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India's
major international airports
are Mumbai (Bombay),
Delhi, Calcutta,
Chennai (Madras)
and a newly constructed international airport at Kerala.
Flights from Europe tend to arrive in India in the early
hours of the morning, which can be inconvenient if you
don't have reserved accommodation or don't like tramping
around unfamiliar cities in the dark.
Delhi
is the cheapest place to buy
air tickets in India, followed by Calcutta
and Mumbai. International flights to neighbouring countries
can be very cheap: especially between Calcutta and Dhaka
(Bangladesh), Delhi and Karachi (Pakistan) and Tiruchirappalli
and Colombo (Sri Lanka). A new international airport
near Kochi in Kerala is due to open soon. The departure
tax on flights to Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and
Nepal is approximately US$5, but to other countries
it's US$10.
The
most popular overland routes
between India and Nepal are Birganj-Raxaul
Bazaar, Sunauli-Bhairawa
and Kakarbhitta-Siliguri.
If you're heading from Kathmandu or Pokhara to Delhi
or elsewhere in north-western India, then Sunauli is
the most convenient entry point; to reach Calcutta or
most of eastern India, Birganj is the best place to
cross the border; and to get to Darjeeling, it's easiest
to go via Kakarbhitta. It's fairly easy to travel between
Calcutta and Dhaka overland. The only border crossing
currently open between India and Pakistan is between
Lahore and Amritsar. This crossing can be done either
by train or by road. All other border crossings are
by road only.
The
historic bus service
between Lahore and Delhi, operating four times a week,
is now up and running. It's open to non-residents and
although its a symbol of national unity, it's also the
obvious target for disgruntled nationalists looking
to continue the feud.
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