Noth India

Eastern

States Under Eastern Region Are -

Some Important Cities Are -

Hillstations of East India -

Forts & Monuments -

Places of Worship -

Wildlife Sanctuaries of East India -

South India

 Western

States Under Western Region Are -

Some Important Cities Are -

Hillstations of West India -

Forts & Monuments -

Places of Worship -

Wildlife Sanctuaries of West India -

TRAVEL INFO

Visa Info

EMBASSY OF INDIA, WASHINGTON DC

CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA, NEW YORK

CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA, CHICAGO

CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA, HOUSTON

Medical Info

Food and waterborne diseases are the number one cause of illness in travelers. Travelers’ diarrhea can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites, which are found throughout the region and can contaminate food or water. Infections may cause diarrhea and vomiting (E. coli, Salmonella, cholera, and parasites), fever (typhoid fever and toxoplasmosis), or liver damage (hepatitis). Make sure your food and drinking water are safe. (See below.)

Malaria is a serious, but preventable infection that can be fatal. Your risk of malaria may be high in these countries, including cities. Prevent this deadly disease by seeing your health care provider for a prescription antimalarial drug and by protecting yourself against mosquito bites (see below).

Travelers to malaria-risk areas, including infants, children, and former residents of the Indian Subcontinent, should take an antimalarial drug. NOTE: Chloroquine is NOT an effective antimalarial drug in the Indian Subcontinent and should not be taken to prevent malaria in this region. For additional information on malaria risk and prevention, see Malaria Health Information for Travelers to the Indian Subcontinent. See also Preventing Malaria in the Pregnant Woman (Information for the Public) and Preventing Malaria in Infants and Children (Information for the Public).

Dengue, filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, leishmaniasis, and plague are diseases carried by insects that also occur in this region. Protecting yourself against insect bites (see below) will help to prevent these diseases.

If you visit the Himalayan Mountains, ascend gradually to allow time for your body to adjust to the high altitude, which can cause insomnia, headaches, nausea, and altitude sickness. In addition, use sunblock rated at least 15 SPF, because the risk of sunburn is greater at high altitudes.

Because motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injury among travelers, walk and drive defensively. Avoid travel at night if possible and always use seat belts.

There is no risk for yellow fever in the Indian Subcontinent. A certificate of yellow fever vaccination may be required for entry into certain of these countries if you are coming from countries in South America or sub-Saharan Africa. For detailed information, see Comprehensive Yellow Fever Vaccination Requirements. Also, find the nearest authorized U.S. yellow fever vaccine center.

CDC recommends the following vaccines (as appropriate for age):

See your doctor at least 4–6 weeks before your trip to allow time for shots to take effect.

• Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG).
• Hepatitis B, if you might be exposed to blood (for example, health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population, stay longer than 6 months, or be exposed through medical treatment.
• Japanese encephalitis, only if you plan to visit rural areas for 4 weeks or more, except under special circumstances, such as a known outbreak of Japanese encephalitis.
• Rabies, if you might be exposed to wild or domestic animals through your work or recreation.
• Typhoid vaccination is particularly important because of the presence of S. typhi strains resistant to multiple antibiotics in this region. There have been recent reports of typhoid drug resistance in India and Nepal.
• As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria and measles, and a one-time dose of polio for adults. Hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants and for children ages 11–12 years who did not receive the series as infants.

To stay healthy, do...

• Wash hands often with soap and water.
• Drink only bottled or boiled water, or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles. Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice cubes. If this is not possible, make water safer by BOTH filtering through an “absolute 1-micron or less” filter AND adding iodine tablets to the filtered water. “Absolute 1-micron filters” are found in camping/outdoor supply stores.
• Eat only thoroughly cooked food or fruits and vegetables you have peeled yourself. Remember: boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it.
• If you are going to visit areas where there is risk for malaria, take your malaria prevention medication before, during, and after travel, as directed. (See your doctor for a prescription.)
• Protect yourself from mosquito bites:
  • Pay special attention to mosquito protection between dusk and dawn. This is when the type of mosquito whose bite transmits malaria is active.
  • Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and hats.
  • Use insect repellents that contain DEET (diethylmethyltoluamide).
  • Read and follow the directions and precautions on the product label.
  • Apply insect repellent to exposed skin.
  • Do not put repellent on wounds or broken skin.
  • Do not breathe in, swallow, or get into the eyes (DEET is toxic if swallowed). If using a spray product, apply DEET to your face by spraying your hands and rubbing the product carefully over the face, avoiding eyes and mouth.
  • Unless you are staying in air-conditioned or well-screened housing, purchase a bed net impregnated with the insecticide permethrin or deltamethrin. Or, spray the bed net with one of these insecticides if you are unable to find a pretreated bed net.
  • DEET may be used on adults, children, and infants older than 2 months of age. Protect infants by using a carrier draped with mosquito netting with an elastic edge for a tight fit.
  • Children under 10 years old should not apply insect repellent themselves. Do not apply to young children’s hands or around eyes and mouth.
  • For details on how to protect yourself from insects and how to use repellents, see Protection against Mosquitoes and Other Arthropods.
  • If you are visiting friends and relatives in your home country in areas where malaria occurs, please read the malaria prevention recommendations for recent immigrants on the CDC malaria site.
• To prevent fungal and parasitic infections, keep feet clean and dry, and do not go barefoot.
• Always use latex condoms to reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

