Shakti Durga Retreats, What to Bring

Essential Items:

Plane tickets - arrange your own travel
Passport with at least 6 months before expiry
Valid Indian visa
Travel Insurance documents

* Visa Information
Australia:
The link is http://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html
Please use this link as there are other agencies who charge for organising your visa.
You should apply for a tourist visa.

You will need to give your hotel address:
Mahaavatar Babaji Meditation Centre, Village Kandwari, Palampur, Dist. Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India P.I.N. 176061.
Phone: 91-1894-235324

Overseas participants, could you please make your own inquiries, if you have any issues let us know.

Personal Items - Essential:

Towel - please bring your own bath towel
Dry shampoo - hot water is limited in rooms so you may not be able to wash your hair as often as you do at home
Torch - very important as it's common to have blackouts in India
Raincoat and umbrella - very important as it is the rainy season
Power adapter for India. 3 round pins. Some Indian plugs have 1 round and 2 flat - these cannot be used at the Ashram
Power board - a good idea
Toiletries - (shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, moisturising creams, deodorant and so on)
It is good to bring extra toothbrushes, at least 1 extra. It’s habit to rinse under tap. If that happens you will need to throw it out as it is not recommended to ingest tap water.
First Aid requirements (bandaids, Betadine, Imodium or whatever you use for treating diarrhoea, nausea etc. Cold & flu tabs, Panadol, heel balm, electrolytes are important precaution
Probiotics, highly recommended ones that do not need refrigeration, good to have SB in them e.g. Lactoferrin plus SB
Your doctor ‘s prescriptions etc
Travel Sickness Medication – the roads in this area tend to be winding due to the mountainous terrain. As a precaution, if you tend to suffer from travel sickness, please bring medication with you
Antibacterial hand gel / wipes
Insect repellent - very important as there can be mozzies in the yagashala at this time of year
Tissues for your use
Toilet paper - some will be provided in your room
Water bottle - filtered drinking water at the ashram is good and bottles can be filled
Travel cup
Travel chair to take on outings (optional)

Money Update:

Either bring cash and exchange it at the Indian Airport you fly into or take cash out at the ATM. Most Indian ATMs only let you take out INR10,000 per transaction. This is about AU$200.
There is usually limited Indian Rupee at Sydney Airport.
You will not need cash at the Ashram unless you would like to give a donation in addition to the $108 donation you gave when you registered.
There may be an opportunity to go shopping in Palampur, the small town near the ashram where they specialise in shawls. Most shops in Palampur do not take foreign credit cards so you will need cash if you are shopping. There are ATM’s in the town that take foreign cards, e.g. ICICI and SBI.

Suggestions:

Note: The road up to the yagashala is all pot holed and broken due to lots of trucks/construction work, so we suggest you bring walking poles/sticks.
Mala beads if you have them
Prayer shawl if you have one
Spiritual journal and pen (can just be an exercise book if you don’t have a special journal)
Small backpack for outings
Neck pillow for plane
Ear plugs and eye mask
Portable clothes line for washing smalls and other, no laundry at the ashram but dry cleaning can be arranged
Sunglasses
Sunscreen and hat
Umbrella and wet weather coat
Needle and thread for running repairs
Safety pins
Ipod, earphones or travel dock
Mobile Phone with roam facility (arrange with your provider before you leave), or an Indian SIM card Jio has the best reception in this area. You must have a mobile that is not locked to a telecommunications company to use with another SIM. i.e if your phone is under contract with your phone provider it will not work with another SIM card
Book to read (spiritual or personal development preferably)
Camera
Bottle of Isocol or similar for receiving or giving sweeps

Clothes:

Expected July temperatures 19-30 degrees, humid, expect some rain most days
Conservative India clothing, long loose Punjabi suits and scarves
Comfortable walking shoes, no need for dress shoes
Sandals, thongs/flip flops
Socks for wearing at our sessions
Appropriate temple clothes for ashram. Nothing tight, see through, no cleavage, no bare legs. Conservative Punjabi suits are easy.
Will need Raincoat/jacket for wet weather
Footwear joggers
Comfortable clothing for lounging when in your room
Socks or slippers for wearing in your room as the floors are cold

Food:

The food in the ashram is simple wholesome clean Indian food
Alcohol is forbidden
Only chai tea is served in the ashram at breakfast. Bring a kettle, tea and coffee if you want tea or coffee outside those times. Milk is also not available, so bring some instant milk or creamer.
Some healthy munchies (muesli bars, nuts, sultanas, etc), airtight plastic bags / container to protect from ants etc.
Tea bags, herbal teas
Remember it’s a purification retreat, healthy snacks are recommended
If you have special dietary requirements please bring what you require e.g. gluten free, especially for breakfast (I take GF muesli)

General Information:

We strongly advise you see your doctor for medical travel advice. If you are susceptible to chest infections etc you may need to bring antibiotics as a precaution
Travel insurance is compulsory – a copy of your policy is required to be emailed to retreats@shaktidurga.com with subject: India Insurance 2024
Excess Baggage Please be aware the domestic planes in India are very restrictive on weight allowances, usually allowing no more than 15kg before attracting excess baggage fees that can range from $10 to $20 per kilo.

Temperature: forecast for this time of year suggests temperatures between : 19 - 30 C or 66 -86 F. You may wish to bring a hand fan or little battery fan.

The mattresses/beds in the ashram are quite hard. You may wish to bring a foam underlay to make it softer.

Wifi - There is no wifi at the ashram. Jio sim cards work best at the ashram especially at the guesthouse. You may be able to purchase a Jio sim card in Delhi.