you plan to see other places in India before your visit to Ladakh, Delhi will be the most likely starting point for your trip. The city has daily air connections with many major cities around the world.
Delhi
Arriving in Delhi
Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (www.newdelhiairport.in) has undergone a lot of expansion recently. International flights and many domestic flights now operate from the new Terminal 3, although some domestic flights still operate from Terminal 1.
Terminal 3 has a new metro connection with the city (Orange Line). Using it is the cheapest option to travel between the airport and the city, unless you arrive late at night.
To take a taxi, use the regulated pre-paid service (easily found at the Arrivals hall). The fixed price depends on the destination and ranges between Rs400 and Rs500 for most places. You need to know the name of your particular destination (see Accommodation below). Many drivers will try to take you to a hotel on the way, so tell them that you have a reservation even if you don’t. It is usually easy to find a room at the places mentioned below and reservations are not necessary. Taxi drivers get commissions from hotels, so beware of paying more and find a hotel on your own.
State bus en route between Jammu and Srinagar
There are regular buses from the airport to the city operated by the state-owned Delhi Transport Corporation (www.dtc.nic.in). Buses follow a few different routes. One passes Rajiv Chowk (previously known as Connaught Place), goes near New Delhi Railway Station (eastern side) and finishes at the Kashmiri Gate Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT). The service is available around the clock and there are usually two buses per hour. The buses do not stop at Terminal 3, but opposite the Centaur Hotel; airport buses run between the two places.
An airport shuttle bus service runs between Terminal 3 and Terminal 1.
COPING WITH DELHI
Delhi may come as a bit of shock to those on their first visit to the developing world. The sights and scenes are initially overwhelming: pollution and noise, heat and humidity, colours, dresses, religions, the mix of faces, some sad, some happy and welcoming. The huge number of people everywhere is astonishing, with vast differences between rich and poor, modern and undeveloped. The aggressive, chaotic traffic seems so outrageous as to be hilarious at times. There is no way to be prepared for Delhi.
Tourists have been providing a living for many Delhi citizens, hotel staff, restaurant owners, shopkeepers, taxi and rickshaw drivers, beggars and even hash-dealers for years. Some will try to benefit from your lack of experience. Double-check all the information; have limited trust in people you have met by chance. It often happens that someone who appears to be helping you for nothing actually works for a travel company. Many of the so-called ‘free tourist information centres’ are tour agencies, looking for business. Taxi and motor-rickshaw drivers, and cycle-rickshaw riders, will charge you double the normal price (and tend to drive around further if the price was not pre-arranged).
You need to bargain for many items in shops and on the street. Restaurants and hotels usually have fixed prices, but check before you commit. Always arrange the price for transport before you set off. Bargain for taxis and rickshaws, whose drivers will try to take you to shops and emporiums. On arrival, allow yourself a day to adjust before making important decisions on travel arrangements or shopping.
Beware of pickpockets! Leave only your luggage in your hotel room; always lock the room. Conceal your valuables on your person; keep your cash in a few different places. Carry only a small amount of money and no important documents in your wallet. Have your hotel business card with you when going out – if you get lost, you will always be able to get back to your hotel.
Getting around
This has become easier as the fast-growing network of the Delhi Metro opens new stations and lines (www.delhimetrorail.com). To travel by metro you need a token for a single journey to a particular destination. It must be bought at a station just before the journey, and costs no more than Rs25 for most routes. Security checks and queues for tokens make the trip slower than you would expect, so allow enough time.
Travelling by city buses is quite confusing, because there are hardly any signs with information on routes, but it is possible! The conductor who collects the fee (usually a few rupees) on each bus can help with advice about the route and tell you where to get off. Ask about bus routes at your hotel.
Taxis are relatively expensive and you will probably not use them except on the way from and to the airport; usually you will use motor- or cycle-rickshaws. The latter are not allowed in many parts of New Delhi, being limited to Old Delhi and Paharganj. Always arrange the price before the trip; and bargain.
The majority of trains leave from and arrive at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS). Others leave from Delhi Station (DLI). The stations are quite far apart and most trains do not stop at both. Double-check from which station your train is leaving.
New Delhi Railway Station is located just east of Paharganj and 1km north of Rajiv Chowk/Connaught Place. It is easily accessible by metro – take the Yellow or the Orange (Airport Express) Line to New Delhi Metro Station. New Delhi Railway Station has a reservation office for foreign tourists upstairs on the first floor of the main station building, clearly signed. Beware of touts here. It is the easiest place to get information and buy a ticket, and has an extra quota of seats/berths that are not available elsewhere. It’s normally possible to get tickets for busy trains here.
Delhi Station (also called Old Delhi or Delhi Junction) is located in Old Delhi, near the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk Street. Chandni Chowk Station (Yellow Line) is the nearest metro station.
Interesting architectural styles in houses and the Khanqah (Mosque) of Shah Hamdan on the Jhelum River in the Old Town of Srinagar
To buy a train ticket in India, you usually need to fill in a form (available at any reservation office). The key feature is the code of the train. See the timetable book Trains at a Glance that is available at some ticket offices and at www.indianrailways.gov.in; see also www.indianrail.gov.in. You also need to determine the class of the coach you want to travel in – most backpackers take Sleeper Class (SL) for long-distance trips – and the position of the berth, whether upper, middle or bottom (for comfort and safety, take the upper one). Online reservation is possible at www.irctc.co.in and www.makemytrip.com.
Accommodation
Those arriving in India on a pre-arranged group tour will probably spend one night in Delhi en route to Leh, because the flights across the Himalayas go early in the morning. Generally groups use well-appointed, modern, comfortable hotels that are quiet and relaxing, and usually spend a day or two sightseeing in Delhi at the end of their trek.
Accommodation can be found easily in Delhi. There are three areas where most independent travellers stay. Paharganj, the most popular, is a big bazaar west of New Delhi Railway Station. There are dozens of cheap guesthouses and hotels, as well as some mid-range accommodation;
