Travel accounts online

Historical books online

• "Early Fifteenth Century Travels in the East: Nicolò de' Conti of Venice". From the 1579 translation by John Frampton, with notes by Kennon Breazeale. SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research Vol 2, No 2 Autumn 2004. Archive.org. "Editorial Introduction to Nicolò de' Conti'€s Account" by Kennon Breazeale from the same SOAS Bulletin. Archive.org

Frampton’s 1579 book The Most Noble and Famous Travels of Marcus Paulus… was republished in 1929 as The Most Noble and Famous Travels of Marco Polo, together with the travels of Nicolò de' Conti, edited by N M Penzer. "The Travels of Nicolò de' Conti in the East" page 124 and Appendix I, page 259 2nd edition 1937 (enlarged). Archive.org

An account of Nicolo de’ Conti is found in Chapters IX and and X of Pero Tafur: Travels and adventures 1435-1439 translated and edited with an introduction by Malcolm Letts. 1926 from page 84 with Notes page 241 Archive.org

‪India in the Fifteenth Century‬: ‪Being a Collection of Narratives of Voyages to India ... from Latin, Persian, Russian and Italian Sources ... Translated Into English‬ edited by Richard Henry Major 1857. Printed for the Hakluyt Society. Google Books. Also available on Archive.org. The Travels of Abd-Er-Razzak; Nicolo Conti, translated from the original of Poggio Bracciolini, papal secretary, with notes, by J.W. Jones; Athanasius Nikitin, a native of Twer; Hieronimo di Santo Stefano, a Genoese.

• The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508 Translated by John Winter Jones and edited by George Percy Badger. Printed for the Hakluyt Society 1863 Archive.org. The author was born in Bologna, c 1470.
  • "The Itinerary of Ludovico Di Varthema of Bologna from 1502 To 1508" Extracts relating to Burma. Edited for the SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research Volume 2, No 2, 2004, pages 119-129 by Michael W. Charney. Archive.org.
• A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century by Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese. Translated from an early Spanish manuscript in the Barcelona library with notes and a preface by Henry E. J. Stanley. 1866 Google Books
• The travels and adventures of the Turkish Admiral Sidi Ali Reis in India, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Persia, during the years 1553-1556 Tanslated from the Turkish by A Vambery 1899 Archive.org
• Ralph Fitch, England's Pioneer to India and Burma. His Companions and Contemporaries. With his Remarkable Narrative Told in his Own Words by J. Horton Ryley. 1899 Archive.org. Fitch was active 1583-1606.
• Early Travels in India, 1583-1619 edited by William Foster 1921 Archive.org. Accounts of seven travellers. Contents
• Voyages of Sir James Lancaster to Brazil and the East Indies 1591-1603 by William Foster 1940. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version,
• The Journal of John Jourdain, 1608-1617 : describing his experiences in Arabia, India, and the Malay Archipelago edited by William Foster. Printed for the Hakluyt Society . Second Series, Volume XVI. 1905 Archive.org. The author was in the service of the East India Company.
• Early Travels in India, being reprints of rare and curious narratives of old travellers in India, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. First Series, comprising "Purchas's Pilgrimage" and the "Travels of Van Linschoten". 1864 Archive.org

Hakluytus posthumus, or, Purchas his Pilgrimes: contayning a history of the world in sea voyages and lande travells by Englishmen and others by Samuel Purchas 1905 reprint, original 1625 Archive.org. Volume II, Contents. Volume III, Contents. Volume IV, Contents. Volume V, Contents. Other volumes: Archive.org

