The Actual Requirements of Multigenerational Family Holiday Planning Across India

India's most celebrated destinations were not designed with a 74-year-old's knees in mind. The ghats at Varanasi involve steep stone steps. Hampi is almost entirely uneven rock terrain. Even Jaipur's City Palace has thresholds and staircases that wheelchair users cannot clear without help. Before any itinerary gets confirmed, the first question is whether your oldest or least mobile family member can physically access the places on the list, not in principle, but on the specific day, at the specific entrance, with the specific equipment they use.
Call the property directly. Hotel websites routinely photograph the accessible room but do not disclose that it sits two floors above the accessible entrance, connected by a lift that fits one wheelchair and no accompanying person. Ask about bathroom grab rails, shower chairs, and whether the ground-floor room faces a service lane. For heritage properties, and India has thousands of them, ask whether the accessible route bypasses the main courtyard entirely, because sometimes it does, and the person you brought along to see the architecture sees a corridor instead.
Train travel compounds this. Indian Railways has coaches designated for passengers with disabilities, but booking them requires a separate process through the IRCTC portal under the "Divyaang" quota, and availability is not guaranteed on popular routes. Factor in platform gaps, the distance between the car and the platform edge, and whether your station has a ramp or just stairs.