Some local specialties include cherries and strawberries in Kashmir and apricots in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. Green coconuts are a fine thirst quencher when you are unsure about the water and fed up with soft drinks. There are coconut stalls on many city street corners, especially in the south. When you have drunk the milk the stall-holder will split the coconut open and cut you a slice from the outer shell with which to scoop the flesh out. Mangoes are delicious and are widespread in summer.
Soft drinks are a safe substitute of water although they tend to have a high sugar content.
One very pleasant escape from the sickly sweet soft drinks is apple juice. Also good are the small cardboard boxes of fruit juices, especially mango. There is excellent, if a little sweet. Coconut water , straight from the young green coconut, is a popular drink.