India Travel Guide
Information and Advice

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India Travel Guide, climate:

For primary tourism e.g. south & centre, especially Rajasthan, best: Nov-March [tho' Delhi can be chilly]
Worst: June-Sept [heat, humidity, rains]
For Himalaya trekking try April-November.
For southern states, such as Kerala, go January-September.
For NE travel, such as Sikkim, go March-August.

Tours
Tour operators offering travel around India can be found in our listings here: India Tours

Length of stay:
Min. worthwhile stay, not inc. flights: 7 days [for the 'Golden Triangle' of Delhi, Agra, Jaipur].
Recommended: 2 weeks - 6 months for the full experience; remember, it's very, very big [population 1 billion] and has a massive variety of fascinating sights, not to mention many places where you may want to hang out for a while.
Think of India as seven entirely different countries and you'll begin to understand the reality of travel here.

n.b. the country is so vast that recommended places are often accompanied by an abbreviation of the state in which they are situated:
UP= Uttar Pradesh, MP= Madhya Pradesh, HP= Himachal Pradesh, AP= Andhra Pradesh, Raj= Rajasthan, G= Gujarat, TN= Tamil Nadu, M= Maharashtra, Kar= Karnataka, Ker= Kerala, O= Orissa.

India Festivals Guide:
Dates are usually based on non-Gregorian calendars, so change year-by-year.
Mid Jan SE [eg.TN, Kar, AP] Pongal [Harvest] festival, 3 days.
Mid Jan Ahmedabad [G] Kite Festival, 1 day.
Mid Jan Trivandrum & Thrissur [Ker] Elephant march, 1 day
Jan, Delhi, Republic day. Parade and festival, 2 days.
Jan/Feb Allahabad, [UP] Kumbah Mela. 'Greatest Religious Show on Earth.' Millions of pilgrims and crazed sadhus swim and perform miracles. Every 3 years, for one month. Next 2007.
Jan/Feb Madurai [TN] Float Festival. 1 day.
Late February/early March. Jaisalmer [Raj] Desert Festival. 3days
Feb/March North India, Holi [Festival of Colour]. 1 day
Feb/March Khajuraho [MP] Dance Festival.
Feb/March Goa Carnival.
Feb/March/April Ajmer [Raj] Urs Ajamer Sharif Islamic Festival. 6 days
April/May, nationwide, Hindu New Year [Baisakhi], 1 day
April/May Thrissur [Ker] Pooram. Elephant, fireworks etc. 1 day.
April/May Madurai [TN] Chitra Festival. Divine marriage at OTT Meenakshi temple. 10 days.
June/July Puri [Or] Chariot Festival. The original juggernauts. 1day
July/Aug, nationwide, best in Jodhpur, Naag Panchami. Snake Festival.
Aug/Sept Allepey/all Kerala, Onam Harvest Festival and Snake Boat Racing. 10 days.
Aug/Sept all Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi, 1 week.
Sept/Oct, nationwide, Dussehra[Ram Lila], 10 days
Oct/Nov, nationwide, Diwali [Festival of Lights], 1 day.
Oct/Nov Pushkar [Raj] Camel Fair. 1 week?

For some precise dates, more suggestions and information see: Exotic Festivals

India Activities Guide:
Trekking: Best in the Himalayas from April to November e.g. Dharamsala in H Pradesh[see right]; also U Pradesh and Punjab but stay away from Kullu, where bandits are active and deadly.
Wildlife: Kanha National Park is the country's ultimate wildlife destination.
The setting for Kipling's 'Jungle Book', this 750 sq. mile park is your best chance to see a tiger in the wild, though not big. However, the elephant back safaris are fun and apart from tigers, you can see leopards, rhinoceros, bison, boar, sambar deer and monkeys by the barrel load. Open Nov-June, but best Feb - April.
Other OK wildlife parks are:
Ranthambore [Raj] for tigers+, Periyar [Ker] for elephants, Bharatpur [Raj] for birds, and Bandhavgarh [MP] for tigers+.
Camel Safaris: many from gorgeous Jaisalmer or Pushkar [Raj], see right for information.
Boating and Rafting: the Ganges e.g. from Rishikesh [UP], Chenab & Beas [HP], Rangit & Teesta [Sikkim], Zanskar & Indus [Ladakh].
Backwater River Trips from Cochin or Allepey in Kerala are superb. Cruising through tranquil, spectacular waterways, viewing duck-herding, Chinese fishing nets, pastoral scenes of all kinds, it's magical and more or less free if you jump a regular ferry [but possibly noisy. Try the front or roof of the boat for more peace].
Trains: Nilgiri Blue Mountain railway [TN], Neral -Matheran [M], Kalka-Shimla [HP] toy train, and the creme de la creme 'The Palace on Wheels' for seriously fat wallets.
Caving: East Khasi Hills, Jainta Hills, South Garo Hills [Meghalaya]
Yoga, Ashrams and Meditation: All over the land. The Beatles went to Rishikesh [UP] on the Ganges. Varanasi is also a major centre.

