Pilgrimage Tour in India for NRI Families: Registration, Seasons and Pacing

Every family member enters India on their own document: an Indian passport, an OCI card with a foreign passport, or a visa. Our page on mixed-nationality families and the comparison of OCI or e-Visa work out which applies to whom.

Two points matter for pilgrims. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says an OCI cardholder needs special permission before visiting a place inside a protected, restricted or prohibited area notified by the central government, so ask about any shrine in a remote or border district. And some temples decide who may enter on grounds of faith, whatever the passport; see the section on conduct below.

• Char Dham and Hemkund Sahib, Uttarakhand. The Government of Uttarakhand's travel policy says pilgrims must register themselves and their vehicles before they start, and verify themselves at each shrine. Registration is free, on the official portal at registrationandtouristcare.uk.gov.in. Its checklist asks you to keep the registration certificate ready, collect a darshan slot token at the dham and carry valid personal ID proof and any prescribed medicines. The portal says helicopter services can be booked only through IRCTC.
• Vaishno Devi, Katra. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board says all pilgrims, without exception, must register before the yatra. Registration is free and each pilgrim is issued a separate RFID yatra card; the first check post, at Banganga, has to be crossed within six hours of the card being issued. In peak rush the Board stops issuing registrations and asks pilgrims to wait at Katra.
• Tirumala, Tirupati. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) offers Sarvadarshan and a special entry darshan, advises pilgrims to book travel and rooms well in advance, and tells them not to approach touts. Its separate darshan for senior citizens, differently abled pilgrims and listed medical cases has to be booked in advance on its site. For senior citizens TTD sets the age at 65 completed, lists Aadhaar as the mandatory document and allows only a spouse as attendant. A parent who lives abroad and has no Aadhaar should ask TTD what else it accepts before the trip is booked.
• Jagannath Temple, Puri. The temple's FAQ says only Hindus are allowed inside. Shoes, leather articles, cameras and mobile phones may not go in, and free stands for shoes and phones are provided near the Lion's Gate.

• Kedarnath and Badrinath. The Shri Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee says the Kedarnath shrine generally closes on the first day of Kartik, in October or November, and reopens in Vaishakh, in April or May; the deity is worshipped at Ukhimath in between. It gives Badrinath's open season as April or May to November. Neither can be part of a December visit; see India in December.
• The monsoon. The Vaishno Devi Board tells pilgrims to reschedule or postpone when the India Meteorological Department or the district administration issues alerts for heavy rainfall, a cloudburst or a landslide. IMD's south-west monsoon runs from June to September, so a July or August trip falls inside it; our monsoon guide explains the regions.
• School and office holidays. The Vaishno Devi Board names weekends in May and June, the second half of December and other school, college and office holiday blocks as the heavy-rush periods, so a family tied to school holidays should allow for a wait.
• Festivals. Temple festivals follow the Hindu calendar, so their dates on the Gregorian calendar move from year to year. Ask for the dates in the year you travel, and book rooms early for them.

Our best time to visit India guide sets out the seasons by region.

• Altitude at the Char Dham. The Uttarakhand Health Department's advisory says the Char Dham shrines lie above 2,700 metres, where pilgrims can meet extreme cold, low oxygen and strong ultraviolet radiation. It advises a trip of at least seven days to allow time to acclimatise, a break of 5 to 10 minutes every hour on a trek or every two hours of road ascent, and a health check-up beforehand for anyone over 55 or with a history of heart disease, asthma, high blood pressure or diabetes. It says to carry existing medication and your home doctor's number, not to go if your doctor advises against it, and to call the 104 helpline in a medical emergency.
• The walk to Vaishno Devi. The Shrine Board describes the trek as 12 to 13 kilometres. Ponies, palanquins and porters, who can also carry small children and light older people, are registered with the municipal committee at fixed rates shown on signboards and at assistance counters, and the Board advises checking that a porter's card is valid. Its rules ask elderly people, children and those with medical conditions to consult a registered doctor before setting out.
• Darshan queues. At Vaishno Devi the holy pindies sit in a narrow cave, so the Board says group visits are not possible and darshan is a continuously moving queue, round the clock. Agree where the family will meet afterwards.
• Our own planning. We build in rest days, avoid back-to-back very early starts and use private transport, so a grandparent can stop when needed. Tell us each traveller's age and any mobility needs.

For an older traveller's general planning, see accessible travel in India and travelling India with kids.

• Tirumala. TTD's dress code is a dhoti or pyjamas with an upper cloth for men, and a saree or half-saree with blouse, or a churidar with pyjama and upper cloth, for women. It asks pilgrims not to wear footwear in or around the temple, not to wear caps, turbans, hats or helmets inside, to carry little jewellery and cash, and not to eat non-vegetarian food, drink alcohol or smoke while in Tirumala.
• Puri. Only Hindus may enter, and phones, cameras, shoes and leather go in the stands at the gate.
• Vaishno Devi. The Board's rules ask pilgrims to travel light, use only the designated track and wear footwear with a good grip.

A board can change its rules, so the temple's own site is the source on the day you go.

Many NRI visits have a stop no standard itinerary holds: a family deity's temple, an ancestral village, a hometown. Tell us the place and how much time you would like there, and we will route it into the plan and quote any added distance. Starting points are our pilgrimage tour packages, the Char Dham tour packages, the Tirupati tour packages, the Varanasi tour packages, the Mathura and Vrindavan tour packages, the Ayodhya tour packages, the Amritsar tour packages, the Puri tour packages and the South India temple trail. For special-entry arrangements, see our VIP darshan services. More on routing a family stop into a wider trip is on our NRI planning hub.