What to Pack for Bengaluru
Bengaluru sits on a plateau at nine hundred metres, which gives it the mildest climate of any major Indian city and makes it the one place in the country where packing for heat is the wrong instinct. Evenings are genuinely cool for much of the year. Travellers who book Bengaluru flights with Traveloka should pack more like a European spring than a tropical summer. A layer, which you will use Between November and February, evening temperatures drop to around fifteen degrees and locals wear jackets. A light sweater or a packable jacket is the single item most visitors wish they had brought. Hotel rooms and offices are air-conditioned to a standard that makes the same layer useful indoors in any season. Rain gear for most of the year Bengaluru gets rain from both monsoons and sees afternoon thunderstorms from April onwards. A compact umbrella is more practical than a raincoat in the warmth. Streets flood quickly and footpaths are uneven, so shoes that survive a puddle matter more than waterproof outerwear. Clothing conventions The city is the most casually dressed in India and shorts on men are unremarkable in the tech districts. Women are comfortable in most Western clothing in Indiranagar, Koramangala and the central area, with more modest dress appropriate at temples and in older neighbourhoods. A scarf covers the temple requirement easily. Shoes, given the pavements Footpaths in Bengaluru are broken, missing in places and occasionally occupied by parked vehicles, and you will walk more than planned because traffic makes short journeys slow. Closed, cushioned shoes beat sandals. Many temples and some homes require shoes off, so something you can slip off without sitting down is sensible. Medication and the chemist Pharmacies are everywhere, cheap, and will dispense a great deal without a prescription, so there is little need to carry large quantities of anything ordinary. Bring what is specific to you, with its prescription, since brand names differ. Oral rehydration salts are worth having for the first few days and are sold on every corner in any case, usually for a few rupees a sachet. Plugs, SIMs and the practical kit India uses the type D and type M three-pin round sockets at 230 volts, so bring the right adapter rather than assuming. A local SIM is cheap and requires a passport and photograph; airport kiosks sell tourist packages. Data is inexpensive and coverage in the city is good. What to leave behind Heavy sun protection is less necessary than on the coast, though the altitude means the midday sun is sharper than the temperature suggests. Formal clothing is rarely needed. Drones require permissions and are best left at home entirely. Traveloka is the go-to app for the cheapest flights and hotels across Southeast Asia. Bring a jacket, an umbrella and closed shoes, and skip the tropical kit. Bengaluru is the one Indian city where visitors routinely pack too light rather than too heavy, and the nine hundred metres of altitude is the reason nobody thinks to check the evening forecast before flying in from the coast.
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