I really really want to go to India, but I heard the place is filthy and very dirty. Is this true? I really want to visit the Taj Mahal. Thanks!

It partly depends on where you are. Not EVERYTHING is dirty, you stay more removed from it if you travel by car and get let off at the doorstop of where you are going.

It's a mixed bag and you have to take the clean with the dirty when outside. Ultimately you have to decide, but if you look at the number of people who have gone to India and then returned again you might find your answer.

Basically, yes, but that shouldn't stop you going. The Taj itself isn't dirty, it's the streets that are filthy. No doubt the people who could fix that get driven everywhere, from gated community to gated community, and so don't care.

I just got back. The Taj Mahal was very clean. The national parks I went to were clean. My lodging was clean.

By the end of the day driving around or hiking in the dusty parks I was pretty filthy.

The amount of litter visible on the sides of the roads can be upsetting. Litter/garbage thrown about upsets me at home and it bothered me in India, but there was a lot more in India than what I am used to.

Pezlord, are you and your parents stopping in India pre or post-Africa?

My parents do not want to go to India, I am doing this by myself way down the road. I asked this question to see if I really do want to go to India, now I do! Thanks!!

tucantravel.com

great budget group tours to India

Like many places metro areas can be cleanliness challenged

due to absence of cleaning and lots of poverty.

Rural areas mostly pretty Ganges pretty polluted as it

meanders to the sea up in the Himalayas it is AWESOME.

So go for it India is an amazing spiritual place.

You can think of it as a way to recycle if you wish: domestic animals munch on the vegetable garbage tossed out on the trash heap. But they eat plastic bags as well.

Trash containers and trash pick-up just aren't a concept yet in India. I remember when Lady Bird Johnson conducted her anti-litter campaign in the '60s. The US was a bit more trashy than it is now, but it took a major effort on her part to get Americans to re-think their bad habits.

Maybe someone in India will take on this project, but it takes money to keep a country clean.

Indianapearl: It is ridiculous to compare the U.S. in the 60s in any way at all to the present despicable condition of India.
Pezlord22, There are dozens of international destinations far more interesting and pleasant to visit than the anarchic mess in India. When the national advertising campaign is "Amazing India," they are not kidding. Amazingly awful. Good for cheap tourists and package tourists and for students of garbage to view what a society can do to itself (see also: Naples).

Yes, it is filthy. See what Thursdaysd said--exactly right. It shouldnt stop you visiting! I love India--the positive and the negative.
If you are freaked out by garbage, dirt, dust, and people squatting and pooping by the railroad tracks, don't go.
Some towns have individually made the commitment to clean up, with success--e.g. Ooty, Shimla. But corruption and apathy and differing priorities have prevented that from being a nation-wide concern
In general, be prepared for garbage . Some places have neat little hills of garbage, some places it is just scattered everywhere. Very sad to see plastic bags clogging the small waterways even in "God's Own Country" near Kochin, Kerala.

But i miss it--the ENTIRE place.Maybe we folks who love India and dream of our next trip are a bit strange

Thanks for the info everyone, I have looked at an India travel book at the library. It looks amazing. I plan to travel elsewhere in Asia aswell. I will be going to India once I move out and find work. Thanks!!

Do not be deterred by people with finicky values. Go to India. You'll love it!

don't limit yourself to india....south east asia is a fabulous place to visit as well, as is europe...

you soon learn to look above the rubbish and dirt...

I was in India last January and had a real AH HA moment in Jaisalmer. I have travelled to many countries but India was a real eye opener for me and I found the garbage and sewage quite overwhelming.

I met a sole woman traveller in her late 50s I imagine and she stopped us and said "isnt this the most amazing place you have ever been? These people (Indians) have no idea what a fantastic place they live in here in Jaisalmer"

I thought to myself "why is no one mentioning the dirt, the garbage, the people defecating on the side of the road?"

Then I decided that instead of looking down I would start to look up and appreciate the incredible sceanery and wonderful people like this woman traveller was doing and the rest of my trip was amazing.

It is all in your attitude.

If you land up going to big cities like Mumbai and Delhi..yes you can say they are flithy, but again just parts of it, but most likely you will only around where tourists are, and those areas are not bad. Try to go with some tours that take you to India or if possible get a car with a driver with a reliable service. That will keep you away from the filthy areas.

Also there are many places.. that are just not worth missing. Shimla, Kulu Manali, Ooty, renting a house boat in Kerala back waters are a few worth mentioning..

What !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!