India Travel

Visas and red tape

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Visa extensions

It is no longer possible to extend a visa in India, though exceptions may be made in special circumstances. Most people whose standard six-month tourist visas are about to expire head for Colombo, capital of neighbouring Sri Lanka, or the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu. Or Bangkok, and apply for a new one. However, in recent years this has been something of a hit-and-miss business, with some tourists having their requests turned down for no apparent reason. The Indian High Commission in Kathmandu is particularly notorious for this; you can telephone them to check their current policy, but don't expect the story

From Calcutta to Bangladesh

Calcutta is the main gateway to Bangladesh from India; you can reach Bangladesh by air, train or road. The Bangladesh Consulate is at 9 Circus Ave; visas must be obtained in advance. There are at least two flights daily from Calcutta to Dhaka and a return ticket costs around $100. Biman flies daily to Calcutta and twice weekly to Chittagong. Indian Airlines have five flights a week to Dhaka and two to Chittagong. Although there is no direct line from Calcutta into Bangladesh, trains from Sealdah take you as far as Bongaon. From here you can take an auto-rickshaw to Haridaspur, 5km

Thirumalai Nayak Palace in Central Tamil Nadu

Roughly a quarter survives of the seventeenth-century Thirumalai Nayak Palace (daily 9am-lpm & 2-5pm), 1.5km southeast of the Meenakshi Temple. Much of it was dismantled by Thirumalai's grandson, Chockkanatha Nayak, and used for a new palace at Tiruchirapalli. What remains today, was renovated in 1858 by the governor of Chennai, Lord Napier, and again in 1971 for the Tamil World Conference. The palace originally consisted of two residential sections, plus a theatre, private temple, harem, royal bandstand, armoury and gardens. The surviving building, the Swargavilasa ("Heavenly Pavilion"), is a rectangular courtyard, flanked by 18m-tall colonnades. As well as occasional live performances

Jami Masjid in Central new Delhi

Old Delhi's red and white Jami Masjid (Rs10; Rs50 extra for camera), dominating the surrounding markets around 500m to the west o( the Red Fort, may look huge from a distance, but feels nothing short of immense once you've climbed the wide staircases to the arched gateways and entered the open courtyard, large enough to accommodate the bending bodies of up to 25,000 worshippers. This is India's largest mosque, designed by the eminent architect Shah Jahan, and built by a workforce of 5000 between 1644 and 1656. Originally called Masjid-i-Jahanuma ("mosque commanding a view of the world"), this grand structure

Dilwara temples of Mount Abu in Rajasthan

Jains consider temple building to be an act of devotion, and without fail their houses of worship are lovingly adorned and embellished, But even by Jain standards, the Dilwara temples. 3km northeast of Mount Abu (daily noon-6pm; free; no leather, cameras, transistors, tape recorders, or menstruating women), are some of the most beautiful in India. All five are made purely from marble, and the carving, especially in the two main structures, is breathtakingly intricate, unparalleled in its lightness and delicacy. Each litde section stands on its own as a work of art, inspiring a stunned response from even the most

Travel, trek and tour operators in North Bengal

Clubside Tours and Travels jp Sharma Road. Established and reliable company dealing with airline tickets, tours and trekking. DGHC Tourism Silver Fir Building. Arranges transport, manages trekking huts and organizes white-water rafting on the River Teesta. Diamond Travels 37B Old Super Market, Trekking, transport to Kathmandu, Calcutta and Guwahati. Greenland Tours & Travels 21 Beechwood, Laden La Road. Low-key, friendly travel, tour and trek operator, with a book exchange, up the steps above the post office. Himalayan Adventures Das Studios, 15 Nehru Rd. Established Indo-Australian company which runs upmarket treks and tours. Himalayan Travels 18/1 Gandhi Rd. A major trek operator in