India Star Guide:

Cuisine Guide:
Although fancy hotels serve the usual international cuisine, most Indian food revolves around carbohydrates [rice in the south, bread in the north] with spicy vegetables, and a little scraggy protein if you're lucky.
Naturally big towns sport the usual fast food joints and a better selection of alternative eateries, but travelers beware: if you don't like Indian food in your own country it won't improve a lot when you travel here.
On the upside eating in Indian joints is incredibly good value, or you can acquire a substantial club sandwich in superb surroundings at most first class hotel cafés for a few rupees more.

Electricity:
240v, 2 round pin mostly. Occasionally 3 round pin.

Visas:
You'll generally need a visa from your local Indian embassy/consulate and to get that you'll require a return or onward travel ticket. The visa will probably be six month multiple entry, giving you serious exploration time.
However, as a fine example of the country's spectacularly ponderous bureaucracy, getting a visa can be desperately time consuming, especially if travellers live away from major cities. In the UK 1,000 people waited in line for hours at a Midland visa 'surgery' only to be told that only 500 could be processed that day.
Get your visa well before you intend to go!

Health Guide:
India has some hygiene problems, particularly for individuals travelling on a low budget, so ensure your vaccinations are to the max and up-to-date.
Diseases you should be concerned about, at least, are cholera [be careful of what you eat or drink], Hepatitis A and B [get a jab], Hepatitis B, C,D [ take care what you eat, drink, or who you share fluids with, blood included], and dengue fever and malaria, both acquired from mosquitoes.

Transport:
The long distance transport of choice is definitely the train, though booking tickets can be tiresome. Once you have the ticket the system works well.
Buses are usually uncomfortable [I once travelled overnight on a bus with no glass in the windows. Never again, thank you], cramped and the crush to get on is a nightmare, especially if you're lumbered with a big bag.
The air network is considerable and efficient but planes are expensive and dull, needless to say.
Car hire is not expensive but driving requires luck and intense concentration to survive - for those who learnt on regular western roads.

Travel safety:
There are crowds aplenty, especially hustling to get on buses, so pocket-picking is not uncommon. See the Safety page. Otherwise, violent crime is rare and the people are generally calm and friendly.

Why Travel to India?

This is a truly incredible land of dramatically diverse cultures all under one flag, all of them unearthly, and some - like Rajasthan - positively barmy.
The sights are endless, from the Taj Mahal, through the forts and palaces of Rajasthan, the erotic temples of Khajuraho, the carved caves of Ellora to the wandering cows on busy highways and garish Bollywood posters.
And then there are the people sights...saris, huge clunky silver jewelry, handlebar moustaches, brown fishermen in pink thongs, pilgrims bathing in the Ganges at Varanasi while bodies float past, sadhus and their bizarre habits, snake charmers, glorious weddings, funny head waggles meaning yes [or is it no?] and so on.
Beaches are huge, towns are noisy but enthralling and the endless, wacky festivals are world-class mind-bogglers.
It's pretty safe, inexpensive, has good weather if you get your timing right and is populated by relaxed, friendly people. Though rather too many of them..

Downside:
- Visa aquisition can be time-consuming.
- Towns are often crowded, noisy, dusty and polluted by bikes and auto-rickshaws.
- There is limited food choice [with occasional questionable hygiene], especially if you don't like Indian food, though vegetarians are unusually well-catered for.
- Travel between sights can be very time consuming as distances are huge and the transport infrastructure sometimes shaky.
- Pushy beggars, especially the deformed, are a pervasive and depressing sight in many locations.

