India facts

Land & people

Area: 3,287,590 sq km
Population (July 2007 est.): 1.129 billion
Capital: New Delhi
GDP per capita (2007 est.): $3,800

Languages: Hindi is the national language. English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication. About 15 major languages and 844 different dialects are also spoken in the country.

India is situated in the northern hemisphere. Its neighbours include Pakistan and Afghanistan to the northwest, China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north, Myanmar to the east and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Surrounding the country is the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south.

The Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Straits separates the country from Sri Lanka. The Andaman and Nicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea are also a part of India.

The territory of India represents a geographical amalgamation of various features with its mountain ranges, valleys, desert regions, tropical rain forests, fertile plains, dry plateaus, coastal areas and more.

The country's three main geological regions include the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Himalayas, and the Peninsula region. The Indo-Gangetic Plain and those portions of the Himalayas within India are collectively known as North India. South India consists of the peninsular region.

Several major rivers, including the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Indus, flow through India. Arising in the northern mountains and carrying rich alluvial soil to the plains below, these mighty rivers have supported agriculture-based civilisations for thousands of years.

India's incredible physical diversity matches the diversity of its population. The country is administratively divided into 28 states and seven Union Territories. States include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

The Union Territories are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry and National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Useful addresses

- Embassy of India, P.O. Box No. 4090, Abu Dhabi.
Tel: 02-4492700;
Fax: 02-4447768/4444685;
E-mail: indiauae@emirates.net.ae

- Consulate General of India, P.O.Box 737, Dubai.
Tel: 04-3971222/3971333;
Fax: 04-3970453;
E-mail: cgidubai@emirates.net.ae

- Indiatourism, P.O. Box 12856, Deira, Dubai.
Tel: 04-2274848/ 2274199; Fax: 04-2274013;
E-mail: goirto@emirates.net.ae

Passport/visa

A valid passport and visa are necessary to enter the country. For more information, please contact the nearest Indian embassy, consulate or high commission.
When to go

The best time to visit India is the winter season, which lasts from October to February. The usually wet areas of northeast also become dry around this time, making it easier to travel there. These months also coincide with the celebration mood in the country. This is the time when most of the renowned festivals of India are celebrated.

If you are planning to visit India during the summer months of March to May, then the best thing is to go to the hills and enjoy the scenic beauty. Months of March to May, September and November are ideal for trekking in the Himalayas.
Cash/credit cards

Major airports have currency exchange booths that are always open for arriving or departing overseas flights. It's advisable to change certain amount of money in small denominations.

Always change money from an authorised moneychanger and remember to take the encashment slip. Most hotels have foreign-exchange facilities for guests and will cash traveller's cheques.

Credit cards such as American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in cities and larger towns, and can also be used to get cash advances in rupees.
Getting there

Major airports include Mumbai (Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Kochi (Cochin), Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kozhikode (Calicut), Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Amritsar.
The country's flag carrier Air India, the low-cost Air-India Express as well as the state-run Indian (Indian Airlines) offer overseas air travel.

Dining: Food to savour

Offering an immense variety, Indian cooking is both colourful and aromatic, exremely hot or spicy to the taste, and can still be economical even at top-class hotels. There is significant regional variation in cuisine from north to south.

Meat dishes such as rogan josh (curried lamb), gushtaba (spicy meat balls in yoghurt), biryani (chicken or lamb in orange-flavoured rice, sprinkled with sugar and rose water), and tandoori chicken are more common in the north. In the south, curries are mainly vegetable and tend to be hotter. Specialities include bhujia (vegetable curry), dosa, idli and sambar (rice pancakes, dumplings with pickles and vegetable and lentil curry).