Prepaid taxi and auto-rickshaw diversion (India)

A pre-agreed fare turns into a tour of emporiums and 'government handicraft' shops that pay the driver commission, with the driver refusing to go on until you enter. Use the official prepaid police booth at airports and stations, or a ride-hailing app. Say clearly at the start that you will not be stopping at any shops.

Train ticket 'cancellation' at station gates (India)

Someone in a lanyard tells you your e-ticket is invalid or your train is cancelled, and directs you to an unofficial agency upstairs that sells a replacement at many times the fare. The international tourist bureau is inside the station building on the first floor. Check the departure board yourself; ignore anyone who approaches you at the entrance.

Is India safe to visit in 2026?

India rewards preparation more than almost anywhere. The risks are not dramatic: they are traffic, stomach illness, air pollution, and a persistent commission-and-diversion economy aimed at new arrivals.

Women travellers face a materially higher level of harassment than in most destinations, and several governments say so explicitly in their advice.

Where the risk actually is

Each region is coloured by the advice that applies to most of it, drawn by hand from the wording of all five government advisories. Numbered markers flag localised warnings — usually a border strip or remote interior — that cover only a small part of an otherwise lower-risk region.

What governments advise Do not travel Essential travel only Travel with caution Localised warning — see the notes below

This map reads stronger than the world map's colour, and both are right. The world map shades India by its Atlas Risk Score — 53, Moderate — which blends government advice with crime, health, roads and natural hazards. This map shows the advice alone, and the strongest level anywhere in India is “do not travel”.

Overseas territories, shown separately so the main map stays readable

Andaman and Nicobar · Andaman and Nicobar · Andaman and Nicobar

What the warnings actually cover

Jammu & Kashmir — Do not travel. Do not travel to the whole union territory — including Srinagar, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Pahalgam and the Jammu–Srinagar highway. The only exceptions are flying into Jammu city and travel within Jammu city itself.
Manipur — Essential travel only. Essential travel only to the whole state including Imphal. Curfews and intermittent ethnic violence continue after the 2023 clashes.
Mizoram — Essential travel only. Essential travel only. Large refugee movements from Myanmar have raised the chance of unrest.
Nagaland — Essential travel only. Essential travel only, for the same reason.
1
Pakistan border strip — Do not travel. Do not travel within 10km of the India–Pakistan border, which is unmarked in places including the Thar desert. The Wagah–Attari crossing is closed. Amritsar city and the Golden Temple are outside the strip.
2
Chhattisgarh Maoist areas — Essential travel only. Essential travel only outside the cities, especially south of Kanker and along the state borders, where armed groups operate. Also applies to rural northern Bihar, eastern Jharkhand and western Odisha.
3
Myanmar border area — Essential travel only. Essential travel only near the Myanmar border, where the army, insurgents and smuggling gangs clash. A permit is required.
4
China border, Ladakh to Arunachal — Essential travel only. Essential travel only along the disputed Chinese border in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh; Indian permits are required. Leh and the main Ladakh tourist route are not covered.

A numbered marker warns about the small area described in its note — the rest of that region carries the base advice. Mapped by hand from the official wording in July 2026; always check the current advisory before you book.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Conflict & terrorism

15% of score

84/100
191st of 220

Natural hazards

10% of score · mainly flooding, earthquakes, tsunami, cyclones, drought

78/100
217th of 220

Health & medical

15% of score

51/100
156th of 220

Official advisories

25% of score

47/100
177th of 220

Political stability

10% of score

44/100
133rd of 220

Road & transport

10% of score

39/100
126th of 220

Crime

15% of score

36/100
100th of 220

Women's safety

not in the score

37/100

Biggest factor here: conflict & terrorism. Armed conflict, political violence and terrorism exposure.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number

112

Single emergency number. Tourist helpline: 1363

Currency

INR ₹

€1 ≈ 110 INR

Languages

English

Hindi, Tamil

Visa (EU passport)

e-Visa

US: e-Visa · UK: e-Visa

Population

1.5bn

World Bank 2025

Capital

New Delhi

Driving

On the left

15.6 road deaths per 100k

Power

Type C, D, M

220-240V

Safely managed water

76%

Mostly, but not everywhere · of residents, not a tap-water verdict

Dialling code

+91

GDP per capita

$3k

A rough guide to price levels

Visitors a year

17.9m

International arrivals, 2019

Malaria risk

9.7/10

INFORM exposure score — see a travel clinic

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for New Delhi, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around October to March.