Where to travel in India:
For the Indian beaches guide see further below:
Rajasthan*** [best November-March] is one of the more distinctly Indian states and most traveller's first target, offering deserts, stunning palaces, fortified towns, turbaned and mustachioed men, women in clunky jewelry and red saris, etc etc.
A hire-car road trip connecting the main towns is the premium approach.
Udaipur*** an India icon of prettily painted houses, lake isolated palaces and a marvellously relaxed ambience, though recently water levels have fallen dramatically and that may well tarnish the scenery, depending on the season and recent rainfall.
Bundi***, relatively unvisited and undeveloped, this walled town holds not only a monster fort and evocative old town but also one of Rajasthan's best palaces, 'the work of goblins rather than of men' according to Kipling.
Jaipur** should be on the itinerary with some stunning pink buildings including the iconic Wind Palace, the great Amber Fort a short elephant ride away and superb shopping in the bazaars. The town is, however, overcrowded and suffers dust and noise pollution.
Jodhpur*, en route from Jaipur to Jaisalmer is not of huge interest apart from a vast and magnificent palace [which is also a hotel] and many houses painted in Brahmin blue.
Jaisalmer*** was an awesome fantasy fortified town surrounded by the Thar desert but sadly these days also encircled by hotels, shops and houses servicing tourist visitors. Mud medieval styling and camels galore, this is still a must-see.
Many tourists do camel travel from here, from a few hours to a few days though the short trips are very short of romance. It's best October-February.
Jaisalmer is a long way out but buses and trains generally work.
Agra***. The Taj Mahal is one of the world's top sights and deservedly so. Magnificently huge, but also impressively macro, the colourful semi-precious stones set into white marble are stunning.
The environment around and beside the Yamuna River is peaceful, and nearby Agra Fort and the Moghul palace complex of Fatehpur Sikri offer more stunning architecture.
At 200km [125mls] from Delhi this can be a long day trip so it's way better to stay overnight and wander around early or late.
Delhi**. A big city version of traditional India which does not suit those in search of tranquility, but there are enough strange sights, great buildings and interesting cultural activities to keep most tourists happy for a few days.
Mumbai* also known as Bombay, this Bollywood-on-sea has to be seen, briefly, with its grand colonial architecture, new millenium 'scapers, love of cricket, sophisticated life and appalling poverty.
Ellora cave temples and Ajanta Caves*** near Aurangabad [M], 400km [250mls] north-east of Mumbai.
Ellora offers 34 superbly carved caves alive with sculptures lurk in an escarpment, including shrines, halls and platforms.
Ajanta's high points - other than sculptures - are a more spectacular location and stunning, well-preserved murals painted by 200 monks that used to live here.
Madurai* [TN] is a modern city and has the usual problems of congestion and pollution but with one staggering, kaleidoscopic temple positively writhing with mythical figures at its heart, the Meenakshi-Sundareshwarar.
Khajuraho** [MP] is India's erotic temple centre with an amazing collection of beautifully crafted, outrageous carvings on a cluster of temples in pastoral surroundings. It's a bit of a problem to reach, however.
Gwalior** [MP]120kms [80mls] south of Agra, is a nothing town but is overseen by a cluster of rock-hewn Jain sculptures and a wonderful, tiled hillfort containing six palaces and three temples.
The Ganges at Varanasi** [aka Benares or 'The City of Light. UP] This is a place to die for, literally. It's so holy that anyone, of any religion, dying here, goes to heaven.
On the stepped banks of the Ganges hundreds of pilgrims bathe, meditate and are cremated here. It's a gripping, colourful spectacle, and so, so Indian.
Calcutta* [Kolkata], with its roots firmly in the British Raj era, is a fascinating, crammed, dilapidated city with a heart of gold and - fortunately - an energetic renovation program. Locals are proud of their wit, their hospitality and their avant-garde art and theatre, while their grand old buildings refuse to collapse under the weight of numbers. It's best October-February.
Gujarat state** in the west is a detuned Rajasthan - without the tourists but with plenty of temples, palaces, forts, desert, colourful people and fine handicrafts.
- Kashmir is cool, mountain-ringed but still out of play unfortunately, due to border tension and occasional terrorist attacks.
Dharamsala** [HP. aka McLeod Ganj] in the Himalayas is home of the Dalai Lama and centre for Tibetan refugees as well as their Hollywood hangers-on.
It is relaxed and scenic and also makes a good base for mountain treks.
December-March is the snow season but warm clothes will be needed at night all year round.

Beaches*** [best January- September]
India has a large number of wide, soft sand beaches fringed by palm trees, with wandering sari ladies selling fruit, and accommodation ranging from 5* to no*, though some traditional shangri-las are now concrete hell.
Goa [Kar], for example, now imports 1.5 million packaged people a year and crams them into hundreds of cement blocks.
Calangute, Goa's core, is a bustling style-free zone, while Palolem beach is smaller but not a lot better.
Isolated pockets of peace and harmony can be found in central Goa but for solitude head north to the Chapora River area where Goa crowds thin out and beaches grow.
Anjuna beach is still raving and colourful though frantic with hippie action, while Morjim [aka Turtle] beach is more tranquil, Mandrem is eerily quiet and Querim in the far north of Goa is positively deserted, apart from the odd hut, hammock and itinerant ice-cream boy.
On the country's southern tip Trivandrum's Kovalam beach [Ker] is slightly less well-known and more out of the way so offers a more real India beach experience of big sand, dugout canoe transport and small family shack/restaurants among the palm trees.
Varkala [Ker] and Gokarna [Kar] are also popular.
Beaches around Puri [O] are the province mostly of fishermen but excellent nevertheless if you prefer untainted indigenous culture to plentiful tourist services.
The Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal are still remote, 'tropical paradises' and about the only place to have decent dive and snorkelling, though the 2004 tsunami did a huge amount of damage.

Money advice:
Indian holidays can be very good value or expensive, all the options are open to your wallet. At one end it's cheap, but a tad uncomfortable and hygiene issues could lead to health problems, but you do meet real people.
At the other end of the scale you can stay in palaces, eat like a Maharajah, have no disease worries and travel in princely style, but not be in touch with true India at all.
Try to find a middle way!
Tipping is unnecessary in most restaurants, but very useful for greasing your path or solving problems - when it's called Baksheesh.

If you plan to vacation in this magical, disturbing land you may wish to see these near neighbours too:

Nepal Guide | China - Tibet Guide

Thailand Guide | Oman Travel Guide

India Travel Links