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Facts ll Entry Regulations ll Time Difference ll Currency ll Climate ll Clothes ll People
Social Behaviour ll Languages ll Religion ll Festivals ll Cuisine ll Alcoholic Drinks
Electricity ll Telecommunication ll Women Travel ll

Entry Regulations

Foreign nationals wishing to visit India must be in possession of a valid passport and a visa granted by an Indian mission abroad. Indian missions are located in 140 countries of the world.

The government of India does not allow any visa-free entry. Nationals of Nepal and Bhutan are exempted from obtaining a visa. They can enter India without a passport and visa provided they have their identity papers.

Visas are of different kinds. The period of their validity is subject to certain restrictions. The visa must be checked before entering India. All visas specify the number of times a visitor may enter a country. a multi-entry visa must be obtained if one is visiting some of the neighboring countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka and re-entering India.

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Indian Embassies Abroad

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Time Difference

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Currency

Indian currency is based on the decimal system-100 paise to the rupee. Coins are in the denominations of 5, 10, 20, 25, and 50 paise, though 5, 10 and 20 paise coins have virtually vanished, thanks to inflation. Bank notes are in the denominations of 1,2,5,10,20,50,100,500,1000 rupees.
Foreign currency regulations :
You may bring in any amount of foreign currency or traveller's cheques to India. It is desirable to declare it in the currency declaration form handed out to you at the time of arrival. If you have only $ 1,000 you need not declare it.
When you change your money in Indian currency, do it at the branch of a bank or go to an authorized moneychanger. Get an encashment receipt from the moneychanger. It helps you to reconvert the leftover Indian currency. In metropolitan or other major cities, it is possible to change currency at airports, hotels and banks. In small towns there may be a little problem. So change your money before you go to a small town. It may be advisable to bring some US dollars or British pounds, which can exchange more easily in smaller tourist centers.  

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 Climate

Climate in India varies greatly according to latitude, altitude and season.
Temperatures: Average maximum winter temperatures range from the high 20 degree celsius in the S to below freezing in parts of Kashmir, Leh and Ladakh, and the low 20 degree celsius on the northern plains. The range of minimum winter temperatures between N and S is greater. In many parts of the N plains, especially in the NW, close to the foothills of the Himalayas, night temperatures fall close to freezing. In contrast, in the far S, minimum temperature never fall below 20 degree celsius except in the hills.
In summer the N is generally hotter than the S, with daytime temperatures usually over 40 degree Celsius and in parts of the NW up to nearly 50 degree Celsius from time to time. Night time temperatures also remain high. The end of Apr - May is the hottest time. Once the clouds of the monsoon season arrive temperatures fall a few degrees, but the air gets much more humid, often making it intensely uncomfortable. In the S max temperatures never reach those experienced in the N, rarely rising above 40 degree celsius for more than a day or at a time. May is also generally the hottest month.
Rainfall : India's seasonal rainfall pattern is dominated by the monsoon, which generally arrives at the SW coast in late May or June, covering most of the country by the beginning of July, and retreating in October. However, the popular image of the monsoon is misplaced. Even in the wettest areas - the west coast or the NE hills of the shillong plateau - there are periods of days at a time when it does not rain. Elsewhere the rainy season is marked by prolonged very heavy showers, interspersed with cloudy, humid weather and occasional bright patches.

In India you find one of the biggest variety of languages on earth. The number of spoken languages in India is said to be around 1650. There is also a huge number of different dialects some of them only spoken by a single tribe.
Even among Indians communication is not always easy while travelling in different states due to differences of the languages. Communication difficulties are managed by using English by a large number of people to manage day-to-day life while travelling.
Proficiency in English in India is considered to be an extra qualification for the jobs as well as in business.
By knowing English as a foreign guest you will definitely find your way without having complications while travelling through India !
About 72% of Indians speak Indo-Aryan languages, mainly Hindi (38 %), Bengali, Bihari, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Gujarati, Assami, Kaschmiri, Nepali and Urdu. About 25%, mainly South-Indian people, speak Drawida languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The remaining 3% speak languages of Mongolian origin.
Official languages are Hindi (Devanagari type) and English. Additionally there are 14 regional languages (printed on every currency note) which are officially recognised. Sanskrit, which roots date more than 4000 years back, is the origin of most of today's spoken languages in India. Its prevalence as the language of the ruling and educated elite took influence on the development of other languages all over India. Sanskrit itself is no more spoken today although it is still recognised as one of the official languages in India.
For all those of you who would like to learn few words in Hindi we have compiled the following list of vocabulary.

