Mumbai’s got it going on this month. First of all, the Kala Ghoda Art Festival is happening even as we speak. The festival runs from February 6th to February 13, and features music and dancing, theatrical performances, literature and poetry readings, film screenings, visual arts and street performers. There is also a special program for kids. All of this is free of charge! For an excellent write-up of the festival, check out this piece by Sumiit Lakhutia of MatadorTravel.

The art festival coincides nicely with Mumbai’s second annual Restaurant Week, which also ends February 13th. The restaurant week is an attempt to promote Mumbai’s small but growing fine dining scene by allowing participants to enjoy prix-fixe menus at some of Mumbai’s more upscale restaurants. Each meal costs 1,000 rupees per person, or approximately $20.

Mangal Dalal, a food writer who helped start the first Restaurant Week last year, explained to the New York Times that upscale restaurants face special challenges in a city used to cheap food:

“In Mumbai, people are still very conscious of what they’re paying for a meal. It’s difficult to start a high-end restaurant, which is why we wanted to promote the experience of fine dining and help restaurants attract a more diverse clientele.”

To visit Mumbai, you’ll need both a valid US passport and an Indian visa. Unless you already have a visa, that basically rules out taking a spur-of-the-moment trip, but don’t worry: Mumbai is always an exciting place to visit.

To get your Indian visa, you must apply in advance. See Indian Visa Requirements for Tourists for more details.

Applying through RushMyTravelVisa makes the application process much quicker and easier. If you plan to pass through another country on the way to or from India, we’ll research your itinerary and let you know what the visa requirements are. Then, we’ll walk you through the application process and expedite your paperwork with the appropriate Indian embassy for the fastest processing available.

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Hyderabad, India is the country’s 6th largest city. Also known as the “City of Pearls,” it is a hub of the India’s film and IT industries.

Doesn’t sound like the best spot for a vacation, does it? Actually, while Hyderabad is big and busy, it’s also packed with gorgeous historical and architectural treasures. Plus, you can stay in a real palace! The New York Times named the city as one of its “41 Places to Go in 2011,” saying

“The latest buzz is the debut of two five-star hotels…The first, Park Hyderabad, is a futuristic structure designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with an aluminum and glass facade inspired by the settings and metalwork found in the Nizams’ jewelry collection. The new Taj Falaknuma Palace, on the other hand, is a window into the past. It’s a wedding cake of a building that still belongs to the Nizam family, and it took the Taj Hotels group 10 years to renovate the European-style castle.”

To visit Hyderabad, you’ll need a passport and an Indian visa. The Indian visa must be applied for in advance, and you’ll need the following documents:

• Your US passport
• 2 recent passport-sized photos, taken within the past 6 months. No glasses are allowed in the photos.
• A completed Indian visa application form. To ensure that your visa application is approved, write clearly and proofread the application carefully for mistakes. Make sure that you enter in “tourism” in the section that asks you to state why you are traveling to India.
• A photocopy of your plane tickets or your itinerary.
• A legible copy of your driver’s license or a utility bill showing your name and address.
• A copy of your birth certificate.

RushMyTravelVisa makes getting an Indian visa quick and easy. We’ll help you with the application, greatly reducing the chance of common mistakes that could delay your visa. Then, we’ll submit your visa to the appropriate Indian Embassy or consulate for the fastest possible processing.

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India may not be the first destination you think of when you think of birdwatching, but on a recent trip, New York Times writer Somini Sengupta discovered that it’s actually a birder’s paradise. She writes:

“From the cold lakes of the Himalayas to the sand dunes of western Rajasthan to the tropical rain forests in the south, India hosts a dizzying variety of birds, like a dizzying variety of everything else. Residents and visitors, common and rare, more than 1,200 species have been recorded in India, which puts it somewhere between the United States (just under 900 recorded species) and Colombia (more than 1,800 species).”

In India, it’s possible to see a variety of different species of birds even in the cities. Go out into the countryside or to a large lake or river, and things get even more interesting. According to the New York Times, in the Western Ghat mountain chain, you can expect to see around 300 different species in a single visit. Some lakes host as many as 400 species of waterfowl and other birds.

To start crossing these beauties off your life list, you’ll need to obtain an Indian visa. For an American citizen traveling to India as a tourist, the following documents are required: (more…)

Watch out, Italy and Jamaica – the Indian district of Coorg is attempting to become the next must-visit destination for coffee lovers! The New York Times reports that plantations in India’s top coffee-growing region have been adding bed-and-breakfast-type lodging for guests to help offset the uncertainty of the coffee market.

