Magical India

Planning an LGBTQ trip to India, even for the skilled traveler and journalist I have become, has its challenges. In the past — and even now — there are tour operators and hotels that said they were LGBTQ-friendly but turned out only to be after the pink rupee, falling short on how to handle LGBTQ travelers’ needs once queer travelers are on the tour. Finding India’s queer community and businesses, especially for queer women, is getting easier in India’s most populous cities: New Delhi, the capital, and Mumbai, its financial center. Stepping outside these hubs, finding community continues to be a challenge, because businesses aren’t publicly out for safety and financial reasons.

However, over the last 15 years, India has been opening up to queer Western travelers. Since 2009, some LGBTQ travel companies, both Indian- and foreign-owned, have paved the way by planning legitimate LGBTQ-welcoming packaged trips. In 2020, the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association launched its India Task Force (now the India Initiative), of which I’m a member. The initiative is making headway in opening India to queer travelers. In February, IGLTA hosted its first India LGBTQ travel symposium at LaLiT New Delhi and appointed Keshav Suri, a gay man, the new chair of the India Initiative.

The Indian luxury hotel chain is owned by the

LaLiT Suri Hospitality Group and operated by Suri. Suri was one of the plaintiffs in the case that repealed Section 377. The hotel’s nightclub, Kitty Su, hosts drag shows and gay DJs on specific nights.

“It’s the perfect time to come” to India because the country is opening up to LGBTQ people and offers diverse experiences from culinary to wildlife, wrote Robindro “Robin” Saikhom, the founder of Serene Journeys, one of the Indian gay-owned travel companies, in an email interview. “India has virtually everything the world traveler is looking for, all set in a festive, friendly environment.”

I selected New Zealand-based Out in India to help me plan most of my trip in India. I also booked an Intrepid Travel eight-day Golden Triangle tour that started in New Delhi and traveled to Jaipur, known as the “Pink City,” and the Taj Mahal in Agra. Intrepid Travel launched a women-only tour of India in 2020.

To travel to India, Americans need a visa. I used a service, like Atlys or iVisa, but to save money, skip the additional administrative fee on top of the visa fee and get an e-visa directly from the Indian consulate. This can take 24 to 48 hours.

My girlfriend and I traveled to Mumbai, Pune, and Nashik in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Kochi (also known as Cochin) in the state of Kerala. I traveled on my own to Rajpipla in the state of Gujarat, and then to New Delhi, before joining the tour.

Traveling through India for five weeks was one of the best journeys I’ve ever experienced. I was taken in by the busy streets, the blend of spices that waft into the air from street markets and restaurants, the art and culture, the layers of history, and the friendliness and warmth of its people. I enjoyed meeting many LGTBQ Indians and learning about their fight for LGBTQ rights and their hopes for the future of their movement and country. It was truly an unforgettable adventure.

India has a layered history from centuries of invasions, from the Mughals and the British, and people escaping persecution, such as Jews from Israel and the Parsis from Iran, to the country’s own tribes and the enslavement of Africans. Each community left its mark on the artistry, design, and architecture, both in antiquities and in present-day India. In India’s cities, from the palaces and country clubs of the British Raj to the temples and edifices of the Mughals, art and history were etched in stone and evident in the engineering of each building. It was breathtaking, overwhelming, and thoughtprovoking.

I couldn’t have gone on my first trip to India without seeing the Taj Mahal in Agra. The ivory Mughal mausoleum lives up to its hype from its impressive stance and history. Perched above the Yamuna River, it is stunning at sunset when the marble gets that golden glow captured in thousands of photos, but nothing will ever beat seeing it in real life.

Not as impressive, but close, is the Hawa Mahal (Pink Palace) in Jaipur. It was built of red and pink sandstone in 1799 and is an extension of the Royal City Palace for women of the royal court to enjoy peering out into city life without being seen. There is also the mystical appearance of Jal Mahal (“Water Palace”), settled on top of the water as if it is floating in the middle of Man Sagar Lake;

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