• The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe to the Court of the Great Mogul, 1615-1619, as narrated in his journal and correspondence. Edited by William Foster 1899 Volume I, Volume II Archive.org
• Travels in India in the Seventeenth Century by Sir Thomas Roe and Dr John Fryer. Reprinted from the Calcutta Weekly Englishman 1873 Hathi Trust Digital Library. Pdf download Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.
• The travels of Pietro della Valle in India : from the old English translation of 1664, edited by Edward Grey (late Bengal Civil Service) 1892 Archive.org Volume I, Volume II. Pietro della Valle arrived in India 10 February 1623 at Surat, embarking from Goa 16 November 1624.
• The Travels of John Albert de Mandelslo (a gentleman belonging to the Embassay) from Persia, into the East-Indies page 317, the second part of The voyages and travells of the ambassadors sent by Frederick, Duke of Holstein, to the great Duke of Muscovy and the King of Persia… by Adam Olearius, 2nd edition 1669 (first published 1662) Archive.org
• The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier, a noble man of France now living, through Turky into Persia and the East-Indies, finished in the year 1670... 1678 Archive.org.

A collection of several relations & treatises singular and curious of John Baptista Tavernier, Baron of Aubonne, not printed among his first six voyages 1680 Archive.org

• Travels in the Mogul Empire, A.D. 1656-1668 by Francois Bernier. 1826 edition, translated by Irving Brock Volume I, Volume II Google Books. 1891 edition, revised by Archibald Constable. Archive.org. 1916 edition, revised by Vincent A Smith. Archive.org.
• A Geographical Account of Countries Round the Bay of Bengal, 1669 to 1679 by Thomas Bowrey. Edited by Lt-Col Sir Richard Carnac Temple 1905. Printed for the Hakluyt Society (Second Series, No 12)) Archive.org. With illustrations. Hathi Trust Digital Library version, where it is possible to rotate the Plates.
• A ‪voyage to the East-Indies: giving an account of the isles of Madagascar, and Mascareigne, of Suratte, the coast of Malabar, of Goa, Gameron, Ormus, and the coast of Brasil, with the religion, manners and customs of the inhabitants, &c. as also a Treatise, of the distempers peculiar to the eastern countries‬ by Monsieur Dellon, M.D. Translated from the French. 1698 Google Books . First published in French 1685. Archive.org version Same file but different coloured pages may be easier to read. 1699 French reprint Archive.org

An Account of the Inquisition at Goa, in India. Translated from the French of M. Dellon 1819 Archive.org. Translated from a copy printed in Paris in 1687. The events happened in 1674. Dellon, a physician spent some time in North Malabar and was operating out of the French factory in Tellicherry for five years after which he left the French services. Six months later, he was in jail In Daman (Damaun)

• The Travels of the Abbe Carre in India and the Near East, 1672 to 1674. Tr. from the ms. journal of his travels in the India Office by Lady Fawcett and ed. by Sir Charles Fawcett with the assistance of Sir Richard Burn. In three volumes (Works issued by the Hakluyt Society. 2nd series ; No. 95-97) 1947-48. Probably Volume I. Pdf download Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. Original title includes alternative spelling Abbé Carré
• A new account of East-India and Persia : : in eight letters being nine years travels, begun 1672 and finished 1681 by John Fryer 1698 London. Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek. Includes Bombaim [Bombay], Surat. Goa. Includes, facing p114 drawings of the Areca Nut or Betele nut, and other plants. Google Books edition which appears to contain some, but not all illustrations.

A later edition, edited, with notes and an introduction, by William Crooke, formerly of the Bengal Civil Service. in three volumes, printed for the Hakluyt Society, (Second Series, 2/19, 2/20 and 2/39) 1909-1915. Volume 1, Archive.org version; Volume 2, Archive.org version; Volume 3, Archive.org version, Pdf downloads, Digital Library of India, with additional digital files available.

• India in the seventeenth century, as depicted by European travellers by JN Das Gupta 1916 Archive.org
• ‪ A Voyage to Suratt: In the Year, 1689‬ by John Ovington. Chaplain to his Majesty. 1696 Google Books

A Voyage To Surat In The Year 1689 by John Ovington, edited by H G Rawlinson, with commentary, 1929 is available to download as a pdf from Osmania University Digital Library [OUDL]. Restricted download hours may possibly apply. This book is also available to read online on the Digital Library of India website, in TIFF format, or as a pdf download. Archive.org version.

