Travel Stories
For The National Abu Dhabi on the Indian Monsoon
Why the monsoon makes Indians mad with joy.
Whitewater Rafting Story for The National Abu Dhabi
Take Me to the River I am standing at the edge of the Nantahala River within the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina. Beside me, clutching my hand tightly, is my eight-year-old daughter, Malu. It [...]
For Destinasian on India
Mountain Magic: Chimagalur: Destinasian: August 2009 I am hiking up the lush Baba Budan Hills of Karnataka, carrying little more than a flask of freshly brewed coffee. It’s a bright February morning and the temperature [...]
For Destinasian Magazine on Coonoor India
A Higher Calling The cool Blue Mountains of Tamil Nadu may not be as sedate as they were a generation ago, but they’re still a very special place, as one returning devotee discovers By Shoba [...]
For The National in Abu Dhabi on sport fishing
The lure of sport fishing A man struggles under the weight of a mahseer caught in Karnataka. Courtesy Jungle Lodges & Resorts Ltd by Shoba Narayan Last Updated: June 18. 2009 5:35PM UAE / June [...]
For Washington Post on Indian Safaris
The wildlife you see on safari in North India
Goa | Condenast Traveler US |
Once a hippie haven where even India's tightly chaperoned teens could turn on, tune in, and drop out, Goa has lately gone upscale. Living in a trading port for the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Europeans meant that Goans were forced to interact with the outside world far earlier than the average Indian. This has made them friendly but not overly curious about foreigners.
Scuba Diving Lakshadweep | Condenast Traveler US |
I don't want to write about this place. Few people know of it; fewer still visit. Perhaps that's the way it should be. In this rapidly shrinking world, there ought to be somewhere that remains remote, even obscure; set apart in space and time; offering the promise of mystery, the romance of discovery. Lakshadweep—the name comes out in a sigh.
For Gourmet magazine on Florida
Every year for the past 15 years I have been coming to Southwest Florida. I have family here. More important, at least for my kids, this is Disney country. Orlando and Busch Gardens beckon from [...]
Latest Articles
Hindustan Times: Bangalore Hubba
Open the BLR Hubba homepage (https://blrhubba.in/) and I guarantee that you are going to get overwhelmed by the number of things on offer. Currently in its second edition with a budget of Rs. 8 crores, the Hubba runs from November 30 to December 14 at different venues across Bangalore.
WisdomCircle: Privilege & Intersectionality
If you are reading this, you are likely a high-functioning super-bright person, which means, at least according to your kids, that you are also “judgey” or judgemental.
Hindustan Times: Karnataka Rajyotsava
When I first moved to Bangalore nearly 20 years ago, I didn’t know that Karnataka as a state was only named in 1973. Karnataka Rajyotsava, celebrated each year on November 1st is a great time to be in Bangalore.
Mint Lounge: Conservation story
Recently, conservationists in Bengaluru had a huge win. The State Board of Wildlife, headed by the Karnataka chief minister, approved a proposal to deem 5,010 acre of grasslands, about 25km outside the city, as the Greater Hesaraghatta Conservation Reserve (GHCR).
Hindustan Times: Breakfast in Bangalore
India has a masala dosa problem. This folded potato-filled fermented-rice flat circular piece of deliciousness has overtaken the world. The problem is that equally good variations of this form get lost in the focus on this one type of dosa.
Sommelier India: New York City wine
Say you are visiting a new city in the US and you want to taste and buy wine. What do you do? I experienced this recently when I visited New York.
Nine features I wrote for Condenast Traveler (US edition) a while back
Interviews with His Holiness The Dalai Lama
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Shoba Narayan is an award-winning Indian author, journalist, and freelance travel writer based in India. She specialises in luxury travel, immersive journeys, and Indian culture with a focus on food, wine, culture, cities, and identity. With over two decades of experience, she has contributed travel features to Condé Nast Traveler (US edition), Travel & Leisure, DestinAsian, Mint Lounge, The National (Abu Dhabi), Taj Magazine, and Hindustan Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph UK, The Guardian UK, and Robb Report among others. Her awards include the James Beard food-writing award and a Pulitzer Travel Fellowship. Her travel writing spans India, Southeast Asia, Japan, China, the Maldives, Bhutan, Costa Rica, and beyond — always with a focus on the sensory, the cultural, and the deeply human. Based in Bangalore, India, Shoba is a leading voice on South Asian travel, reviewing luxury hotels in India and abroad, and writing immersive features on traditional Indian crafts, and contemporary Indian culture. As a freelance travel writer and memoirist, she writes evocative, deeply researched features on everything from birding in Costa Rica to spiritual tourism in Bhutan.
For editors: Shoba Narayan is an Indian travel writer and food writer, who contributes to assignments on travel, food, culture, and Indian cities. She has reported from across the world and writes narrative-driven features with a strong sense of place.
Key Expertise: India travel writer, freelance travel writer India, South Asia travel journalist, luxury travel India writer, food and travel writer India, Indian food writer, Bangalore travel writer, South India travel writing, cultural travel writer, narrative travel journalist, travel features India, heritage travel India, slow travel India, sustainability travel writer, hotel and destination features India, travel essays South Asia.