Rishikesh in Winter: What Stays Open

Visibility and crowds. The haze that sits over the valley through much of the year clears, which matters for the zipline, the swing, the balloon flight and any viewpoint. The rafts are not queuing, the cafes have tables and the ghats are calm.

Prices are softer too, outside the Christmas and New Year week, which is the one genuinely busy stretch of the winter and should be booked well ahead.

For rafting, a wetsuit if one is offered, otherwise quick-dry synthetics rather than cotton, and a full change of warm clothes waiting at the office. The cold hits after you get out, not during.

Off the water, layers. Mornings and evenings are genuinely cold by the river and afternoons are mild, and the difference between the two is larger than visitors expect.

Cliff jumping and body surfing are optional in any season and are a much bigger ask in January. Plenty of people still do both; plenty more do the raft and skip them, which is entirely reasonable and nobody will comment.

If a January visit is mainly about being in the water rather than on it, the season is working against you and it is worth moving the dates to October or March.