• Storia do Mogor; or, Mogul India 1653-1708 by Niccolao Manucci, Venetian, translated by William Irvine, Bengal Civil Service (retired) 1907. Part of Indian Texts Series Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV. Archive.org.

A Pepys of Mongul India, 1653-1708 : being an abridged edition of the "Storia do Mogor" of Niccolao Manucci 1913 Archive.org.

• A New Account of the East Indies, being the observations and remarks of Capt. Alexander Hamilton, who spent his time there from the year 1688. to 1723. Trading and travelling, by sea and land, to most of the countries and islands of commerce and navigation, between the Cape of Good-Hope, and the Island of Japon 1727 Volume I, Volume II Google Books. Modern reprint of Volume I, 1739 edition, Modern reprint of Volume II 1739 edition, both Archive.org, from Digital Library of India
• Travels Into Muscovy, Persia, and Part of the East Indies by M. Cornelius Le Bruyn 1737 Volume 1, Volume 2 Archive.org
• A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time‬ by Robert Kerr 1824 editions, first published c 1811. Volumes VI, VII, VIII, IX have the majority of the content relating to India, other volumes listed have less relevant content, (while volumes not listed to do appear to have any relevant content). Google Books, Archive.org, and Hathi Trust Digital Library. Volume I, Contents.Volume II, Contents. Volume VI, Contents. Volume VII, Contents. Volume VIII 1813 edition Contents, Volume VIII 1824. Volume IX Contents.Volume XI, Contents. Vol XVII, Contents (Includes of a voyage including Macao and Canton). Volume XVIII A Summary volume titled Historical Sketch by William Stevenson
• Early English Adventurers in the East by Arnold Wright 1917 Archive.org
• Early English Travellers In India by Ram Chandra Prasad 1965. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive,org version.
• The Travel Letters of Mrs. Kindersley, transcriptions from the book first published in 1777 Letters from the Island of Teneriffe, Brazil, the Cape of Good Hope, and the East Indies. The letters from India commence with Letter 18 in Pondicherry June 1765 and conclude with letter 67 from Calcutta in 1768. Note: Only the first page of the letter is displayed, click on the image for a full transcription. travel-letters.org. This book appears also to be available on "Eighteenth century collections online", for more details see Subscription websites-online newspapers, journals and directories. [Jemima Kindersley, (1741-1809). Wife of Lieutenant Nathaniel Kindersley (1732–1769) of the Royal Artillery and later, from 27 July 1764, Captain in the East India Company's Bengal Artillery.]
• Travels, in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, during a series of thirty years and upwards by John MacDonald, 1790. Google Books. Pages 154-278 cover the time the author (born 1741) spent In India as a servant c late 1760s/early 1770s. Republished in 1927 under the title Memoirs of an eighteenth-century footman, John Macdonald : Travels (1745-1779). A transcription ECCO-TPC umich.edu.
• Oriental Repertory by Alexander Dalrymple Volume 1 1793 and Volume 2 1808. The two volumes contain many tracts on the history, industries, etc. of India, China, and Indo-China, including travel, journeys etc first published at irregular intervals, in eight "numbers," from April 1791 to April 1797
  • Oriental Repertory, Volume 1 by Alexander Dalrymple 1793 Archive.org.
    • Table of Contents; General Index of Places including List of Synonimes; General Index of Things; General Index of Persons
  • Oriental Repertory, Volume 2 is available to read online on the Digital Library of India website, as a pdf download. Archive.org version.

Table of Contents, computer pages 28-31; General index of Persons commencing part O-Z computer pages 632-633; General Index of Things A-Z computer pages 634-637.

