Travel and Local Information

Conference Site

Park Plaza Bengaluru Hotel
90/4 Marathahalli Village, Outer Ring Road
Bengaluru (Bangalore), Karnataka 560037 India
Telephone: +91-80-4909 4909

Special Hotel Rates for HiPC 2015 Attendees
See Accommodations page

About Bengaluru (Bangalore)

Known as the Garden City, the city of Bengaluru (Bangalore) is located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of the state of Karnataka in India. Home to a demographically diverse population, Bengaluru (Bangalore) is a major economic and cultural hub and the fastest growing major metropolis in India. Many well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India are based here. Numerous public sector heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, and defence organisations are also located in the city. Bengaluru (Bangalore) is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter. It is the main center of the Information Technology industry in India; almost every Indian and multinational IT company has a presence here. (Bengaluru was previously known by its anglicised name, Bangalore)

Travel Checklist

Travel Visa

All non-Indian citizens are required to have an Indian travel visa to enter the country. Allow sufficient time (at least 4-6 weeks) to procure the appropriate visa from your nearest Indian consulate (see Indian consulates worldwide). Indian consulates in the continental US are located in Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and Atlanta. All participants traveling from the United States must use Cox & Kings Global Services Pvt. Limited to obtain an Indian visa. All other participants should contact the Indian Embassy/ Consulate General of India in their respective countries for information on obtaining an Indian visa. This is to ensure that you are in compliance with respect to latest the regulations enforced by the Indian Embassy issuing the visa.

Applications for a Conference Visa will require the applicant to supply a letter of invitation from HiPC organizers, which may be requested after you have registered for the conference and paid your fees. HiPC organizers have secured the required Indian government approvals and clearances to support applications for Conference Visas. If these letters are required as part of the visa application, a single pdf of all required permissions and certifications for HiPC 2015 from Indian Government Agencies is available here.

Important Note: Participants who require an Indian visa to travel to HiPC are advised to check the exact set of approvals and clearances that the Indian Embassy requires, including requirements for security clearance that apply to passport holders from some countries. When completing the online Visa Invitation Letter Request form, check the last section of the form and complete if your passport country is named, no matter where you may currently reside. This is to ensure that the compliance is met with respect to latest regulations enforced by the Indian Embassy issuing the visa.

If the visa application form requests contact information for HiPC organizers and a reference in India, see the Contact page for details.

Flight Reservations

Flights to India and Bengaluru (Bangalore) in particular tend to fill up well ahead of the December holiday season. We recommend that you make your flight as well as lodging reservations 3-4 months in advance, to be on the safe side. We strongly recommend that you avoid arriving in New Delhi or taking flights that stop in New Delhi en-route to Bengaluru (Bangalore) as winter fog often throws air-traffic off-gear in New Delhi. For more information, see the transportation section of this page.

Vaccinations & Health Tips

Many first-time travelers to India prefer to get preventive vaccinations (shots). The US CDC Website offers the latest vaccination information on travel to India. In other countries, there may be similar advisories available from the appropriate government agency. Checking various world travel sites is another source of information, including tips for first time travelers.

Foreign Exchange

While international credit cards are widely accepted in commercial establishments in India, several places rely on cash transactions in the local currency (Indian Rupee), especially if the purchase value is not very high. We suggest that you either carry some Indian currency when entering India or purchase Indian currency at the currency exchange agencies at the Indian airports, upon arrival. The current exchange rate is about 66 INR per US dollar. Please check the conversion rate before you travel. Once in India, you can purchase additional Indian currency from local branches of Citibank, Thomas Cook, etc. However, it is typically difficult to convert Indian currency back into foreign currency because of exchange regulations.

Hotel Reservations

Please make your hotel reservations ahead of time so that you get your choice of accommodation.

Time and Weather

The Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5.5 hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time(GMT) and is 13.5 hours ahead of the U. S. Pacific Standard Time(PST). In December/ January the weather is mildly tropical with temperatures averaging about 26° Celsius (approx. 79° Fahrenheit) during the day and about 16° Celsius (approx. 61° Fahrenheit) during the night.

Transportation

Flights to India

Bengaluru (Bangalore) is well connected by airline services to most major cities in India and abroad. All flights, national and international, to and from Bengaluru, operate from the Bengaluru International Airport. Most international airlines have direct flights to India from Europe, Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi) and Singapore/Hong-Kong. From the US, most international airlines fly to India with a single stop-over, either in Europe or in the Far East. Economy class roundtrip airfares from the US to India and back are typically around US $1800/-. Check with your travel agent for current fares.

Most international airlines fly into Mumbai (Bombay) or Chennai (Madras). We recommend that you fly into one of these cities. There are several international airlines that also fly directly to Bengaluru(Bangalore). Please check with your travel agent Besides these, most international airlines have direct flights to Bengaluru(Bangalore) from the US, Europe, Far East, and the Gulf countries.

More information about the flights from and to the Bengaluru(Bangalore) airport can be found at air-transport. We recommend that you avoid flights into/via New Delhi if you are on a tight schedule as winter fog in December often delays flights at New Delhi airport. Some Bengaluru(Bangalore)-bound flights stopover in New Delhi -- please check with your travel agent.

If you are planning to travel around India after/before the conference, check with your travel agent for attractive local air travel offers that are usually available with your international travel ticket.

Domestic Airlines

Emergency services

  • Police Control room : 100
    • Closet Police Station: HAL Airport Police Station
  • Fire services : 101
    • Closest fire station: Sarjapur Road fire station, 7km from Park Plaza Hotel
  • Ambulance : 102
    • Closest hospital : VIMS Super Speciality hospital, 700m. Ph : 080 4269 8000