Columbia to Shillong (COU–SHL) — Airlines, Schedules & Connections

US passport holders need a visa to enter India. The eVisa is the standard option for tourists, applied for at indianvisaonline.gov.in. The 30-day eTourist visa costs $25 (single or double entry). The 1-year and 5-year eTourist visas cost $40 and $80 respectively, both with multiple entries and a maximum stay of 90 days per visit. Processing takes 3 to 5 working days. Upload a passport scan and a recent photo. Passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the date of entry with at least 2 blank pages.

The eVisa is accepted at 28 designated airports including Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), Bengaluru (BLR), Chennai (MAA), Kolkata (CCU), and Hyderabad (HYD), plus 5 seaports. At the airport, proceed to the eVisa immigration counter with your printed eVisa confirmation. Biometrics (fingerprints and photo) are captured. India also offers traditional paper visas through the embassy with longer validity options for business and employment.

Direct flights from New York JFK to Delhi run about 14 hours 30 minutes on Air India. Newark to Mumbai runs about 15 hours 30 minutes on United and Air India. Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington Dulles also have nonstop service to Indian cities. India uses the Indian rupee (INR), trading at roughly 85 INR per $1. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) dominates digital payments in India: Google Pay and PhonePe are accepted at millions of merchants. Metro systems operate in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad with fares from INR 10 to INR 60 ($0.12 to $0.70). Auto-rickshaws are the universal last-mile transport: use the Uber or Ola app for metered pricing.