Warning
India and Pakistan continue to trade insults and, occasionally, bullets across the disputed Kashmiri border. Indian armed forces and Kashmiri separatists have also been involved in violent clashes in the state. Lonely Planet advises that travellers do not visit the western part of Jammu & Kashmir state, especially Jammu, Srinagar and the Kashmir Valley, and Kishtwar in the Zanskar region. Foreign travellers in this area have been targeted by Kashmiri separatist groups and several have been kidnapped or killed.
Civil unrest is also occurring in the north-eastern states. Terrorists in Assam have bombed trains, buses and bridges and there have been political killings in Nagaland and Manipur. Travellers require permits from the Indian government to visit the states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland in the north-east. In the Indian Himalaya, parts of Kullu District and Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh, and areas of Uttar Pradesh, also require authorisation. Other areas requiring permits include the Pakistan-India border region west of National Highway No 15 in Rajasthan, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Lakshadweep Islands.
Piracy and armed robbery of ships in the seas around the Indian coast is becoming a regular occurence. Crews of all ships need to exercise extreme vigilance.
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