India Is Enormous, Diverse, and Full of Nuance-Here Are 14 Things to Consider When Beginning to Plan Your Visit

Hospitality in India is rooted in the philosophy “atithi devo bhava,” meaning the guest is god, and it appears in warm treatment of travelers across regions. Travel can be complex because India contains a vast mix of cultures, languages, and local ways of life, from Himalayan areas to southern coastal regions. Kindness often connects experiences, such as invitations for food and tea or offers of shelter during emergencies. Travelers are advised to consult their calendars because India has many festivals, including major events like Kumbh Mela. Travel dates should be booked early to match festival schedules, since hotels can sell out months in advance in cities tied to celebrations like Diwali.

"In India, hospitality is a foundational cultural philosophy. Literally, the ancient Sanskrit phrase "atithi devo bhava" translates to "the guest is god," and it's a way of thinking that manifests itself in warm moments for travelers from the Himalayan heights of Ladakh to the southern shores of Kerala. Travel here can still be tricky-no nation features as complex and vast collage of cultures within its confines; it's like if Europe were a single nation in a fraction of the expanse-a crowded amalgamation of princely outposts, verdant villages, and coastal trading towns that hold hundreds of different languages, communities, and ways of doing things. The scope can be intimidating."

"Still, the language of hospitality here is a uniting factor. My experiences across India are regularly stitched together by such kindness, whether it takes the form of an invite to a friend's home for tea and kebab in Kashmir or the offer of shelter from a stranger during a landslide in Himachal."

"Technically, there are more festivals celebrated annually in India than there are days on the calendar, including the world's largest religious gathering: the Kumbh Mela. If you want to hit up these festivals and the destinations they are closely tied to, make sure to lock in your travel dates well in advance. Diwali, the festival of lights, for example, can see hotels booked out months ahead in places like Varanasi, Jaipur, Amritsar, and Ayodhya, where thousands of diyas (lamps) line auspicious water bodies, time-honored bazaars, and historical palaces."

Read at Conde Nast Traveler