For more details of the author, see List of Indian Civil Servants

• Further India: being the story of exploration from the earliest times in Burma, Malaya, Siam and Indo-China by Hugh Clifford 1904 with Orographical Map and Political Map of Farther India and Index Archive.org
• Selections from the Travels and Journals Preserved in the Bombay Secretariat Contents Edited by George W. Forrest, C.I.E., ex-Director of Records, Government of India. 1906 Archive.org
• Voyages and travels to India, Ceylon, the Red Sea, Abyssinia, and Egypt, in the years 1802, 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806 by George, Viscount Valentia 1809 Archive.org. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III
• Letters from India : describing a journey in the British dominions of India, Tibet, Lahore, and Cashmere, during the years 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, undertaken by order of the French government by Victor Jacquemont, Museum of Natural History, Paris. Volume I, Volume II Archive.org
• ‪The Travels of Rabbi David D'Beth Hillel: From Jerusalem, Through Arabia, Koordistan, Part of Persia, and India to Madras‬ by Rabbi David D'Beth Hillel 1832 Google Books
• Tours in Upper India and in Parts of the Himalaya Mountains: With Accounts of the Courts of the Native Princes ‬ by Major Archer, late Aid-De-Camp to Lord Combermere 1833 Google Books Volume I, Volume II
• Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque: During Four-and-twenty Years in the East With Revelations of Life in the Zenana by Fanny Parkes [Parks] (sometimes seen as Fanny Parkes Parlby). Volume I, Volume II 1850 Archive.org. She came to India in 1822 with her husband Charles Crawford Parks, a civil servant, appointed a Writer in 1816. "Lady of the Raj" by William Dalrymple 10 June 2007 The Guardian. "Fanny Parks (1794-1875): her ‘Grand Moving Diorama of Hindostan’, her Museum, and her Cabinet of Curiosities" by Joanna Goldsworthy. Case study from East India Company At Home, 1757-1857.
• The Adventures of a Lady in Tartary, Thibet, China, and Kashmir. ... With an account of the Journey from the Punjab to Bombay overland. ... Also an account of the Mahableshwur and Neilgherry Mountains, etc. by Mrs Hervey 1853. The Himalayan part of the journey took place March, 1850 to October, 1851. In three volumes:

Volume I, Volume II, Volume III Google Books

Volume I, Volume II, Volume III British Library Digital Collection. Images can be rotated.

Some sources give her names as Eleanor Louisa, Mrs Thomas Kibble. However, another source gives her as Julia Harvey, born 1825, the daughter of William Morton an engineer and his wife Juliana. There was a marriage in Cawnpore 10 September 1845 of Julian Susan Morton , age 20, to Edward Harvey, Captain 10th Light Cavalry. He appears to be still alive in the late 1850s, so if this identification was correct, she did not undertake the journey due to widowhood. Article about the book by Christina Stoltz exploringtibet.wikischolars.columbia.edu

• Wall-Street to Cashmere‬: ‪A Journal of Five Years in Asia, Africa and Europe‬ by John B Ireland 1859 Google Books ”With nearly one hundred illustrations, from sketches made on the spot by the author” Archive.org version Some individual pages may be clearer. The author arrived in India in January 1853 and departed April 1854, with a journey to Ceylon, Java and Singapore in the middle . He was an American lawyer John Busteed Ireland 1823- 1913
• Travels of a Pioneer of Commerce in Pigtail and Petticoats; or, An Overland Journey from China towards India by T T Cooper, late Agent for the Chamber of Commerce at Calcutta 1871 Archive.org. Contains a map.
• Jungle Life in India : or, The Journeys and Journals of an Indian Geologist by V Ball Geological Survey of India 1880 Archive.org
• The River of Golden Sand: being the Narrative of a Journey through China and Eastern Tibet to Burmah by Captain William Gill R. E. Volume I 1880, Volume II 1880 Condensed [memorial] edition 1883 Archive.org
• A Winter in India by W E Baxter MP 1882 Archive.org
• Journal of a Lady's Travels Round the World. With Illustrations from sketches by the author by F D Bridges 1883

British Library version with illustrations; Archive.org version. Lacks illustrations