To avoid getting sick...

• Don’t eat food purchased from street vendors.
• Don’t drink beverages with ice.
• Don’t eat dairy products unless you know they have been pasteurized.
• Don’t share needles with anyone.
• Don’t handle animals (especially monkeys, dogs, and cats), to avoid bites and serious diseases (including rabies and plague). (For more information, please see Animal-Associated Hazards.)
• Don’t swim in fresh water. Salt water is usually safer. (For more information, please see Swimming and Recreational Water Precautions.)

What you need to bring with you:

• Long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a hat to wear while outside whenever possible, to prevent illnesses carried by insects (e.g., malaria, dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis).
• Bed nets impregnated with permethrin. (Can be purchased in camping or military supply stores. Overseas, permethrin or another insecticide, deltamethrin, may be purchased to treat bed nets and clothes.)
• Flying-insect spray or mosquito coils to help clear rooms of mosquitoes. The product should contain a pyrethroid insecticide; these insecticides quickly kill flying insects, including mosquitoes.
• Over-the-counter antidiarrheal medicine to take if you have diarrhea.
• Iodine tablets and water filters to purify water if bottled water is not available. See Do’s above for more detailed information about water filters.
• Sunblock, sunglasses, hat.
• Prescription medications: make sure you have enough to last during your trip, as well as a copy of the prescription(s).

After you return home:

If you have visited a malaria-risk area, continue taking your antimalarial drug for 4 weeks (doxycycline or mefloquine) or seven days (atovaquone/proguanil) after leaving the risk area.

Malaria is always a serious disease and may be a deadly illness. If you become ill with a fever or flu-like illness either while traveling in a malaria-risk area or after you return home (for up to 1 year), you should seek immediate medical attention and should tell the physician your travel history.

For more information:

Ask your doctor or check the CDC web sites for more information about how to protect yourself against diseases that occur in the Indian Subcontinent, including the following:

For more information about these and other diseases, please check the Diseases page and CDC Health Topics A–Z.

Be sure to read the information about all the regions you are planning to visit.

Restricted Zones

Under the Government of India's new policy many areas are Open for Tourists that

were under Restricted Zones. Given below is guide giving comprehensive information.

MHA / District Magistrates concerned.

Remarks:

Tourist groups are to travel on the identified tour circuits only.  

*Individual tourists not permitted, 7 days allowed.

Note:

Groups should consist of 4 to 20 numbers and should be accompanied 

by a liaison officer. For more information, contact Indian Missions abroad 

or the Ministry of Tourism, Delhi, India.

Getting Ready

Once you have made up the mind to visit India,

·         The customs and local conditions could be very much different from home. Try to learn local customs and rules by contacting Indian Missions in your country, travel agents and visiting libraries.

·         Always remember that you will be subjected to the rules and regulations of the country you are going to visit.

·         Keep track of the current happenings in India to have first-hand information on current affairs.

·         The travel requires a valid passport and a valid visa. Obtain the visa from the Indian Mission in your country. Visas will not be issued at the entry point. For more information see Travel Documents and
Visa Rules & Regulations

·         Entries to certain regions are restricted to foreigners. Obtain the special permit well in advance if you are planning to visit those regions. For more information see Restricted Regions

·         Pre-plan your journey and make all advanced reservations. Use a reputed travel agent/tour operator to look after your interests.

·         Foreign tourists should be in possession of their yellow fever vaccination certificate conforming to International Health Regulations if they are originating or transiting through Africa or South America.

·         Get yourself inoculated against Cholera, hepatitis, typhoid and Malaria.

·         If you wear glasses, keep an extra pair.

·         Getting a travel insurance to cover theft, loss and medical problems will be a very positive step.

·         Keeping additional sets of passport size photographs will come handy.

