Country Information

Air carriers service all major Indian cities and most large towns. The state domestic airline is Indian Airlines (IC) (www.indian-airlines.nic.in). The network connects 76 cities, 58 within India and 18 overseas. Other domestic airlines include Alliance Air (CD), a subsidiary of Indian Airlines, Jet Airways (9W) (www.jetairways.com), JetLite (formerly Air Sahara) (JAI) (www.jetlite.com), a subsidiary of Jet Airways, and Kingfisher Airlines (IT) (www.flykingfisher.com).

There are various special Indian Airlines fares available to foreign nationals and Indian nationals residing abroad which may be purchased either abroad or in India, where payment is made in a foreign convertible currency (such as US Dollars or Pounds Sterling). With the exception of the Youth Fare India (see below), discounts of 90% are available for children under two years of age, and of 50% for children aged two to 12. Full details of all the special fares are available from India Tourism. A summary of each is given below. Group discounts of up to 30% may also be available.

Discover India: seven-day, 15-day and 21-day tickets offer unlimited economy-class travel on all domestic Indian Airlines services. No stop may be visited more than once, except for transfer.

Youth Fare India: valid for three months, offering a 25% discount on the normal US Dollar fare. It is available to those aged 12 to 30 at the commencement of travel for journeys on economy/executive class of domestic air services and Indo-Nepal services.

India Wonder Fares (North, South, East and West): valid for seven days, offering unlimited economy-class travel. No town may be visited more than once, except for transfer. Details of the main air centres included in the deal can be obtained from Indian Airlines offices.

There are ferries from Kolkata (Calcutta) and Chennai (Madras) to Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. Contact Shipping Corporation of India (tel: (033) 248 2354, in Kolkata or (044) 523 1401, in Chennai; www.shipindia.com) for details. There are also services from Kochi and Calicut to the Lakshadweep Islands (http://lakport.nic.in). Services are often seasonal, and are generally suspended during the monsoon. There is a seasonal catamaran service from Mumbai (Bombay) to Goa. One particularly attractive boat journey is the ‘backwaters' excursion in the vicinity of Kochi in Kerala. Several local tours are available.

The Indian internal railway system is state-run by Indian Railways (tel: (011) 2340 5156; www.indianrail.gov.in). There are six classes of travel: first-class air conditioned, first-class sleeper, second-class air conditioned, second-class sleeper, third-class air conditioned and air conditioned chair car. Major trains carry restaurant cars.

Special trains: The Palace on Wheels (www.palaceonwheels.net) is a luxury train especially popular with foreign tourists. Tariff includes cost of travel, full catering and conducted sightseeing tours. Itinerary: Delhi-Jaipur-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Ranthambore-Chittorgarh-Udaipur-Bharatpur-Agra-Delhi.

The Golden Chariot (www.thegoldenchariot.co.in) is a luxury train journey through Karnataka and includes a stop in Goa.

The Deccan Odyssey (www.deccanodyssey.com) offers an eight-day jaunt through Maharashtra, pausing in Goa.

The Fairy Queen is the oldest steam engine in the world. The journey is a two-day round trip from Delhi to Alwar. Guests are taken to Sariska Tiger Reserve for a jeep safari and stay overnight in a hotel.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway operates from New Jalpaiguri/Kurseong to Darjeeling. It climbs 1,525m (5,000ft).

Other trains: The Rajdhani Express trains are deluxe super-fast trains connecting Delhi with a plethora of centres including Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai (Madras), Bengaluru (Bangalore), Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad and Ajmer.

Shatabdi Express: Super-fast trains connecting major and secondary city centres. Snacks and meals are provided.

Konkan Express: This route is Mumbai-Goa-Mangalore.

Indrail Pass: enables unlimited rail travel for a specific period. Advance reservation is essential. Indrail passes can be reserved in the UK from SD Enterprises Ltd (tel: (020) 8903 3411; www.indiarail.co.uk). The passes can also be purchased in India at all the main railway stations and authorised agents.

Traffic drives on the left. Outside the major cities main roads and other routes are often poorly maintained and congested with poor visibility and inadequate warning markers.

Bus: An extensive network of bus services connects all parts of the country, and is particularly useful for the mountainous regions where there are no rail services. However, public transport is often crowded and can be uncomfortable. Details of routes may be obtained from the local tourist office.

Tourist cars: There are a large number of chauffeur-driven tourist cars (some air conditioned) available in the main tourist centres. These unmetered tourist cars are usually cheaper than taxis if booked for an extended period of time. Shop around for the best deals and hire from a reputable firm.

Car hire: Self-drive cars are not as widely available as chauffeur-driven ones. Driving around India is not recommended due to the erratic nature of driving standards and the heavy traffic.

Documentation: An International Driving Permit is required. If importing your vehicle into India, get the latest documentation requirements from the Indian embassy in your home country.

Note: Travel in rural areas during the monsoon season can be hazardous and care should be taken. Monsoon rains cause flooding and landslides that can cut off some towns and villages for days at a time.

Taxis and auto rickshaws are available in large cities and fares should be charged by the kilometre. They do not always have meters but, where they do, visitors should insist on the meter being flagged in their presence. Fares change from time to time and therefore do not always conform to the reading on the meter, but drivers should always have a copy of the latest fare chart available for inspection. Kolkata (Calcutta) has a Metro underground railway. A Metro system opened in Delhi in 2004.

The following chart gives approximate journey times (in hours and minutes) from Delhi to other major cities/towns in India.

	Air	Road	Rail	Sea
Mumbai	1.50	28.00	17.30a	-
Kolkata	2.00	30.00	18.00b	-
Chennai	3.00	45.00	32.00	-
Port Blair	5.05	c	-	d

Note: a. Time by express (not daily); normal train takes 23 hours. b. Time by express (not daily); normal train takes 25 hours. c. Does not include stopover in Chennai. d. Boat journey from Chennai takes three to four days.