In addition to drinking freshly roasted coffee from the plantations, tourists can also hike, climb nearby Mount Tadiandamol and visit the Nalaknad Palace. However, for coffee enthusiasts, the chief draw remains getting as close as possible to your favorite beverage. Some of the most respected brands of coffee in the world source their beans from this region, including Italy’s Illy.

To enter India, US citizens need both a valid passport and an Indian visa. You will not be able to purchase a visa on arrival, so make sure to apply well in advance of your scheduled departure.

If you’re traveling to India as a tourist, you’ll need the following documents to get your visa:

• Your US passport
• 2 recent passport-sized photos, taken within the past 6 months. You may not wear glasses for the photos.
• A completed Indian visa application form. To ensure that your visa application is approved, use your best penmanship and proofread the application carefully for mistakes. Make sure that you enter in “tourism” in the section that asks you to state why you are traveling to India.
• A clean, readable copy of your plane tickets or your itinerary.
• A clean, readable copy of your driver’s license or a utility bill showing your name and address.
• A copy of your birth certificate

India’s visa system is jurisdictional, so your Indian visa application needs to be submitted to the embassy or consulate that serves your home address.

RushMyTravelVisa will walk you through the visa process step-by-step, and submit your application to the Indian embassy for the fastest processing available.

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Usually, architects and construction workers build bridges, not gardeners. However, in India’s Cherrapunji region, it’s actually a little bit of both. Like something ripped from the pages of Tolkien, the War-Khasis tribe grows living bridges from the roots of the Ficus elastica rubber tree. (via Treehugger)

Although the bridges take time to grow, once they are finished they are quite strong, and they gain strength as they get older and the roots get stronger. To create the bridges, the War-Khasis plant a tree and then uses hollow tree trunks to direct the spread of the roots as the tree goes. When the tree roots reach the other side of the river, they dig themselves into the shore and cling to it with a vengeance. Some of these bridges span more than 100 feet and are over 500 years old. There’s even a double-decker tree bridge!

You can visit these amazing living bridges-in fact, the potential for tourism is what kept the tribe from tearing them down and replacing them with something more modern. According to About.com, the best time to visit this part of India is in the dry season, from March to July. You will need both a valid passport and an Indian visa. Indian visas must be issued before you travel-you will not be allowed to apply for one on arrival. For more information on what is required, see Indian Visa Requirements for Tourists.

RushMyTravelVisa can help you get your Indian visa quickly and conveniently. We’ll research your itinerary to make sure you know which documents you need, and then walk you step-by-step through the application process. Finally, we expedite your Indian visa application for the fastest processing available.

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“I think that I shall never see, a poem as lovely as a tree.” Joyce Kilmer

There’s something really special, almost magical, about old trees. Being in the presence of a living thing that has been around for hundreds of years really puts our short human lives into perspective. Each tree is unique, shaped by both its own internal biology and the forces of nature. It’s no wonder that people often give names or even build shrines to trees that are particularly old or distinctive.

India is an excellent place to see some of these giants. In fact, Matador Travel currently has a post up by YD Bar-Ness describing the “tree pilgrimage” he took across the country. I love trees, but I must admit that until now I’d never thought of traveling to India to see them. I’d always imagined touring temples, visiting the Taj Mahal and finishing up with the proverbial elephant ride. However, according to Bar-Ness, India is one of the best places in the world to go in search of distinctive trees:

Additionally, there’s nowhere else in the world with so many temple trees, popular shade trees, historical marker trees, and trees used as business locations. The Hindu and Sikh religions, especially, recognize many famous trees. Trees are used as landmarks and reminders of events, and are often planted by dignitaries to mark special occasions.

See the post on Matador for descriptions of the trees Bar-Ness visited on the “pilgrimage” and some truly amazing photography.

If you want to follow in his footsteps, you’ll need to apply for a passport and an Indian visa. India doesn’t do visas on arrival, so you’ll need to apply for your Indian visa in advance and have it in hand before you leave the states. See Indian Visa Requirements for Tourists for details on what documents you’ll need and how to apply.

If you’d like help applying for your visa, RushMyTravelVisa can assist you. We’ll take a look at your itinerary to make sure that you know which documents are needed for your trip and don’t run into any nasty surprises along the way. We’ll also help you with the visa paperwork, answering your questions and helping to catch mistakes that could delay your application. Then, we’ll deliver your Indian visa application to the appropriate embassy or consulate for the fastest possible processing.

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