• In the Himalayas and on the Indian Plains by C F [Constance Frederica] Gordon Cumming, with Illustrations 1884 Archive.org. Some parts of the book were first published in 1876 in From the Hebrides to the Himalayas.
• Reconnoitring Central Asia: Pioneering Adventures in the region lying between Russia and India by Charles Marvin 3rd edition 1886, first published 1884. Archive.org. British Library Digital Collection. 1884 with rotatable images. Each chapter is about a different explorer.
• From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan Translated from the Russian of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Reprinted 1908 (originally published 1892) Archive.org
• Where three empires meet : a narrative of recent travel in Kashmir, Western Tibet, Gilgit, and the adjoining countries by E F Knight. New Edition 1894 (first published March 1893) Archive.org.
  • With a Map
• Following the Equator : a Journey Around the World by Mark Twain 1897 Archive.org. From Chapter XXXVII, page 331 the author travels from Sydney to India, via Ceylon. Contents
• A collection of photographs from India Illustrated: Being a Collection of Pictures of the Cities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, Together with a Selection of the Most Interesting Buildings and Scenes throughout India, published by Bennett, Coleman, & Co., publishers of the English language newspaper Times of India, c 1905. University of Houston Digital Library.
• India through the stereoscope : a journey through Hindustan by James Ricalton 1907. Archive.org [He travelled in 1901-1903].This book was sold with a collection of photographs which could be viewed through a stereoscope. Stereographs copyrighted 1903. Examples, including from flickr.com and the British Library: No. 28 'Ekka' with passenger and baggage, coming from Cashmere (Kashmir) to Murree, No 30. Before Christ Church, at Simla, No. 35 Inflated bullock skin boat, or dreas, at the side of the river Sutlej, enlargeable. No 75. Curiously rigged camel-waggons, Delhi, No. 80 The great Durbar procession, Delhi, India enlargable. No 87. Palace of the Winds, Jeypore, India. A collection of these photographs reprinted 1923-1931 Smith College Libraries. Northampton, MA, USA
• A Winter in India : light impressions of its cities, peoples, and customs by Archibald B. Spens ; with 95 illustrations. 1914. Hathi Trust Digital Library.
• In Farthest Burma: The record of an arduous journey of exploration and research through the unknown frontier territory of Burma and Tibet by Captain F Kingdon Ward, late Indian Army Reserve of Officers, attached 1/116th Mahrattas. 1921 Archive.org. With a Map. The journey took place in 1914.
• The Gentleman In The Parlour by W Somerset Maugham 1930 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Full title: The Gentleman in the Parlour : a record of a journey from Rangoon to Haiphong. "The story of several trips: One up the Irrawady river to Mandalay in Burma, then a trek across the Shan mountains into what was then Siam, after that down the Mekong to Saigon and up then up coast to Hue in Vietnam".
• The Old Burma Road 1945. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. Full title: The Old Burma Road. A journey on foot and muleback. From the diary, notes and reminiscences of Doctor N. Bradley. The author spent many years in China as a medical missionary. This is an account of a journey taken in March, 1930 on the granite slab road along which, 650 years earlier, Marco Polo had ridden with his escort of Kublai Khan's horsemen from Yunnan-Fu to Bhamo.

The Overland Route to and from India

• Medieval Routes To India: Baghdad To Delhi by HC Verma 1960. Full title: Medieval Routes to India: Baghdad to Delhi. A study of trade and military routes. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.
• “Remarks and Occurrences in a Journey from Aleppo to Bassora by way of the Desert" by William Beawes, Esqr 1745 from The Desert Route to India by Douglas Carruthers from Sylvia Volk’s Page of Asia, now archived

“Account of a Journey from Basra to Aleppo in 1748” by Gaylard Roberts from The Desert Route to India by Douglas Carruthers from Sylvia Volk’s Page of Asia, now archived

Sample pages from The Desert Route to India edited by Douglas Carruthers 1929. Google Books. Full title: The Desert Route to India : being the journals of four travellers by the great desert caravan route between Aleppo and Basra, 1745-1751. This book is available on Archive.org where, for ease of reading, a djvu or (Bit)Torrent plug-in may be required. Accounts by William Beawes, Gayland Roberts, Bartholomew Plaisted, John Carmichael.

