Reisinformatie: India

Conjuring images of brightly painted, dusty villages, lush jungle, monsoon rains, crimson sunsets and fiery cooking, the largest democracy in the world has a myriad of experiences and contrasts to offer the enthusiastic traveller.

Early civilisations, empires and dynasties contributed towards the impressive scientific and philosophical achievements of the Golden Age, but the 16th century brought Portuguese, Dutch, French and British traders who later took advantage of infighting between local kingdoms to establish colonies. By 1857 most of India was under direct control of the British Raj, or ‘reign’, although the soaring momentum of Gandhi’s non-violent resistance movement led the road to independence less than 100 years later. The frosty, snow-capped Himalayas along the northern border melt into the Ganges river, worshipped as a goddess by Hindus, whose surrounding, fertile plains support one of the most densely populated regions on earth.