India

The most popular overland routes between India and Nepal are Birganj-Raxaul Bazaar, Sunauli-Bhairawa and Kakarbhitta-Siliguri. If you're heading from Kathmandu or Pokhara to Delhi or elsewhere in northwestern India, then Sunauli is the most convenient entry point; to reach Kolkata or most of eastern India, Birganj is the best place to cross the border; and to get to Darjeeling, it's easiest to go via Kakarbhitta. It's fairly easy to travel between Kolkata and Dhaka overland. The only border crossing currently open between India and Pakistan is at Attari between Lahore and Amritsar. This and all other border crossings are by road only.

Phuentsholing is the main entry and exit point between India and Bhutan but you now need a full Bhutanese visa to enter the country, which must be obtained at least 15 days before your trip from a registered travel agent listed under the Department of Tourism, Bhutan (www.tourism.gov.bt).

The Indian Railways system is deservedly legendary and Indian rail travel is unlike any other sort of travel on earth. At times it can be uncomfortable and frustrating, but it's also an integral part of the Indian travel experience. You should try to pick up the key points of Indian train etiquette as quickly as possible, otherwise you'll find yourself hopelessly attempting to defend your own private space. There are a number of different classes and a number of different trains: you want express or mail trains, but try all the different classes just for the hell of it. The Indian reservation system is labyrinthine and worthy of anthropological study, but be patient because it's one of the few bureaucracies in the country that actually works. When booking tickets, take advantage of the tourist quota allotment if one exists. You'll find it easier to reserve a seat this way.

Buses vary widely from state to state, but there is often a choice of buses on the main routes - ordinary, express, semi-luxe, deluxe, deluxe air-con and even deluxe sleeper. Government buses are supplemented by private operators on many routes. Private buses tend to be faster, more expensive and more comfortable and can make a lot of sense on longer jaunts. Bus travel is generally crowded, cramped, slow and uncomfortable. This is the good news. The bad news is the rugby scrum you often need to negotiate in order to board, and the howling Hindi pop music which blares from the tinny speakers. Buses are the only way to get to Kashmir and the best way to get to Nepal from Uttar Pradesh; they are generally faster than trains in northern Bihar and in large areas of Rajasthan.

You can hire a car and driver very easily, but you need nerves of steel and excellent karma to consider driving yourself. Cars are usually rented on a daily (ie 8hr) basis and come with a limited number of kilometres per day. For long trips, negotiate a package deal and ensure this includes the driver's expenses. If you're planning a long trip, it's wise to go for a short spin with your prospective driver just in case you don't like his braking ability.

Motorcycling around India (especially on an Enfield Bullet) has become a popular pastime, though it's a hazardous endeavour and not for the amateur two-wheeler. Bicycles are a great way to get around India's smaller (less traffic-filled) towns and can usually be hired for a pittance. Long-distance touring, however, is not for the faint-hearted or the weak of knee. If you're thinking of bringing your own bike, think twice about bringing your state-of-the-art 10-speed unless you want it to be poked, probed and perved at every time you stop.

Local transport includes buses, taxis, auto-rickshaws, cycle-rickshaws and tongas (horse-drawn carriages). Taxis may have meters, but don't expect them to be working in more than a handful of cities. Three-wheeled auto-rickshaws are generally half the price of a taxi and allow the passenger much better inhalation of diesel fumes. Cycle-rickshaws have all but disappeared from the centres of major Indian cities but are still an essential part of the transport network in smaller towns. Be sure to agree on a fare beforehand.

The invaders brought their own gods and cattle-raising and meat-eating traditions, but were absorbed to such a degree that by the 8th century BC the priestly caste had reasserted its supremacy. This became consolidated in the caste system, a hierarchy maintained by strict rules that secured the position of the Brahmin priests. Buddhism arose around 500 BC, condemning caste; it drove a radical swathe through Hinduism in the 3rd century BC when it was embraced by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, who controlled huge tracts of India.

A number of empires, including the Guptas, rose and fell in the north after the collapse of the Mauryas. Hinduism underwent a revival from 40 to 600 AD, and Buddhism began to decline. The north of India broke into a number of separate Hindu kingdoms after the Huns' invasion; it was not really unified again until the coming of the Muslims in the 10th and 11th centuries. The far south, whose prosperity was based on trading links with the Egyptians, Romans and southeast Asia, was unaffected by the turmoil in the north, and Hinduism's hold on the region was never threatened.

In 1192 the Muslim Ghurs arrived from Afghanistan. Within 20 years the entire Ganges basin was under Islamic control, though Islam failed to penetrate the south. Two great kingdoms developed in what is now Karnataka: the mighty Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar, and the fragmented Bahmani Islamic kingdom.

Mughal emperors marched into Punjab from Afghanistan, defeated the Sultan of Delhi in 1525, and ushered in another artistic golden age. The Maratha Empire grew during the 17th century and gradually took over more of the Mughals' domain. The Marathas consolidated control of central India until they fell to the last great imperial power, the British.

The British were not, however, the only European power in India: the Portuguese had controlled Goa since 1510 and the French, Danes and Dutch also had trading posts. By 1803, when the British overwhelmed the Marathas, most of the country was under the control of the British East India Company, which had established its trading post at Surat in Gujarat in 1612.

