WHEN BEST TO GO

February to March and September to November are the best times to visit Delhi – during these seasons the city is blossoming, which presents a beautiful sight. Another added advantage of visiting the city during these months is that most of the festivals in Delhi fall between September and March.

LOCAL CUSTOMS

India is generally a fairly tolerant society, but visitors should be aware of the religious and social customs. While visiting temples, westerners should remove their footwear and cover their heads. There is also a ban on smoking in public areas

ATTIRE

The traditional costumes in Delhi are churidar or salwar kameez for women, and kurtas and pajamas for men. On formal occasions, such as marriages, women wear Indian attire or saris, whereas men adorn themselves with sherwani or western suits. In general, western women should dress conservatively both to respect local sensibilities and to avoid unwanted attention.

LANGUAGE

Hindi, but English is widely spoken

CURRENCY

INR

EXCHANGE RATE

$1 = INR 45.6
£1 = INR 72.7
€1 = INR 61.9

COUNTRY DIALLING CODE

+91

24 HOUR EMERGENCY CONTACT

Ambulance: 102
Fire: 101
Police: 100
Coastguard: 1 123 384934

EMBASSY CONTACTS

US: +91 11 2419 8000
UK: +91 11 2419 2100

TIME ZONE

GMT +5.5 Hours

POPULATION

19 million

RELIGIOUS DEOMOGRAPHIC

Delhi has a mix of different religions with Hinduism as one of the most dominant.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Maha Shivaratri, Milad-un-Nabi, Good Friday, Ram Navami, Id-ul-Fitr, Dussehra, Diwali and Christmas are all major public holidays in Delhi.

TYPICAL OPENING HOURS

Shops are open 10am to 6pm during weekdays and at weekends.