Travel Alert: 5 Destinations You Should Skip This September For Safety

(By Govind Gaur)

September has arrived and people are looking at travel options in this pleasant weather. This is the perfect time to travel between heavy monsoons and onset of winter. With a pleasant atmosphere, the landscape is beautiful, festive season is round the corner and many hotels and flights are offering cheaper prices before the festive season starts. 

However, with heavy rains in some parts of India and landslides across the country, people should be vigilant about travelling to certain parts of the country. Some regions become risky due to flooding, landslides, swollen rivers, and poor connectivity. Here are five places which people should avoid travelling during the end of the monsoon season. 

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Cherrapunji:

Cherrapunji can witness continuous and heavy downpours, which can continue for hours or even weeks. This heavy rain can lead to landslides that block or wash away roads, often making things inaccessible. The water levels of local rivers and waterfalls also increase dramatically, leading to flash floods. Driving and trekking can become very risky under such weather conditions as mist and rain can reduce visibility. While, this ‘Rain Capital of India’ is famous for its living root bridges, waterfalls and monsoon weather, it is suggested that one avoids traveling in this kind of weather. 

Himachal Pradesh:

Although known for its peak scenic beauty during monsoons, one should avoid travelling to Himachal Pradesh, across regions such as Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan, Kangra, Chamba. There can be more landslides, cloudbursts and flash floods. There is likely to be more rainfall, above average which can make travel life risking. Places like Kullu, Mandi, Solan have already witnessed fatalities, infrastructure damage, blocked roads. Many areas in the state are already under landslide warning, with roads and local infrastructure compromised. 

Goa:

The city might boast of beautiful beaches, but an orange alert has already been issues for Konkan and Goa. The heavy rainfall, along with strong winds can make monsoon travel in Goa, life threatening at the moment. The beaches are marked with red flags and lifeguards are monitoring the situation. While Goa  might look very attractive for monsoon travel, the waves and string undercurrents can lead to travel risks at this moment. 

Uttarakhand:

People should avoid travelling to the Char Dham; Yamunotri, Gangotri,   Kedarnath, Badrinath. Multiple red and orange alerts have been issued in those areas, there are increased risks of landslides. Over 300 roads across Uttarakhand are blocked due to landslides and debris, severely disrupting mobility. These routes can be highly unstable and life threatening for travellers at this point. 

Mumbai:

Mumbai has already witnessed above the average rainfall during this monsoon season. The traffic comes to a standstill, waterlogged roads increase the risk of road accidents, local trains become unmanageable. The Arabian Sea turns rough, with high tides worsening flooding in coastal areas like Marine Drive, Worli, Versova. Rather than a holiday break, travelling to Mumbai during this time can ruin holiday plans and lead to wastage of the money spent in the travel. 

Govind Gaur is the Founder & CEO of WanderOn.