India

Understand

"Incredible India", proclaimed a long-running and for once accurate tourism campaign: India is mind-blowing, in ways good and bad. From opulent luxury to abject misery, congested cities to tranquil countryside, dense jungles and coral reefs to desolate deserts and tall mountains, India truly has it all. This extends to people, culture, language and food, which can vary wildly in ways small and large. To give a very simple example, a taxi driver in Mumbai will without saying a word drop their meter flag and return the exact change, while in Delhi you have to tell the driver to use the meter and hope you get your change, and in other areas taxi drivers don't even have meters and have fixed the rates for even short distances, and you just pay the amount demanded; if you do get an honest driver, consider yourself lucky. India shows extreme variation in most things, and one needs patience and luck to find the best. Never assume you know everything about any aspect of India; be prepared to see completely new things every day. Indian civilisation has been hugely influential throughout history, and many of the cultures of Southeast Asia exhibit strong Indian influences. Some Indian influences have also seeped into the cultures of East Asia through the spread of Buddhism. Indian science and mathematics was carried through the Silk Road to Europe and beyond.

History

Humans are thought to have first migrated into the Indian subcontinent around 70,000 BCE, and there are some Stone Age archaeological sites, including Mehrgarh (Pakistan), with the oldest known evidence of agriculture in the subcontinent, around 7000 BCE. The Indus Valley Civilisation (3300-1300 BCE) was one of the world's first Bronze Age civilisations and very advanced for its time. At its peak (2600-1900 BCE),

Getting there

Entry requirements

Visa India's once notoriously convoluted visa system has been drastically simplified with the introduction of the e-visa, which is now available to citizens of 166 countries including all the usual suspects, and is covered in detail below. Notable exceptions include the following: Holders of an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) document are permitted to stay in India indefinitely and have the same rights as any Indian citizen, enjoying the prices of Indian citizen at tourist attractions. However, they must apply for permits to visit certain areas in India, cannot buy agricultural land and cannot vote in any election. The OCI certificate is not under any circumstances a proof of Indian citizenship, and the country that you are a passport holder of is still able to offer consular assistance. Citizens of Nepal and Bhutan may enter and live in India indefinitely without a visa. Citizens of Maldives may stay up to 90 days without a visa. Citizens of Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates are eligible for visas on arrival and may stay for up to 60 days. Citizens (current or former) of Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran require a minimum of 4 weeks waiting time for their visa. A business visa may be required if you intend to do anything work related in India (OCIs are exempt from a business visa). The ETA does permit "casual business visits" and will be easier to obtain. If you do need a business visa, then be prepared to provide a great deal of documentation about your company in your home country as well as the company you are visiting in India. This will include (but may not be limited to) an invitation letter from the company that you are visiting as well as business registration documents and possibly tax returns and other sensitive doc

Getting around

India is big and there are lots of interesting ways to travel around it, most of which could not very well be described as efficient or punctual. Allow considerable buffer time for any journey with a fixed deadline (e.g. your flight back), and try to remember that getting there should be half the fun. Travelling to much of the North-East (with the notable exception of Assam), the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sikkim and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will require obtaining a Protected Area Permit (PAP) or Inner Line Permit (ILP) — see below. For foreigners on a regular visa, the easiest way to get these permits would be to request for one when applying for your Indian visa, and it will be added to your visa — not possible with ETA/e-Visa. Otherwise, you will need to hunt down a local Ministry of Home Affairs office (aka DC Magistrate Office) and grapple with bureaucracy. Also, local travel agents can obtain these permits for you, but it might be contingent on booking a tour with them. Indian citizens can apply for these permits online.

Addresses If you need to get anywhere, call in advance and ask for detailed directions. Bear in mind that street signs in India tend to be rare or non-existent outside the cities. Postal addresses will often carry landmark details "Opp. Prithvi theatre" or "Behind Maruti Showroom" or "near temple / church / mosque / bank branch / police station / school" to ease the search. Unlike the western system of address, the Indian system uses plot number or house number, sometimes house name, street, road