Travelling with elders and children

Pacing, mobility help, medicines and queues

Pilgrimage with parents and grandchildren is one of the joys of family life — and it goes best when the plan is built around them, not the other way round.

• Pace: plan fewer places per day, keep long drives for the morning, and add a rest afternoon every two or three days. Avoid back-to-back night journeys. • Choose the route: prefer shrines reachable by road, or use ponies, palanquins, ropeways or helicopters where officially available. Skip a high trek rather than push someone beyond their strength.

• Mobility help: many large temples and stations offer wheelchairs and battery cars — check with the temple trust or station in advance, and ask at the enquiry counter on arrival. • Seniors' queues: some temples have separate darśana lines or time slots for senior citizens, people with disabilities, or parents with infants. Check the official site for current rules and the documents needed.

• Medicines: carry enough regular medicines for the whole trip plus a few extra days, in your hand luggage, with prescriptions. Add basic first aid, ORS and anything for motion sickness. • Children: an ID card with your phone number in each child's pocket, a fixed meeting point in crowds, and bright clothes. Keep them close at ghāṭs, on boats and in festival crowds. • Food and rest: regular meals, clean water and enough sleep matter more than seeing one more temple.

Fewer places per day · Wheelchairs/battery cars: check · Medicines in hand luggage · ID card in every child's pocket

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