Practical Information for visiting Maharashtra

Coverage for mobile networks is excellent across the state with 4G and 5G in the cities, and reaches well into the countryside; India has some of the cheapest mobile data in the world.

Local SIMs from Jio or Airtel are inexpensive but require a passport, visa and sometimes a local reference, and activation can take a day — airport counters are the simplest route.

Wi-Fi is standard in hotels and cafes and is generally good in Mumbai and Pune.

Signal is patchy in the hill forts and the deeper Ghats.

Power cuts are rare in Mumbai and more common in rural districts.

Maharashtra is generally safe for visitors, and Mumbai is among the safer large Indian cities. The risks are traffic, crowds and weather.

• Road traffic is the most likely danger by a wide margin. Crossing streets requires committing and moving predictably; traffic will go around you.
• Monsoon flooding in Mumbai regularly halts trains and submerges roads, and open manholes under floodwater have killed people. Do not wade through flooded streets.
• Waterfall and fort accidents in the Ghats during the monsoon, where people slip taking photographs and drown or fall. This is a genuine annual toll.
• Suburban trains: do not hang from doorways, and use the women’s carriages where applicable.
• Crowd crush at large festivals and stations.
• Petty theft and scams around the Gateway of India and Colaba.

Mumbai and Pune have excellent private hospitals, some of the best in India, and are medical tourism destinations. Rural facilities are limited. Insurance is important and private treatment is paid upfront.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid; rabies and Japanese encephalitis for longer or rural stays. Typhoid in particular is worth having.

Mosquito-borne illness: dengue and chikungunya are common, especially after the monsoon, and there is malaria risk including in Mumbai. Use repellent and consider prophylaxis for rural travel.

Stomach upsets are the commonest visitor complaint. Drink bottled or filtered water, avoid ice from unknown sources, and eat at busy places.

Heat in April and May is dangerous inland.

Air quality in Mumbai is moderate to poor in winter.

Remove shoes before entering temples, mosques and homes, and cover shoulders and knees at religious sites. At the caves, shoes are removed for some shrines.

No flash photography at Ajanta, and no photography at all in some caves. Tripods and drones need permits.

Right hand for eating, giving and receiving; the left is considered unclean.

Public affection between couples is not the norm and attracts attention.

Shivaji and religious matters are not subjects for casual opinion.

Alcohol: Maharashtra requires a permit to drink, supplied as a formality by hotels and licensed bars; some districts are dry, and the legal age in the state is unusually high.

Bargaining is expected in markets and not in shops.

Emergency numbers: 112 is the national single emergency number, with 100 for police, 102 or 108 for ambulance and 101 for fire.

Medical. Mumbai’s private hospitals — Lilavati, Hinduja, Breach Candy, Jaslok — are excellent and used to foreign patients; payment upfront and claim afterwards is normal.

During the monsoon, check whether the suburban trains are running before travelling, and do not attempt flooded roads or underpasses.

In the Ghats: tell someone your route, do not climb fort walls in the wet, and treat waterfalls with respect.

At the caves: both sites close one day a week, and both involve a good deal of walking and steps in heat.

Most countries maintain consulates in Mumbai, which makes replacing documents straightforward.