​Planning a short trip during the Independence Day weekend: 5 destinations to avoid strictly​

Independence Day (15th August) this year falls on Friday, which means a long weekend! Most people must already be searching for the perfect holiday destination to unwind at during this time. Social media is already full of itineraries for travel enthusiasts to make the most out of this weekend.

If you are also planning a getaway during the Independence Day weekend with your friends and family, choose your destination with the utmost care. During this weekend, when everyone is looking to unwind and explore somewhere new, you might end up facing sold-out hotels, expensive flight tickets or hours of traffic if you are going to a common destination.

Here are 5 destinations to avoid strictly this Independence Day weekend:

Manali might seem like the perfect getaway that will guarantee you serenity, closeness to nature, cool weather and even adventure sports for those who want a thrilling weekend. But for the same reasons, Manali becomes extremely crowded during long weekends and tourist seasons.

You will find yourself stuck in traffic trying to get to Manali, as the highways are completely packed with crowds from Delhi and other surrounding areas. It also becomes difficult to find a hotel if you haven’t booked one well in advance. Although some hotels away from the main tourist attractions are available, be ready to pay inflated prices.

Naturally, this means that the popular tourist attractions like cafes and hot springs will come with a long wait and a large crowd. So, if you were looking for a destination where you can chill with your friends without the crowd, Manali might not be the way to go. Instead, go for smaller hill stations and villages in Himachal for the off-beat and relaxing experience you are seeking.

Goa is the first place that comes to most people’s minds when they think of an exciting vacation. You might plan a trip to Goa thinking about the serenity of the beach, exciting music and delicious food to try at the local shack, but things are different during peak seasons in Goa.

While everyone rushes to Goa for the Independence Day weekend, the streets become crowded with the rented cars and scooters of tourists. Goa is notorious for high taxi prices, and the situation only gets worse during popular times to visit. In August, monsoon makes most streets difficult to travel on and beaches become dangerous and restricted.

So, if you were eyeing the Independence Day weekend as the time to go to Goa, reconsider your plans. You might have a better experience towards the later months of the year. Instead, look for other underrated beach destinations in India and head there to unwind and enjoy some delicious food and music.

Ladakh was once a destination reserved only for the daring and adventurous. But easy accessibility has made it a popular tourist destination in the past few years. Unfortunately, in 2025, the Independence Day break coincides with Ladakh’s brief summer season, the only time roads remain reliably open.

As a result, Leh and surrounding circuits such as Pangong Lake, Khardung La and Nubra Valley become extremely crowded. Hotels, homestays, and camps might be booked or available at extremely high prices.

You will also come across long lines at petrol stations, overpacked eateries, and roads. A rush of tourists also harms the local ecosystem of Ladakh and may not give you the pristine experience that you are looking for. Instead, try lesser-known areas like Zanskar and Spiti Valley.

August is an unusual but not entirely offbeat time to visit the jungles of India. Ranthambore, with its fascinating ruins and promise of tiger sightings, is usually a popular tourist spot. However, the National Park’s safari zones may be partially closed due to the monsoon, and the trails that are open are usually overbooked and crowded.

Local guides may also seem rushed because of the high volume of tourists that overpopulate the pristine forests of this area. This makes it more difficult to spot animals and even worsens the air quality of the region. So, if you head to Ranthambore National Park looking for a time amid nature, you might just end up in the middle of lines of jeeps.

Monsoon is not an advisable time to visit national parks and reserves, as this time is set for restoring the ecological balance of these parks. So, it is advisable to visit Ranthambore during the winter months so that you can enjoy nature with clear skies and better animal sightings.

This might come as a surprise, but going to Delhi to witness the flag hoisting at Red Fort might be overcome with a large crowd, soaring hotel prices, security barriers at major tourist destinations and traffic jams all over the city. Delhi has also experienced high rainfall and waterlogging this monsoon, which makes commuting even more difficult.

So, if you were planning to go to Delhi this weekend, consider postponing your trip by a month or two. As the rain settles in Delhi in September and October, you can enjoy the city without barriers and in all its majesty.

Don’t let this discourage you from planning a relaxing trip for the Independence Day weekend. Instead of popular destinations that are everyone’s go-to, look for places that are off-beat and lesser known. Not only will you beat long lines, crowds, traffic and overpriced food and stay, you might just stumble across a place that you’ll fall in love with and revisit often.