Visa
You will need to have a passport that is valid for a minimum of at least 6 months.
Attached you will find a visa form and instructions, a letter from our travel agent and addresses for the Indian consulate in your area. Please see the consular jurisdiction document so that you know which consulate to send your visa to. In order to get your Indian Visa you will need to send in 2 passport sized pictures (2"x2") of your self along with your passport and the visa form application and a letter from our travel agent listing your dates of travel. (It is a good idea to keep a Xerox copy of your passport for your own records.) You will need to request a 6 month tourist visa which will cost $60. The Indian Consulates do not accept checks or credit cards so you will need to get a money order or cashiers check for the whole amount. It is best to send your passport in by Express Mail Envelope and include a self-addressed, stamped Express Mail Envelope for the Consulate to return it. There are instructions included with the visa form if you hold a non-U.S. passport.
On the visa form they ask for 2 references in India - you may use the following as our contacts:

Sardar Trilochan Singh
5 th floor Lok Nayak Bhavan
Khan Market
New Delhi 110003

Mr. Bedi of Miri Piri Academy
Guruke Wadali
Chherta Sahib
Amritsar , Punjab 143105

Indian Consulates in your area

pdf of visa form:


Deposit Information:
A $300 deposit will be due to secure your registration. The remaining amount must be received in our office by Aug 10th in order to confirm your arrangements.

Cancellation fees for 2006 India Yatra :
Early Cancellation fee on or before July 24th $80.
Regular Cancellation fee from July 25th - Aug 10 $240
Late Cancellation fee on or after Aug 11 $800.

Travel Insurance
I have never personally used Travel Insurance but many recommend that you obtain Comprehensive Travel Insurance for any trip. Many independent companies offer Trip Insurance. Ensure that the policy has, as a minimum, high levels for Medical Expenses and Emergency Transportation, and coverage for cancellation due to a Travel Advisory issued by the U.S. State Department (many policies do not have this clause). You may research insurance policies online. Check out: insuremytrip.com.

Release Form
You will need to notarize and sign the attached release form before the Yatra departs and mail back to this office:
India Yatra
c/o Sumpuran
6 Narayan Ct.
Espanola , NM 87532

Money & Valuables
Leave your valuables at home. Only bring what you are willing to carry with you at all times.
The currency in India is the Rupee and goes for about 44 rupees to the U.S. dollar right now.
Some people like the security of American Express Travelers Checks. Most banks in Delhi have ATM machines that will give Indian rupees with your USA or European bank ATM card. However, most won't take a pin number over 4 digits. ATM's are popular in the big cities but once we leave Delhi, may be hard to find.

There is a Thomas Cook's currency exchange in the arrival hall of the New Delhi airport. As you wait for your luggage to come in, it might be good to take a moment to exchange some of your dollars.

Any foreign exchange should only be exchanged in a bank or at a hotel. The commission will be higher at a hotel, but the exchange rate is so good that a few rupees won't matter and the convenience will be worthwhile. If someone approaches you and says they can give you a higher rate than the banks, do not do business with that person. It is called exchanging on the black market and is highly illegal. You can be arrested for doing so.

Phone Calls / Time Difference / Mail / Electricity
(Outgoing) International phone calls can be made from an STD office (to avoid paying the hotel surcharge). You will see signs for these phones everywhere. You give them the number you need to call and they dial it for you and the meter starts running. You pay in cash when you are done. I have not had much luck using phone cards on the systems in India .
If you are calling from within India to the US , you will dial 001 then your area code and number.
If you are calling from within India from city to city you will dial a 0 before the city code.
If someone needs to call you from the United States they must dial 011 to get out of the country, the country code for India 91, then the city code and then the number. City codes
Delhi is 11
Rishikesh is 135

If you are interested in posting letters, the safest is to post your mail through the front desk of the hotels. I believe mail still takes its time from India .

For use of appliances, laptops, recharging anything the Electrical current is 220 and you will need to bring a voltage adaptor. Laptops usually have the capacity to run on both 220 or 110 but you will at least need a plug adaptor. They use the same plug system as Europe .

Personal security
Theft is not uncommon. It is essential to take good care of personal valuables both when you are carrying them and when you have to leave them in hotels or other places. You cannot regard any place as automatically safe. It is best to leave valuables at home. Keep your passport, cash and travelers checks with you at all times. Money belts worn under clothing are one of the safest options. Purses and handbags should be made of material that is not easily cut. External pockets (both on bags and clothing) should never be used for carrying either money or important documents. It is a good idea to have a Xeroxed copy of your passport in your luggage.

There is no way to control who is in a crowd. Groping is possible. Please do not go anywhere alone. Always take a partner or go with a group. Take someone with you and please leave word with your team leader of your whereabouts and time of expected return.

Customs clearance and immigration
Remember you are allowed to bring in all personal effects "which may be reasonably required" without charge. Official custom allowance includes a camera with 20 rolls of film, a pair of binoculars, laptop computer, one music system, i.e. cd player, jewelry, video camcorder with 12 video cassettes, special camera equipment and lenses, one cell phone, one electronic diary. You must take all of these items out of the country when you leave. They may check upon departure and if items are missing it is a serious offense.

As we will be traveling "light", we suggest that you do not carry any valuables that you are not willing to have on your person at all times.

There is an Internet cafés within walking distance in Amritsar, Dharmsala and Anandpur.

Items that are prohibited to import are dangerous drugs, live plants, unstitched cloth, gold coins, gold and silver bullion and silver coins not in current use. These are either banned or subject to strict regulation. It is illegal to import firearms into India without special permission.

Hotels and room assignments
The rooms will be based on double occupancy unless there is some extreme, unforseen need to triple up. There is a single supplement available for an additional $700 if you require a single room for the journey.
In the hotels, room service, laundry service and restaurant charges will need to be on a cash only basis - not charged to the hotel rooms. The only charges you make on your room should be telephone calls. You must pay for your telephone charges and incidentals before retiring on the night before a departure.

Having a large group of people checking out for small charges can easily take up to 2 hours. Please understand that we have almost missed airplanes on previous trips because people thought it would just take 5 minutes to check out. Please be very conscious of this.

Laundry service and phone use in hotels
The hotel in Delhi will have laundry service. Items that you send to wash in India often come back with a distinctive gray tinge. If you have something that needs more delicate treatment there will be dry cleaning available at the hotels. Please be forewarned that the dry cleaning process often leaves clothes smelling like a gas station. All clothes that you are planning to send out for laundry should be marked with a permanent laundry marker with your name. I often just use the sink in my room for handwashing my clothes.

Shopping
Most shopkeepers expect you to bargain with them, so the first price they tell you is not what they expect you to pay. In New Delhi there are government emporiums with fixed prices for artifacts and fabrics. For high-end items, like carpets and jewelry you should know the market value before buying.
Credit cards are taken in most shops in New Delhi and even in Amritsar . MasterCard and Visa are usually preferred but they often do take American Express and Diner's.

Transport
The roads in India are very hazardous and traffic can be a problem. We will be traveling by bus and will go at a fairly relaxed pace. Books, audiotapes or a small handicraft are useful to have for the trains, buses and while waiting.
Buses will leave on time for each program we are to attend. Please understand that if you are late the buses will not wait for you. It is suggested that you enter the bus 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure time.

When you check in at the hotel say that you are part of the Sikh Dharma group. There will be a packet of information given to you at check-in. If you plan to arrive earlier than the 25th of Aug, you will be responsible for paying an additional room cost per each additional night.

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