Thanks to COVID-19, the last two calendar years, academic years and financial years, have all gone for a toss. With the world slowly limping back to normalcy, the travel industry is one of the worst-hit and probably the last ones to recover. Due to government restrictions on people gathering, the year-end festivities will be subdued this time. We at pathfndr.io have put across a convenient long-weekend travel calendar for 2022. Perhaps we all might travel with a vengeance to make up for the travel restrictions of the last 2 years.
Here’s the list of 15 long weekends, our pick of lesser crowded destinations, the beautiful wildlife sanctuaries across India, keeping in mind social distancing and an opportunity to spend quality time with your family and friends. More than 50% of these are world heritage sites declared by UNESCO.
January 2022
1) Pongal & Makar Sankranti
Thursday, 13 January – Pongal
Friday, 14 January – Makar Sankranti
Saturday, 15 January
Sunday, 16 January
Our Pick – Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand
Famous for – Leopards, samba deer and the Bengal tiger
2) Republic Day
Wednesday, 26 January – Republic Day
Thursday, 27 January – Take the day off
Friday, 28 January – Take the day off
Saturday, 29 January
Sunday, 30 January
Our Pick – Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam
Famous for – Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur and pygmy hog
World Heritage Site by UNESCO
Feburary 2022
3) Mahashivratri
Saturday, 26 February
Sunday, 27 February
Monday, 28 February – Take the day off
Tuesday, 1 March – Mahashivratri
Our Pick – Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat
Famous for – Asiatic lion
March 2022
4) Holi
Friday, 18 March, – Holi
Saturday, 19 March
Sunday, 20 March
Our Pick – The Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh
Famous for – Musk deer and the western horned tragopan
April 2022
5) Easter Weekend
Thursday, 14 April – Mahavir Jayanti/ Vaisakhi/Dr Ambekar Jayanti
Friday, 15 April – Good Friday
Saturday, 16 April
Sunday, 17 April
Our Pick – Khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim
Famous for – Musk deer, dhole, snow leopard and Himalayan tahr
World Heritage Site by UNESCO
May 2022
6) Eid-ul-Fitr
Saturday, 30 April
Sunday, 1 May
Monday, 2 May – Take the day off
Tuesday, 3 May – Eid-ul-Fitr
Our Pick – Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area, Himachal Pradesh
Famous for – Blue sheep, snow leopard, Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan tahr, and musk deer.
World Heritage Site by UNESCO
7) Buddha Purnima
Saturday, 14 May
Sunday, 15 May
Monday, 16 May – Buddha Purnima
Our Pick – Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh
Famous for – Tigers
August 2022
8) Independence Day
Thursday, 11 August – Rakshabandhan
Friday, 12 August – Take the day off
Saturday, 13 August
Sunday, 14 August
Monday, 15 August – Independence Day
Tuesday, 16 August – Parsi New Year
Our Pick – Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan
Famous for – Tigers
September 2022
9) Ganesh Chaturthi
Wednesday, 31 August – Ganesh Chaturthi
Thursday, 1 September – take the day off
Friday, 2 September – take the day off
Saturday, 3 September
Sunday, 4 September
Our Pick – Nanda Devi and valley of flowers national parks, Uttarakhand
Famous for – Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep
World Heritage Site by UNESCO
10) Onam
Thursday, 8 September – Onam
Friday, 9 September – take the day off
Saturday, 10 September
Sunday, 11 September
Our Pick – Sundarbans National Park, West Bengal
Famous for – Royal Bengal tigers
World Heritage Site by UNESCO
October 2021
11) Dussehra
Saturday, 1 October
Sunday, 2 October – Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti
Monday, 3 October – Maha Ashtami
Tuesday, 4 October – Maha Navami – Maha Navami
Wednesday, 5 October – Dussehra
Our Pick – Hemis National Park, Jammu And Kashmir
Famous for – Snow leopards
12) Diwali
Saturday, 22 October
Sunday, 23 October
Monday, 24 October – Diwali
Our Pick – Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala (Western Ghats)
Famous for – Asian elephant and white tigers
World Heritage Site by UNESCO
November 2022
13) Dussehra
Saturday, 5 November
Sunday, 6 November
Monday, 7 November – Take the day off
Tuesday, 8 November – Guru Nanak Jayanti
Our Pick – Nagarahole National Park, Karnataka
Famous for – Elephants, tigers and Indian bisons
December 2022
14) Christmas
Saturday, 24 December
Sunday, 25 December – Christmas
Monday, 26 December – Take the day off
Our Pick – Kaziranga National Park, Assam
Famous for – one-horned rhinoceroses
World Heritage Site by UNESCO
15) New Year
Friday, 30 December – Take the day off
Saturday, 31 December
Sunday, 1 January 2023 – New Year’s Day
Our Pick – Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan
Famous for – Siberian crane
World Heritage Site by UNESCO
The best time to visit each wildlife sanctuary may slightly vary according to the climate and migration pattern of birds and animals. Nevertheless, sightings depend on one’s luck. Sighting is a bonus for the trip, what matters is the journey itself, which opens up our minds and soothes our souls.
Almost in all locations, we provide hotels/resort/jungle lodges and also chauffeur-driven cabs for your convenience, so go ahead and plan a trip for your clients with ease and speed.
Pathfndr Plans are designed for Travel Advisors of all sizes. Choose a plan, pay and have your site set up in no time!
As a wise person once said – “Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you”
Pathfndr 