South Asia

Can you drink tap water in India?

Capital: New DelhiEnglish, Hindi, Bengali, TeluguUpdated October 2026

NoNo, drink bottled

Can you drink the tap water in India?

Don't drink the tap water. Drink bottled or RO-filtered water; many hotels and cafés offer refills. Avoid ice and raw salads at cheap places.

Key facts

Safely managed drinking water: 76% of people (2024, WHO/UNICEF JMP).

Tap water by place in India

Place	Verdict	Notes
Delhi	No, drink bottled	Tap water is not safe. Drink bottled or RO-filtered water, and avoid ice and raw salads at cheap stalls.
Goa	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; many cafés and guesthouses offer RO refills. Avoid ice at beach shacks.
Mumbai	No, drink bottled	Tap water is treated but unreliable in old pipes. Drink bottled or RO-filtered water; avoid street ice.
Jaipur	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or RO-filtered water. Avoid ice and raw salads at street stalls.
Agra	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Avoid ice and raw salads in cheap eateries.
Varanasi	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or RO-filtered water only. Do not drink or bathe in Ganges water; avoid ice and raw salads.
Rishikesh	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Many cafés and guesthouses offer RO refills; the Ganges is sacred but not safe to drink.
Bangalore	No, drink bottled	Tap water is treated but unreliable; most homes use RO filters. Drink bottled or filtered water.
Udaipur	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or RO-filtered water. Avoid ice and raw salads at cheap stalls.
Kochi	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Avoid ice and raw salads in small eateries.
Kolkata	No, drink bottled	Tap water is treated but variable. Drink bottled or RO-filtered water and avoid ice at street stalls.
Hyderabad	No, drink bottled	Tap water is treated but often not drunk. Use bottled or RO-filtered water and avoid ice at street stalls.
Manali	No, drink bottled	Spring and tap water is not reliably safe. Drink bottled or filtered water; many cafés offer refills.
Dharamshala	No, drink bottled	Tap water is not reliably safe. Drink bottled or filtered water; many cafés and hostels offer refills.
Leh	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Ladakh discourages single-use bottles, so many cafés and guesthouses offer paid refills; carry a bottle.
Chennai	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or RO-filtered water. Tap water is hard and often brackish; order bottled in restaurants.
Pondicherry	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Cafés in White Town offer filtered refills.
Varkala	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Cliff cafés offer filtered refills; avoid ice at roadside stalls.
Hampi	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Many guesthouses have RO refills; avoid ice and raw salads.
Amritsar	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. The Golden Temple serves free filtered water, which locals drink.
Jodhpur	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; many rooftop cafés and guesthouses offer refills.
Jaisalmer	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; fort cafés usually offer purified refills. Carry extra water on desert trips.
Pushkar	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Many rooftop cafés and guesthouses provide purified refills.
Palolem	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Many cafés and huts offer purified refills.
Anjuna	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Beach shacks and cafés sell sealed bottles and offer refills.
Darjeeling	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Hot tea is safe and widely served.
Munnar	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Hotels and homestays offer purified refills.
Alleppey	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Houseboats supply bottled water; avoid ice at roadside stalls.
Andaman Islands	No, drink bottled	Island water is brackish or untreated in places. Drink bottled or filtered water.
Shimla	No, drink bottled	Municipal water is treated but supply can be contaminated; drink bottled or filtered water.
Srinagar	No, drink bottled	Lake and tap water are not safe to drink; use bottled or filtered water and avoid ice.
Mysore	No, drink bottled	Tap water is not recommended; use bottled or RO-filtered water, which most homestays provide.
Gokarna	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; shacks sell sealed bottles and refills.
Arambol	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; many cafés offer refills.
Kasol	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; river water is not safe. Hostels offer refills.
Pune	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or RO-filtered water; most apartments and cafés provide it.
Spiti Valley	No, drink bottled	Use bottled water or purify stream water; stomach infections are common at altitude.
Ooty	No, drink bottled	Use bottled or filtered water; Ooty's municipal supply is not recommended for visitors.
Gangtok	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; mountain springs are common but not reliably treated.
Bir Billing	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; hostels and cafés usually provide refills.
Khajuraho	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; avoid ice and uncooked salads at street stalls.
Gurgaon	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or RO-filtered water. Condos have filtered supply; avoid ice at cheap stalls.
Ahmedabad	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or RO water. Avoid ice and street-stall juices in monsoon.
Bodh Gaya	No, drink bottled	Drink sealed bottled water; avoid ice and raw salads at roadside stalls. Many monasteries offer filtered water.
Kovalam	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water; guesthouses often supply refills. Avoid ice from unlicensed stalls.
Madurai	No, drink bottled	Drink bottled or filtered water. Avoid ice and cut fruit at street stalls in hot months.
Ranthambore	No, drink bottled	Drink sealed bottled water; lodges provide filtered refills. Avoid ice in small roadside stalls.

Tap water by place

Sources

Compiled and reviewed by SoloSquare. How we compile and score this. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.