·         If you are planning to drive in India, get an international licence from your national automobile organization.

·         Make photocopies of passport information page, the page on which visa is stamped, credit cards, travel insurance policy, air, bus and train tickets, driving licence etc. Keep one copy at home. Keep another copy with you separate from the original.

·         Equip yourself to travel light and make your journey pleasant.

·         Always pack up only a minimum amount of required valuables to carry with you.

·         Keep photocopies of your passport information page and the page where the visa is stamped. It will help you to replace your passport in the event it is lost or stolen.

·         To avoid problems when passing through the customs, keep your medicines in their original labelled containers. If a medication is unusual, carry a letter from your doctor certifying the need for you to use the medicine.

·         Carry traveller's cheques and credit cards and lesser currency notes.

Customs

·         Tourists of foreign origin can import, duty free, used personal effects and travel souvenirs, if these goods are for personal use of the tourist, and other than those consumed during the stay in India, are re-exported when the tourist leaves India for a foreign destination. Articles upto a value of Rs.4000/- for making gifts.

·         Any person can bring into India from a place outside India foreign exchange without any limit. However, declaration of foreign exchange/currency is required in the prescribed Currency Declaration Form in the following cases.

o        Where the value of foreign currency notes exceeds US$ 5,000/- or equivalent

o        Where the aggregate value of foreign exchange (in the form of currency notes, bank notes, traveler cheques etc.) exceeds US$ 10,000/- or its equivalent

·         Import of gold is regulated

·         Trafficking in Narcotic drugs like Heroin, Charas (Hashish) and Cocaine or in Psychotropic substances is prohibited and is punishable with imprisonment.

·         Import of Firearms as baggage is prohibited.

·         Non-declaration, false declaration and concealment of imported goods is an offence under the Customs Act, which may result in confiscation, fines, penalties and even prosecution.

·         Export of most species of wild life and articles made from flora and fauna such as Ivory, Musk, Reptile skins, Furs, Shahtoosh etc. is prohibited.

·         Export of Antiquities is prohibited. Restrictions exist on art objects more than 100 years old. Any doubts should be got cleared from:

Director Antiquities,
Archaeological survey of India,
Janpath, New Delhi
Tel: +(91) (11) 3017220.

• For more information see Baggage Rules  and
  Central Board of Excise and Customs

People

Indians are generally a polite, gentle and friendly people. In the eyes of most of Indians the westerner represents the affluent society. The fact that many Indians speak English will makes it easy to communicate. In the urban area you will be able to manage your requirements with English.

Many Indians, urban and middle class people, are very westernised. However if you spend some time with traditional and rural people, please remember the following.

·         In the custom of Indians the right hand has significant importance. Use only your right hand to eat, to greet someone, to shake hands, to point someone or something, to gift someone, to receive something etc.

·         Similarly start a journey or enter a house or a shrine with your right leg.

·         Do not touch food or cooking utensil that local people use.

·         If you have to share water from a shared utensil, do not touch it to your lips. Keeping high above , pour it into your mouth.

·         If you are invited to dine with a family, remove your footwear if the host does it and wash your hands before eating.

·         Do not approach hearth or enter kitchen unless invited to.

·         Enter the kitchen and the area where drinking water is stored only with bare foot.

·         Do not serve yourself from terracotta water utensils. Always ask your host to serve.

·         Indians are generally conservative about dresses. Women are expected to dress modestly covering their legs and shoulders. Many people may not approve women wearing shorts and short skirts. Men should wear a shirt in public.

·         Dressing decently and staying well groomed will improve the impression you make on local people. It will help reduce sexual harassment as well.

·         Please avoid kissing and embracing in public.

·         Bathing naked in the beaches should be avoided. If you respect the people, don't do it.

·         Taking photos of people, especially women, could be a sensitive issue. Always ask before you act.

Religion

In India religion is a way of life, an integral part of one's day to day activities, influencing every aspect of life.

·         Always show due respect to religious structures and people at prayer.

·         Do not enter a temple, a shrine or a mosque unless it is permitted.

·         Always enter them without wearing your footwear and dress conservatively.

·         Ask permission to take photos of deities or other structures of religious importance.

·         Do not take photos of funerals and cremations.

Women Travellers

·         India is generally perfectly safe for women travellers, even for those who are travelling alone. But in heavily toured areas like Goa, Rajasthan and Hampi you are advised not to walk alone in isolated spots, especially after dark. Young travellers should be cautious about lingering in isolated and lonely places at night. Cities are generally safe. It is a matter of common sense that one should take reasonable care if one is out after dark.

