South India’s best backpacker destinations has for years been Hampi in Karnataka. One of the stops on the Goa-Hampi-Gokarna backpacker route, this small village used to be the capital of the 14th century Vijayanagara Kingdom and has miles and miles of ancient ruins and temples to explore. It also offers plenty of cheap backpacker accommodation and dozens of restaurants that serve falafel, pizza and banana pancakes.

South India’s Backpacker Beaches

Gokarna was once a quiet village on the Karnatakan coast south from Goa, but has now surpassed Goa in popularity as a backpacker centre. The four beaches in Gokarna (Kudle, Om, Half-Moon and Paradise) started to attract backpackers when Goa became too busy and too expensive. Gokarna’s beaches are already developing facilities for package tourists too, but there is still a lot of cheap accommodation in bamboo and mud huts, and plenty of beach shacks that serve cheap backpacker food and drinks. Gokarna’s beaches are also quieter than the beaches in Goa.

Mamallapuram on the East Coast, in Tamil Nadu, is another long-time backpacker favourite. The beach is not as nice as the beaches in Gokarna, but there are lots of cheap guesthouses, restaurants, travel agents and souvenirs shops. A dose of culture is provided by the 7th century Shore Temple, one of the oldest temples in South India, and Mamallapuram’s famous stone carvers.

Many backpackers still head to Goa’s beaches, such as Arambol in North Goa, although most Goa beaches have become far too touristy and too expensive for backpackers budgets.

Himachal Pradesh Backpacker Centres

Manali in Himachal Pradesh, in North India, continues to be one of India’s most popular backpacker centres. Surrounded by the Himalayas and full of cheap guesthouses, restaurants and bakeries, Manali has been attracting backpackers from around the world for years.

Manali has now developed into a busy holiday destination and is not that quiet or unexplored anymore, but many backpackers still like the combination of mountain scenery and cosy guesthouses. While the town centre has a lot of hotels and restaurants that cater mainly for Indian tourists, Old Manali is where backpackers meet and stay. And after Manali, many backpackers head to the Tibetan settlements in McLeodGanj and Dharamsala.