21 November 2016 
When the time of Holidays are near and you are wondering about where to plan your next trip to try something different. Enjoy the feel of a countryside, where you can inhale some fresh air and remember your old thoughts. From apples and mangoes to grapes and strawberries, there will be fruits waiting to be tried out. The best part of all this fruit picking would be that this time there will not be any grumpy gardener running after you.
Clearly not encouraging you to steal, we suggest you to visit some of the best locations where you can try out some of their famous and delicious fruit.
Season: June to September
Surrounded by the towering Himalayas, the apple orchards of KInnaur, Rohru, Kotgarh and Sangla are the fruit picking paradise. Travelers can walk through fruit- laden boughs, learn how to make fruit jam along with trying locally brewed drinks, angoori and ghanti.
Season: January to March
The destination of Maharashtra and Meghalaya are the true heaven for all the strawberry lovers. In the month of March/April, Jam brand Mapro organizes strawberry festivals at both these places where you can enjoy tasting the new innovative creations made from strawberries. One more event happens at Sohliya, in Meghalaya's Ri Bhoi district, where a strawberry festival is organised in the mid February. There one can relish homemade berry ice cream or pick fresh berries themselves from the farm.
Season: May to June
Picking lychee in the peak season is a true delight. When you stroll on the lychee trail, do try the famous variety called as Dehradun Lychee in Uttarakhand and the famous Shahi Lychee at Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
Season: End-October to February
Picking up oranges on the wintry farms of Punjab is an ultimate experience that one should not miss in the state of Punjab and Maharashtra. Walking through the farm on Tractor, you can easily smell the tangerine smell, filling your senses. At Nagpur’s famous orange farms, one can also enjoy the sweet-sour taste of a Nagpur mandarin.
Season: January to mid-May
Maharashtra’s flourishing vineyards accounts for the 80 percent of the India’s total grape production. Travel to the farms of Sholapur, Latur, Beed, Nashik to explore the whole process of farmers cultivation. Walk through the scenic landscapes, learn how the wine is prepared, stomp on some juicy grapes in a large wooden tub or simply enjoy the authentic taste of wine- here you can do it all. Moreover, there happens a India Grape Harvest Festival in the month of February, which is a good time to visit the place.
Season: May to July/August
For a true experience of a mango delight, head to the kingdom of the mangoes at Garhmukhteshwar in Uttar Pradesh, where you can pluck juicy mangoes off the trees and enjoy the feeling of biting into that heavenly fruit. The famous variety of Alphanso can be found in Ratnagiri and the peaceful Palshet village of Maharashtra.
Season: March to July
To get the fruity the experience of a lifetime, walk through the large plum orchards, mulberry farms and Jamun coppice around the city of Amritsar. Apart from picking up these fruits, one can also collect some organic honey from the farms. The Khalsa college of Agriculture in Amritsar has formed a new variety of plum, called as the Aalu- Bukhara Amritsari, which is more nutritious, sweeter and doesn’t stick to the flesh.
Season: December to March.
This amazing fruit is majorly found in the Maharshtrian Belt of Gholvad and Dahanu Districts in the huge orchards run by the Parsi families. Apart from picking fresh chikoos off the boughs, one can also enjoy pests culture, bee- rearing, composting techniques and local harvesting techniques. Do not forget to stay in a tree house for a whole rural experience.
Season: March to September
Northeast India is popular and very proud of their pineapple production, specially the state of Manipur. The affection for this fruit can be easily seen at the Manipur Pineapple Festival, organized in the last week of August or first week of September every year. For a greater feel one enjoy visiting best pineapple competition, pineapple tastings and even a pineapple queen contest, organized at this region.