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Religions

It is an almost impossible task to write down all there is to tell about "Religions in India". No other country on earth can prove as many religions and beliefs as this is the case in India.
However, we from Indo Vacations try to give you as much information as possible on religions about all these, when you are on a visit to India with us.
You will get to know as much as possible about Hindu deities and the caste system, we will talk on Karma, Dharma and the wheel of reincarnation, cremation, Mahabharata and Bhagavat Gita, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism and Islam, which are all a part of everyday life in India.
We invite you to join Indo Vacations on a journey getting to know India, its people and religions.
In today's India we have 82 % Hindus, 11 % Muslims, 2.5 % Christians, 2 % Sikhs, 1 % Buddhists, O.5 % Others (Jains, Parses and Jews).
Colourful, manifold Hinduism is one of the oldest religions of the world. Some aspects of modern Hinduism can be traced back more than 3000 years BC. There is no Hindu organisation, like a church, with the authority to define belief or establish official practice. In Hinduism no founder exists, no missionary work is done.
In Hinduism there is an enormous range of literature that is treated as sacred guide by the believers. Richly symbolic stories that are ranking around the great number of Hindu Gods are written down in Mahabharata, Bhagavat Gita, Ramayana etc.
Although it is impossible to tie down Hindu belief to a universally accepted creed, a number of ideas do run like a thread through intellectual and popular Hinduism.

Below all these we find the Pariahs - the outcasts, occupied with keeping toilets and streets clean, cremation of the dead etc.
To name all Hindu Gods is a rather difficult task. There are said to be more than three millions of Gods in Hindu belief, all representatives of different aspects of divinity.
Every Hindu God is unique and can be distinguished from the others either by its animal used for riding or by its symbols carried in hands.
Three Gods are widely seen as all-powerful, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Brahma is regarded as the ultimate source of creation. He possesses four heads, symbolizing his overall view of life. He rides on Hamsa, a wild goose. His companion is Sarasvati, Goddess of art and wisdom.
Vishnu, the preserver or protector of the universe, rests on a bed of snakes. In his hands he is holding a lotus, a disc, a club and a conch shell. He rides on Garuda, a creature part man and part eagle. His companion, Lakshmi, is Goddess of wealth and beauty.

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Festivals

There is not a single day in the Indian calendar when you may not be able to locate a festival in some part of the country. There are festivals for all occasions. All major Indian religions have their share of colorful festivals to celebrate. Then, there are festivals to celebrate change of seasons. Next are the festivals connected with the harvesting or sowing of crops. Every happy occasion calls for a celebration with dance and music. Not all the festivals are celebrated all over the country but some are. Besides, there are festivals connected with pilgrimages. Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh pilgrimage centers are located in each corner of India attracting millions of devouts who move from one part of the country to another. For instance, the KUMBH MELA at HARIDWAR or PRAYAG (Allahabad) attracts a few million people each time. Kumbh is celebrated every twelve years.
In no other country of the world are people so frequently motivated by a religious urge to travel as in India. One can take off for a holiday with an easy conscience when it comes to a religious pilgrimage. Fortunately for the Hindus, most of their places of pilgrimage are at scenic places in the Himalayas or near the sea or on the rivers.
There are some national festivals which are celebrated all over India. On January 26 each year, Republic Day in India is celebrated with a massive parade of the Army, Navy and the Air Force displaying latest military hardware. On this day in New Delhi one can see the whole of India capsuled. It reflects the pride, glory and joy of independent India.
While the dates of the national festivals are known, other festivals follow the lunar calendar and the dates can vary from year to year. However, they do not vary too much. Broadly/they fall within the same month as in the previous year.
If you plan to include a festival in your itinerary/please check the date with Our Indo Vacations Team. We know the dates at least one year in advance. The following are some of the important festivals of India.

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Cuisine

>Electricity

India has the 220v, 50-cycle system of electricity. Most hotels can provide step-down transformers to enable you use your electrical appliances.

Besides hotels, international telephone facilities exist in major post officers and markets. There are telephone booths for local and international calls in busy market areas all over the country. Telephoning from these places works out much cheaper that from your hotel room.
India has a direct dialing system linking over 190 countries of the world, including china. Within India, subscribers trunk dialing (std) is available for 1000 cities!
During your travel you will see big signs ISD/STD. You can call anywhere in the world from these booths.

Women Travel

Foreign women tourists in their traditional and graceful attire are not an object of curiosity in India. They mix well with Indian women, especially the educated ones. But foreign women wearing revealing clothes may attract attention and perhaps cat call too from Indian Romeos! Just walk past, ignoring them. Any little indication of friendliness on the part of women can be misunderstood. Women traveling alone in Indian cities during the day and early evening are perfectly safe. But it can be risky for women traveling alone in late at nights, as in any other metropolitan city of the world. Crime against foreign women is virtually unknown in India.

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