Purana Qila in South Delhi

The majestic fortress of Purana Qila, whose crumbling ramparts dominate busy Mathura Road. 4km southeast of Connaught Place, is often said to stand on the site of Indraprastha, the city of the Pandavas. oi Mahabharala fame. More certainly, it was the centre of the sixth city of Delhi, created by Humayun, the second Moghul emperor, as Din-Panah, and renamed Shergarh by Sher Shah, who briefly displaced him. Purana Qila is served by buses between Delhi Gate and Sundernagar, such as #423 and #438. The #411 continues to Nizamuddin. and #482 goes on to Kalkaji. Two principal buildings survive to hint at

Agra Fort at the Western UP

The high red-sandstone ramparts of Agra Fort (dawn to dusk; Rs505 [Rs20]) dominate a bend in the River Yamuna, 2km northwest of the Taj Mahal. Akbar laid the foundations of this majestic citadel, built between 1565 and 1573 in the form of a half moon, on the remains of earlier Rajput fortifications. Agra Fort developed as the seat and stronghold of the Moghul empire for successive generations: Akbar constructed the walls and gates, his grandson, Shah Jahan, had most of the principal buildings erected, and Aurangzeb, the last great emperor, was responsible for the ramparts. The curved bastions of the sandstone

Cheruthuruthy in Kerala

The village of CHERUTHURUTHY is an easy day-trip 32km north of Thrissur through gently undulating green country. It consists of a few lanes and one main street, which runs south from the bank of Kerala's longest river, the Bharatapuzha (pronounced Bharatapura). Considered holy by Hindus, the great river has declined in recent years, leaving a vast expanse of sand. Although of little consolation to locals, who have to deal with the problems of a depleted water supply, it has produced a landscape of incomparable beauty. Cheruthuruthy is famous as the home of Kerala Kalamandalam, the states flagship training school for Kathakali

Keylong to Sarchu Serai in Himachal Pradesh

Beyond Keylong, the Bhaga Valley broadens, but its bare sides support very few villages. By the time you reach Darcha, a lonely cluster of dry-stone huts and dingy tent camps on the edge of a vast pebbly river confluence, the landscape is utterly denuded. All buses stop here for passengers to grab a hot bowl of Tibetan thukpa from a wayside dhaba. There's little else to do in Darcha, which would be the definitive one-horse frontier post were it not for all the ponies hanging around its outskirts near the Shingo La trailhead - the main trekking route north to

Taxis in Delhi

Black and yellow taxis, which charge around fifty percent more than auto-rickshaws - thus Red Fort to Connaught Place costs in the region of Rs80 -are considered to be the most reliable mode of transport. Drivers belong to local taxi stands, where you can make bookings and fix prices; if you flag a taxi down on the street you're letting yourself in for some hectic haggling. Between 11pm and 5am, there is a surcharge of around 25 percent. A new service. Dial-a-Cab, offers convenience and luxury with air-conditioned cars and tamper proof digital meters, but at a price.

Chor Bazaar, Mutton Road and the red-light district in Mumbai

Jump in a taxi at the Mumba Devi temple for the two-kilometre trip north to the other concentration of markets around johar Chowk, just north of SP Patel Road. The most famous of these. Chor (literally "thieves") Bazaar (where vendors peevishly insist the name is a corruption of the Urdu shor, meaning "noisy"), is the city's largest antiques-cum-flea market. Friday. The Muslim holy day, is the best day to be here. From 9am onwards, the neighbourhood is cluttered with hawkers and hand-carts piled high with bric-a-brac and assorted junk being eagerly rummaged by men in skullcaps. At other times, the

Pokaran in Rajasthan

POKARAN with its red-sandstone fort and superb Itavelis, is a quiet, sel-dom-visited desert town 110km east of Jaisalmer, situated at the road and rail junctions between Jodhpur. Bikaner and the west. Once included in the territory of Jodhpur, it passed into the huge state_ of Jaisalmer after Independence. Pokaran became the unlikely object of world attention in May 1998, when five nuclear bombs were detonated at the army test range 20km northwest of town. Previously, a few tourists used to stop here en route to or from Jaisalmer, but despite the Indian government's insistence that there has been no ground-water

Police (100) in Calcutta

The central police station is on Lai Bazaar Street, BBD Bagh. Postal services Calcutta's imposing GPO. on the west side of BBO Bagh, houses the poste restante and has a philatelic department. The Central Telegraph Exchange is nearby at 8 Red Cross Place, close to Telephone Bhavan. the headquarters for Calcutta Telephones. If you're staying in the Sudder Street area, the New Market Post Office, Minza Ghalib Street, is much more convenient. Sending parcels is easiest from the large and friendly post office on Park Street, where enterprising individuals will handle the entire process for you for a negotiable fee.

