My name is Nath Fernandes, editor of The Wheelchair Traveller and I travel the world in (mostly!) an electric wheelchair. Having been adventurous from a young age in the UK, it is no surprise that many of ones travels over the past 12 years are to ‘off the beaten track’ countries such as Armenia and Uzbekistan. It is interesting to see how different cultures (some of which may have never encountered an electric wheelchair) react to disability. One may be surprised to learn that the best experiences and interactions have happened in these countries and it seems that society are always willing to assist tourists with disabilities. For example, walking around Armenia, a member of the public stepped out into six lanes of traffic simply so we could cross safely. In 2024, I played a key role in setting up Tunisias first accessible tour company born out of a conventional patient transport company willing to assist myself to explore the country who have since achieved great things.
Dream To Visit India
I have always wished to trek across India in an electric wheelchair, however, many people thought one was crazy during the initial planning stage. Now, the conventional way to plan a trip like this would be to enlist the assistance of a travel agent, however, the electric wheelchair element immediately put a stop to this as none of their suppliers in India could cater meaning that said agencies declined to assist. It was clear that I had to go solo hence I set myself one simple goal; how much of India could be explored in an electric wheelchair?
It is important to remember that countries such as India are very different from Europe in terms of access and the ‘tactics’ that allow exploration (catching accessible trains/buses/taxis and visiting restaurants with level access) must be thrown in the gutter as they are, quite simply, not possible to replicate.
The adventurous side of me wished to visit Southern India rather than the tourist hotspots of the North i.e. the Taj Mahal. Of course, this made the challenge slightly harder! In recent years, Indian Railways have drastically improved accessibility with the introduction of the Vande Bharat Express which is the country’s first accessible train. However, the issue lies with the surrounding infrastructure, many stations do not have boarding ramps or elevators to exit the station. Even if one can exit in a major city, you will likely encounter numerous lanes of Indian traffic! It was clear that one had to find private accessible transportation, however, compared to Europe, many countries in Asia either do not have accessible vehicles or just a handful that are not widely advertised.
The Planning
After hours of trawling the internet, one stumbled upon The Swarga Foundation who have several accessible vehicles used to transport patients around India. After making contact and explaining one’s plan, they kindly agreed to lend us an accessible van along with a driver for two weeks for a reasonable price. It is worth noting that neither myself nor Swarga had a playbook hence we were both a little apprehensive as to whether this plan would work.
Now that one had secured private accessible transportation for the duration, we were able to plan a grand road trip rather than being confined to the major cities. One decided on a coast-to-coast trip starting in Chennai on the shores of the Bay of Bengal traveling in land to the mountainous region around Pollachi finishing in Kochi overlooking the Arabian Sea. Conveniently, Swarga is located in Coimbatore, the hallway point on the road trip allowing for a handover of drivers.
The Experience
As the drive from Coimbatore to Chennai airport is around 9 hours, it felt like a little race, who could reach the airport first, the plane or the van!
If you are planning to visit India in an electric wheelchair, especially a major city, an accessible van is a must. Granted, a few cities do have accessible metro systems but, again, it’s the surrounding infrastructure that is the obstacle. Many elevators exit straight onto six lanes of traffic, many pavements have either trees sprouting out the middle or bollards which are too small for wheelchairs.
For the duration of the trip, the van and the two drivers remained within 15 minutes of our location 24/7 meaning that we had accessible transportation just a WhatsApp message away. This was essential in Chennai as it seemed impossible just to exit the premises in an electric wheelchair.
However, places such as Fort Kochi and very rural areas where traffic is minimal (the very occasional tuk-tuk in the case of Pollachi) are much more navigable on foot.
Accommodation
As we all know, the term ‘accessible room’ can mean a whole range of things dependent upon the country. As Chennai is very much an international city, many chain hotels are present making it an easy choice. However, it is worth noting that as soon as you step outside these major cities, it becomes a little harder as most hotels are independent, many without accessible rooms. Luckily for us, The Swarga Foundation went to scout out a few resorts in the mountainous area for us, we found ourselves staying on a coconut farm for which the owners invested in a ramp enabling me to access the accommodation with ease.
If you are planning to visit India, it is worth noting that the majority of society are very welcoming towards disabled tourists and are prepared to go the extra mile to help out. However, one found that, on occasions, society can be ‘too helpful’ and it is necessary to simply ask them to take a step back.
What to pack
When it came to packing for India, I knew that I had to think about every eventually that could occur over the 15 day trip, the question was how to fit it all in one suitcase? A large proportion of ‘high end’ hotels in India offer a laundry service hence it was possible to pack just for 7 days. By doing this, one had a large space to fill with essential items such as a toolkit, spare wheelchair joystick, even had space to fit my gym equipment in.
Final thoughts
The ultimate question is, how much was one able to explore Southern India using an electric wheelchair? The answer is around 95%, all thanks to the simple principle of hiring an accessible van and a driver. The only time where a manual wheelchair had to be used was when we hired a houseboat to explore the Kerala Backwaters, however it is hoped that one day, an accessible houseboat will be introduced.
If you are thinking about visiting India but worried about accessibility, my advice would be to go for it, simply hire an accessible van and driver from The Swarga Foundation, hit the open road and enjoy an adventure of a lifetime!
You can read one’s Indian journey in full here or follow me on the following social media channels to keep up to date with one’s latest travels:
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