• "A Journal from Aleppo, over the Desert to Basserah, October 21, 1771" by Mr Carmichael, the appendix to A voyage to the East Indies: Volume 1 by John Henry Grose 1772. Google Books. Mr Carmichael had been dismissed from the East India Company and was refused a passage to India on board any of the Company's ships. This book commences with a description of a sea voyage to Bombay in 1750
• ‪Observations on the Passage to India, Through Egypt: Also by Vienna Through Constantinople to Aleppo, and from Thence by Bagdad and Directly Across the Great Desert to Bassora : With Occasional Remarks on the Adjacent Countries, an Account of the Different Stages, and Sketches of the Several Routes on Four Copper Plates‬ by James Capper. Third edition with Alterations and Additions 1785 Google Books
• Travels in Asia and Africa: Including a Journey from Scanderoon to Aleppo, and Over the Desert to Bagdad and Bussora, a Voyage from Bussora to Bombay, and Along the Western Coast of India, a Voyage from Bombay to Mocha and Suez in the Red Sea, and a Journey from Suez to Cairo and Rosetta, in Egypt‬ by the late Abraham Parsons [died 1785] 1808 Google Books
• A Journey From Bengal To England: Through The Northern Part Of India, Kashmire, Afghanistan, And Persia And Into Russia By The Caspian-Sea by George Forster in the Civil Service of the Honourable The East- India Company 1798 Volume I, Volume II Google Books
• A Voyage up the Persian Gulf, and a Journey Overland from India to England, in 1817 by Lieutenant William Heude of the Madras Military Establishment 1819 Archive.org
• Journal of a route across India, through Egypt, to England, in the latter end of the year 1817, and the beginning of 1818 by George Augustus Frederick Fitzclarence (1st Earl of Munster) 1819 Google Books.
• Journey to the North of India: Overland from England, Through Russia, Persia, and Affghaunistan by Lieut. Arthur Conolly 1834. 2nd edition revised 1838 Volume I 1834, Volume II 1834; Volume I, 1838, Volume II 1838 Google Books
• Adventures During a Journey Overland to India: By Way of Egypt, Syria, and the Holy Land by Major Skinner 31st Reg. 1836. Volume I, Volume II Google Books
• The Ocean & the Desert by A Madras Officer, stated to be the late Major General Albert Henry Andrew Hervey 1846. Google Books. Two Volumes in one. Volume II commences following page 271. By ship from Bombay to Suez, on the "Hindustan", a large steam ship, (but with crowded accomodation), sightseeing in Egypt, by ship to Italy with sightseeing there, etc.
• Through Asiatic Turkey. Narrative of a Journey from Bombay to the Bosphorus by Grattan Geary, Editor of The Times of India 1878 Volume I, Volume II Volume II, from page 90 only, but illustrations may be better, Another file, Volume II Archive.org, including books from the Digital Library of India Collection.
• A Ride to India across Persia and Baluchistan by Harry de Windt 1891 Archive.org.
• Sport and politics under an eastern sky by [Lawrence Zetland] the Earl of Ronaldsay 1902 Archive.org. Part II "From Simla to London by Land, via Quetta, Nushki, Sistan, Meshed, and the Caspian".
• The Short Cut to India, the record of a journey along the route of the Baghdad Railway by David Fraser 1909 Archive.org
• Overland to India by Sven Hedin 1910 Volume I, Volume II Archive.org
• Chariots of the Air by Harold Keates Hales 1936. Link to a pdf download, STOU Digital Repository Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand. Description of an airline trip from England to the East Indies and back.
• The Overland Route From India by Stanley Jepson 1938. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.