Entry requirements

Passport and visa requirements

Health precautions

No obligatory vaccinations.Vaccinations against Poliomyelitis, Meningococcal meningitis, Rabies, Cholera are recommended.

Risk of malaria exists. Other diseases like Dengue fever are present . H5N1 avian influenza has been identified among birds in this country.

Water used for drinking, brushing teeth or making ice should have first been boiled or otherwise sterilized. Milk should be boiled incase unpasteurised or otherwise also.

Once in the country

Time and time difference

It is 01:27 AM in New Delhi (GMT+5:30)

Summer time period

None

Map of the time zone

Type of climate

India has broadly three seasons: warm, wet and cool. Heat begins to rise in the plains of the North in February and becomes unbearable in April - May. The monsoon appear towards the end of May in the South, then heads to the North, then covers the whole country in the first week of July till the end of October. There are even some cold nights in December - January. The extreme South remains warm all year long.

Autumn and Winter are undoubtedly the best times to visit India.

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Getting around

By road

One must be very cautious when driving because of the bad condition of the roads and chaotic character of the traffic.

Driving around India is not recommended. Moreover self-drive cars are not generally available in the country. It is recommended to have a licensed and experienced local driver who has a "feel" for local roads and driving conditions.

The third party insurance liability is compulsory.

By rail

The railroad network is very dense and quite reliable, but trains are famous for being extremely slow. It is necessary to watch carefully personal belongings (notably in couchette wagons) because of frequent thefts on the Bénarès-Delhi, Agra-Delhi, Calcutta-Bénarès and Calcutta-Puri lines.

By air

Most big regional cities are daily served, either by Indian Airlines, or by private airlines. The conditions of transportation are correct. From India, a 10 USD airport tax must be paid.

Find an itinerary

Eating

Culinary specialties

IEach region in the country has its own cuisine and style of preparation.

Food is broadly categorized into six tastes - sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter and astringent. Side dishes and condiments are chutneys, curries, daals and Indian picklesl.

Milk-based desserts and gulab jamuns are popular.

Dietary taboos

The left hand is considered unclean and to use the left hand when eating or receiving food is considered vulgar and unclean.

Hindus consider the cow as sacred and never eat beef. Muslims consider the pig unclean and never eat pork. If they are not on the menu then one would not ask for them for risk of offending the restaurateur.

Paying

Domestic currency

The import of local currency is prohibited. Currency can be changed at banks, airports or authorized money changers.
ATMs are easily accessible and are open 24x7.

To obtain domestic currency

To find out the locations of ATMs in India, click on the link to your credit card: Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

Speaking

Official language

Hindi (spoken by more than 50% of the country’s population) and English.

Other languages spoken

17 regional languages are recognized by the Constitution of India, which include Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Punjabi, Telegu, Kannada, Malayalam and Marathi. Muslims largely speaks Urdu.

Business language

English

Getting some knowledge

 

Free translation tools

Wordanywhere.com - Hindi-English-Hindi free dictionary (46,000 terms)
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Visiting

Highlights

Delhi: testimony of the Muslim time.
Agra: testimony of the Moghols times: the Taj Mahal and the fort of Agra. The Taj Mahal, became the tourist symbol of India.
Goa: Former Portuguese enclave on the Western coast, gained its tourist reputation in the 60s, at the height of the hippy period.

Tourism organizations