The company treated India as a place to make money, and its culture, beliefs and religions were left strictly alone. Britain expanded iron and coal mining, developed tea, coffee and cotton plantations, and began construction of India's vast rail network. They encouraged absentee landlords because they eased the burden of administration and tax collection, creating an impoverished landless peasantry - a problem which is still chronic in Bihar and West Bengal. The Uprising (also known as the War of Independence) in northern India in 1857 led to the demise of the East India Company, and administration of the country was handed over to the British government.

WWII dealt a deathblow to colonialism and Indian independence became inevitable. Within India, however, the large Muslim minority realised that an independent India would be Hindu-dominated. Communalism grew, with the Muslim League, led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, speaking for the overwhelming majority of Muslims, and the Congress Party, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, representing the Hindu population. The bid for a separate Islamic nation was the biggest stumbling block to Britain granting independence.

Faced with a political stand-off and rising tension, Viceroy Mountbatten reluctantly decided to divide the country and set a rapid timetable for independence. Unfortunately, the two overwhelmingly Muslim regions were on opposite sides of the country - meaning the new nation of Pakistan would be divided by a hostile India. When the dividing line was announced, the greatest exodus in human history took place as Muslims moved to Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs relocated to India. Over 10 million people changed sides and even the most conservative estimates calculate that 250,000 people were killed. Gandhi was deeply disheartened by Partition and the subsequent bloodshed. On 30 January 1948 he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic.

Following the trauma of Partition, India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru championed a secular constitution, socialist central planning and a strict policy of nonalignment. India elected to join the Commonwealth, but also increased ties with the USSR - partly because of conflicts with China and partly because of US support for arch-enemy Pakistan, which was particularly hostile to India because of its claim on Muslim-dominated Kashmir. There were clashes with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.

India's next prime minister of stature was Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi, who was elected in 1966. She is still held in relatively high esteem, but is remembered by many for meddling with India's democratic foundations by declaring a state of emergency in 1975. Mrs Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984 as a reprisal for controversially using the Indian Army to flush out armed Sikh radicals from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Gandhis' dynastic grip on Indian politics continued when her son, Rajiv was swept into power.

Despite his reputation being tarnished by widely-publicised corruption scandals, Rajiv brought new and pragmatic policies to the country. Foreign investment and the use of modern technology were encouraged, import restrictions were eased and many new industries were set up. These measures projected India into the 1990s and out of isolationism, but did little to stimulate India's mammoth rural sector. Rajiv was assassinated on an election tour by a supporter of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers.

The dangers of communalism in India were clearly displayed in 1992, when a Hindu mob stormed and destroyed a mosque built on the alleged site of Rama's birth in Ayodhya. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were keen to exploit such opportunities, and led several disparate coalitions to power. Despite the dangers of playing communalist politics, the BJP's traditionalist Hindu stance attracted voters concerned about retaining traditional values during the sudden onslaught of modern global influences.

In 1998 India tested its first nuclear weapons. Despite international outrage, the nuclear tests were met with widespread jubilation and support for the BJP. But by April 1999 PM Vajpayee had lost his majority and was forced into a vote of confidence, which he lost by one vote. Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi's widow, was expected to lead the Congress Party to victory, but she was unable to secure a coalition and India was forced to the polls for the third time in as many years. The BJP was returned to government with a slimmer lead.

Tensions with Pakistan flared periodically despite top-level attempts at rapprochement, and natural disasters also took their toll. In January 2001 an earthquake in Gujarat killed about 20,000 people and left more than half a million homeless. In December of that year, gunmen storming the national parliament killed 13 people, while hundreds were killed in Gujarat a year after the earthquake in conflicts between Hindus and Muslims.

In 2004, with fresh elections called, the BJP were expected to win re-election. The Congress party was again led by Sonia Gandhi and gained surprising support through an exhausting grassroots campaign. So successful was she that the dominant BJP were ousted for the first time in almost 10 years. Concerned for her wellbeing, and also aware of the controversy her non-Indian origin could cause, Sonia Gandhi declined the Prime Ministerial role, sending shockwaves through her party. Instead she nominated India's first Sikh leader, an anti-corruption stalwart and economic reformist, Manmohan Singh, to lead the parliament.

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed over 15,000 people and caused large scale damage along the southeastern coast of the country. The central coast of Tamil Nadu suffered the worst of the devastation with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry and Kerala states also hit hard. Basic aid and temporary housing made possible by the Indian government (and reinforced by a half-billion $US World Bank pledge) ensured a swift recovery.

In recent years Prime Minister Singh has gone to great lengths to firm up India's diplomatic and trade relations, particularly with former sparring partners such as Pakistan, China and the US. In July 2006 the worst terrorist bombing in over a decade killed nearly 200 people on several Mumbai commuter trains. In February 2007 a similar attack killed over 60 on the Samjauta express which runs between Delhi and Lahore. Although the attacks were linked to Pakistan-based militants, India continued to pursue a positive relationship with its neighbour including the opening of a cross-border bus service. Though leftist Naxalite insurgents in the northeast and central south have grown more brazen in their attacks, the national economy continues to flourish and the world's largest democracy is taking a larger role on the global stage.