Winter fog can hang over the flat Awadh plain until late morning, and Hardoi waits for the sun before the bazaar shutters go up. By May the heat pushes errands into early mornings and long evenings. Come late winter, the cool nights end with Holika bonfires, and many here say the first one burned at Prahlad Kund.
Beyond the kund, Sandi Bird Sanctuary fills with teal and pochards from November, and trains stopping at Sandila sell its famous laddoos. The climate is humid subtropical, with hot summers, monsoon rain from July to September and cool, foggy winters. A Local Friend reads the menu, the map and the weather for you, choosing the sweet shop, the back road and the hour.