22°

6°

19

J

26°

10°

25

F

32°

15°

17

M

39°

22°

13

A

43°

27°

18

M

42°

30°

74

J

36°

28°

234

J

33°

26°

231

A

33°

23°

127

S

32°

19°

12

O

28°

14°

5

N

23°

8°

9

D

Daytime high warm hot extreme heat

Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain. India is big. These numbers describe New Delhi only — elsewhere in the country can be nothing like it.

Common scams in India

Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.

The 'your hotel is closed' diversion

Delhi, especially from the airport and New Delhi stationVery common

A driver or a man at a fake 'tourist information' desk tells you your hotel has burnt down, closed, or is in a riot area, and takes you to a commission-paying alternative or a travel agency that sells you an expensive tour.

How to avoid it: Phone the hotel yourself. Government tourist offices do not operate desks that intercept you outside stations, and no genuine one sells tours.

Sources Incredible India official tourism r/india travel scam discussions

Prepaid taxi and auto-rickshaw diversion

Delhi, Mumbai, JaipurVery common

A pre-agreed fare turns into a tour of emporiums and 'government handicraft' shops that pay the driver commission, with the driver refusing to go on until you enter.

How to avoid it: Use the official prepaid police booth at airports and stations, or a ride-hailing app. Say clearly at the start that you will not be stopping at any shops.

Sources Delhi Police prepaid taxi information

Train ticket 'cancellation' at station gates

New Delhi railway stationCommon

Someone in a lanyard tells you your e-ticket is invalid or your train is cancelled, and directs you to an unofficial agency upstairs that sells a replacement at many times the fare.

How to avoid it: The international tourist bureau is inside the station building on the first floor. Check the departure board yourself; ignore anyone who approaches you at the entrance.

Sources Indian Railways official booking

Gem export and 'resale profit' schemes

Jaipur, AgraOccasional

You are invited to carry gems home for a dealer and told you will be reimbursed at a profit. The stones are worthless glass and the contact vanishes.

How to avoid it: There is no legitimate version of this. Decline entirely.

Sources UK FCDO India scams warning

Risk hotspots

Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in India is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.

Jammu and Kashmir, and the Pakistan border Conflict

Formal do-not-travel advice from most governments, excluding Ladakh in some cases. Situation changes quickly.

Delhi in winter Air pollution

November to January routinely reaches hazardous AQI levels. A real health risk, not an inconvenience.

Manipur and parts of the north-east Civil unrest

Ethnic violence and curfews; permits required for some states.

Indian roads generally Traffic

Around 150,000 road deaths a year. Overnight bus travel on mountain roads is the highest-risk common activity.

Air quality

Delhi and much of the northern plain record hazardous air quality from roughly late October to January, regularly exceeding ten times the WHO guideline. This is a genuine health consideration for anyone with asthma or a respiratory condition. Check a live AQI reading and consider timing a northern trip outside those months.

Advice for women travellers

Multiple governments advise women against travelling alone in parts of India, and recommend against using public transport alone at night. Practical steps that regular travellers rely on: pre-booked transport rather than street taxis, women-only carriages on metro systems, conservative dress outside big-city areas, and accommodation with 24-hour staffed reception.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for India:

CDC Travelers' Health TravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

US State Department advice for India — current advisory
Netherlands advice for India — current advisory
UK FCDO advice for India — current advisory
World Bank Open Data — governance, homicide, road deaths, health and economic indicators
INFORM Risk Index 2026 (European Commission JRC) — natural hazard, epidemic and conflict exposure, coping capacity
UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — travel advice and regional warnings
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs — colour-coded travel advice, including region-level zones
US Department of State — travel advisory levels 1-4

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.