·         While travelling in some parts of India, although you are unlikely to be at physical risk, you could be exposed to 'Eve-teasing' by young local men. If you want to avoid it then pay attention to the local norms of dress and behaviour.

·         Women are expected to dress modestly covering their legs and shoulders. Many people may not approve women wearing shorts and short skirts. Dressing decently and staying well groomed will improve the impression you make on local people. It will help reduce sexual harassment as well.

·         In general you will find that there is respect and great concern for your safety and welfare. People even go out of their way to assist you.

Senior Travellers

·         India is a fabulous holiday destination for young and old alike. Unless your mobility is restricted or your vision is impaired and do not have any other disabilities and in reasonably good health, the senior travellers should consider India as a potential holiday destination.

Food

Indian food is world renowned for being aromatic and delicious. All Indian dishes are not hot as speculated. But being introduced to it for the first time, exert a little caution to what you eat until you develop a level of tolerance.
See Indian Cuisine

Delicious vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes are available almost every walk of life. As the Hindus do not eat beef and Muslims shun pork, you may not find both as a common dish. Buffalo meat is available and mutton mentioned in the menus is referring to lamb.

The basic Indian food will have dishes of vegetable, fish, chicken or mutton served with rice. In the north you will have a range of Indian breads to choose from. The food will be served with a number of vegetable side dishes and curd/yoghurt. There are regional specialities those will replace some of the dishes as thousands of variations are available across the country.

Broadly speaking there are three types of eating-establishments. The low-priced diner, where food is basic but often good, serves rice or Indian bread with dhal (lentil soup), vegetable side dishes and yoghurt. Sometimes meat or fish are also served as main dish.

The restaurants offer a wide choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The quality and prices vary. Deluxe restaurants like those in star hotels can be very expensive to Indian standards. But they offer you genuine classic Indian dishes at a fraction of a price you pay at home.

The third type caters specially for foreign tourists. They are found in beach resorts, hill stations and tourist centres across India. They are expensive and serve pancakes and fritters, omelettes and toasts, fried prawns, chips and cereal.

Things to Remember

·         Remember that you will be subjected to the rules and regulations of the country you are visiting.

·         All foreigners are required to get themselves registered with the Foreigner's Regional Registration Office (FRRO)

·         There is a prepaid taxi service at the airports and it is advisable that this facility is made use of as it proves to be the most economical.

·         Large establishments including hotels, shops, and airlines generally accept American Express, Master Card, Visa and Diners Club credit cards.

·         Occasionally India and Pakistan engage in skirmishes across the disputed Kashmiri border. Indian armed forces also clash with Kashmiri separatists in the state. It is advisable that travellers avoid the western part of Jammu & Kashmir.

·         Kashmiri separatist groups have targeted foreign travellers in this area and some have been kidnapped or killed.

·         Civil unrest in the Northeastern states resulted in terrorist attacks on trains, buses and bridges, and political killings. Official sources encourage exercising caution in visiting the states of Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

·         Particular care should also be taken when travelling to parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar given the prevalence of local banditry.

·         On arrival, registering with your country's mission will be a good idea.

·         Avoid public demonstrations and other civil disturbances.

·         Beware of strangers who offer you bargain.

·         Beware of pickpockets and petty thieves.

·         Do not accept drinks or food from strangers.

·         While you are travelling by car try not to pick up hitchhikers.

·         Try not to stay in very cheap hotels

·         Lock up your valuables in the hotel safe.

·         Keep the hotel room locked and meet your visitors preferably in the lobby.

·         Use only authorized guides.

·         Try to use official taxis.

Climate

·         India and most of South Asia has a warm to very hot weather. Northern India has a pleasant weather from October to March. The winter month will require light woollen. The dry hot weather is from April through mid July before monsoon begins. Light cotton will be ideal during this period.

·         The Central, Eastern and Southern India have a warm and humid climate and are more comfortable during September through February. There are areas in the South closer to the Western Ghats those are cooler and comfortable throughout the year such as Bangalore, Ooty, Kodaikanal etc which requires light woollen.

·         It's difficult to pin down the best time to visit India weather-wise because of the wide range of climatic factors. Broadly speaking September to March is the most pleasant months over much of the country. In the south, October to February is more pleasant, while Sikkim and the areas of northeastern India are comfortable between March and August. Kashmir and the mountainous regions of Himachal Pradesh are best accessed between May and September. The deserts of Rajasthan and the northwestern Indian Himalayan region are at their best during the monsoon.

·         The trekking season in the Indian Himalayas runs roughly from April to November. The ski season is between January and March.