India isn't one culture - it's closer to a continent's worth of regional variation sharing one country. Language, food, dress, religion and daily customs all shift noticeably as you move between states, sometimes more than crossing a European border. Treating "Indian culture" as a single, uniform th...
Culture & Life
Food, religion, weddings, language, dress and everyday customs across India.
Indian cuisine is immensely varied, and almost none of it is the "curry" of restaurant menus abroad. Each region has its own style and staples: rice, wheat flour, a huge variety of pulses, vegetables, fruits and spices, with fish and meat in many regional kitchens. Cooking fats vary by region too: g...
For climate and what to pack by season, see Weather. This page covers dress codes and norms.
Religious sites
Modest dress is expected at temples, mosques, gurudwaras and churches alike: shoulders and knees covered is the rule of thumb, and shoes come off before entering almost any place of wor...
India's religious diversity is a lived, visible reality rather than a textbook fact - Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Jainism, Buddhism and others all have a genuine, longstanding presence, and it's common to find temples, mosques, gurudwaras and churches within walking distance of each othe...
Indian languages fall under two major and two minor families: the Indo-European languages (Indo-Aryan, 70%) and the Dravidian languages (22%), plus the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman families and a few isolated languages.
The official language of the Union is Hindi, with English as an additional...
India can be a genuinely rewarding place to travel with children, but it rewards preparation. What follows is practical and non-medical: for health and vaccination guidance, talk to a travel health clinic or your pediatrician, since recommendations depend on your child's age, history, and where exac...
Indian weddings are typically multi-day events with a lot of ceremony, color and (usually) genuine hospitality toward guests - including foreign ones. There's no single "Indian wedding," though - the specifics vary a great deal by religion and region, so treat the outline below as a general shape, n...
Yoga originated in India, and while it's practiced worldwide now, a large number of travelers still come specifically to study it here - whether that means a single drop-in class or a multi-week teacher training.
Where people actually go
- Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) - widely called the "yoga capit...