Tirupati

Set in a stunning position, surrounded by wooded hills capped by a ring of vertical red rocks, the Shri Venkateshvara temple at Tirumala, an enervating drive 700m up in the Venkata hills, 11 km from TIRUPATI and 170km northwest of Chennai, is said to be the richest and most popular place of pilgrimage in the world, drawing more devotees than either Rome or Mecca. With its many shrines and dharamshalas the whole area around Tirumala Hili provides a fascinating insight into contemporary Hinduism practiced on a large scale. If you are not particularly keen on waiting in line for hours

Muner

The imposing but neglected red-sandstone mausoleum of the Sufi saint Yahia Muneri overlooks a lake 27 km west of Patna on the busy Varanasi road, 1 km west of MUNER - an easy bus ride from the city. The shrine itself, built in 1605 by Ibrahim Khan, the governor of Gujarat under Jahangir, stands atop a hillock; the beautifully maintained gardens below are the responsibility of the devout and traditionalist Sufi caretakers. Every year, around February, a three-day urs or festival in the saint's honour attracts pilgrims from far and wide, including qawwals, the renowned Sufi minstrels of the Chistia

Moth-ki-Masjid in South Delhi

The Moth-ki-Masjid, built during the reign of Sikandar Lodi (1488-1517), is now all but abandoned, isolated in a rural setting within the rapidly spreading suburbs of south Delhi, 2km from Hauz Khas off the Delhi—Mehrauli Road. A milestone in the evolution of the Moghul mosque, its three-domed prayer hall, ornate mihrab and arches stand on a raised plinth, enclosed by walls pierced by an elegant red sandstone gate to the east. Legend has it that Sikandar Lodi picked a grain of moth (a type of lentil) which was then sown by his minister Miyan Bhuwa; the bumper crop multiplied again

Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu

Synonymous with the fifth Hindu element of fire, TIRUVANNAMALAI. 100km south of Kanchipuram, ranks, along with Madurai, Kanchipuram, Chidambaram and Trichy, as one oft the five holiest towns in Tamil Nadu. Its name, meaning "Red Mountain", derives from the spectacular extinct volcano, Arunachala, which rises behind it, and which glows an unearthly crimson at dawn. This awesome natural backdrop, combined with the presence in the centre of town of the colossal Arunachaleshvara Temple, makes Tiruvannamahi one of the region's most memorable destinations. Well off the tourist trail, it is a perfect place to get to grips with life in small-town

The Town of the Kohima in the Northeast

Spread loosely over a saddle joining two large hills, Kohima forms a pass that played a strategic role during World War II. The highway from Imphal to Dimapur - the route along which the Japanese hoped to reach the plains of India - crosses the saddle at the foot of the Second World War Cemetery, which dominates the town. Its immaculate gardens stand as memorial to the Allies who died at this very spot during the three-month Battle of Kohima, which ended in April 1944 after claiming the lives of over 10,000 soldiers. Below the cemetery in central Kohima, bustling markets

George Town in Tamil Nadu

North of Fort St George, the former British trading centre of George Town (reached on bus #18 from Anna Salai) remains the focal area for banks, offices and shipping companies. This confusing - if well-ordered - grid of streets harbours a fascinating medley of architecture: eighteenth- and nineteenth-century churches, Hindu and Jain temples, and a scattering of mosques, interspersed with grand mansions. In the east, on Rajaji Salai, the General Post Office occupies a robust earth-red Indo-Saracenic building, constructed in 1884. George Town's southern extent is marked by the bulbous white domes and sandstone towers of the High Court, and