A Gap Year in India

• India is the largest democracy in the world. It's land mass is about 1/3 the size of the Unite States, but it is the second most populous country in the world


• At the last count, the population of India was 1,155,347,700


• There are 14 official languages in India, however there are more than 200 spoken regional languages


• India has the largest employer in the world. Indian Railways employs over one million people


• Chess was invented in India


• India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world

Hampi is a major pit stop on the gap year traveller circuit. The fascinating ruins of the 15th-century city of Vijayanagar, near the village of Hampi, are set in an extraordinary landscape of giant granite boulders, lush paddies and banana plantations. The World Heritage Site ruins cover a wide area.

The Andaman Islands is a relaxed tropical island outpost that belongs to India but is geographically closer to Southeast Asia. Deserted beaches, incredible corals and marine life, an intriguing colonial past and the remnants of a Stone Age culture lure travellers to these incredible islands, 1000km off the east coast of India in the Bay of Bengal.

There are 572 tropical islands here, but only 36 are inhabited!.

Throughout Kerala networks of rivers, canals and lagoons nourish a seemingly infinite number of rice paddies and coconut groves, while sleek houseboats cruise the water highways from one village to another.

Within Kerala, Munnar really hits a sweet spot. With an idyllic backdrop of rolling mountain scenery, craggy peaks, established tea estates and crisp mountain air, Munnar really refreshes after the sticky heat of the lowlands. Once known as the High Range of Travancore, today Munnar is the commercial centre of some of the world's highest tea-growing estates.

Formally called Bombay, this is India's centre of vogue fashion, film and fun. Mumbai has some of the finest restaurants in India, incredible architecture and colonial relics. While chaotic and overwhelming at first, it's definitely worth the experience!

Travellers paradise. Relaxed, tranquil and fun. A former Portuguese colony that attracts over two million visitors a year, in search of the beautiful sun, sea and sand that Goa offers.

Goa is undoubtably the holiday capital of India.

India is also a great place to go if you are looking to volunteer abroad, not just if you're travelling.

22% of the population live below the poverty line and the unemployment rate is almost 8%. Before volunteering it's important to know you are going away with a reputable organisation. Doing lots of research can ensure the projects you'll be working on are genuinely needed and providing a benefit to the country, and that you are not inadvertently being a hinderance despite good intentions.