The most distinctive features of the lands of India are being so wide and vast and the spread of different types of geographical conditions.
With the snowy Himalaya Mountains in the North, the Indian Ocean in the South, India nowadays occupies a surface area of around thee million square kilometers, three times the area of Great Britain that once occupied India, a country that has its own magic encouraging tourists from all over the world to spend their vacations in India.
The vast lands of India made it called by many scholars as the sub continent of India. The length of the Indian sub continent is around 3200 kilometers and around 3300 square kilometers in width.
If one looks at India in the map, he finds the country taking the shape of an inverted spire hanging from the great Himalaya Mountains in the north.
Along the Northern borders of India, the mountains occupy a line that is more than 2400 kilometers providing the country with a natural protection line. The Himalaya has become a great destination for travelers who wish to spend an exciting tour in India.
This long series of mountains have always separated India from the rest of the Asian region. However, the mountain, in its North-West section is pierced with a series of passes; with the name Khyber, Kurram, Tochi, and many other passageways providing communication between India and Central Asia. Many tourists travel to India to enjoy a vacation in the Himalaya.
On the other hand, the Eastern border of India was always isolated from the rest of Asia until the breakout of the World War II.
South of the Himalaya, there are the vast plains of lands that are dominated by many wide large rivers; the Indus, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra Rivers with their sources situated in the Himalaya and even further to the North.
The most fertile lands and the most populated sections of India are in the valleys and the regions located around these rivers.
In the Northwest of this region, there are the Indian borders with Afghanistan, the Arabian Sea to the West, the Bengal Bay to the East, and the Vindhyas ranges in the South. India has many beaches that are admired by many foreigners who travel to India.
Just to the South of Vindhyas, there is the triangular table shaped lands known as the Deccan. Further south to this region, lies the modern central section of India.
The Southernmost section of the Indian Peninsula, there is the narrow maritime starting from the Ghats region till the sea in the far South.
Other than the variety of the lands of India, the country has some distinctive natural features that can not be found together or close to each others in any other regions in the world.
You can never find the mountains, in the Northern section of the country, being linked to the vast plains of lands, located just to the South of the mountains.
The same can be applied to the great difference between the Indian Peninsula and the region of the Vindhyas nearby. These differences between regions in the country attract many tourists to go on travel packages to India.
The diversity in climate, attitude, temperature, fauna, and flora can be easily observed by any person visiting India even for the fist time.
India offers all types of climates, weather, and physical traits that one can find anywhere else in the world. The temperature of India ranges from the streaming hot weather in the central parts to the coldest temperature in the snowy Himalaya. So if a traveler wants to spend a different adventurous trip, he can always organize a custom tour to India.
Can one imagine that the rainfall varies in one country from 1200 to 7.5 centimeters per year? This is the case in India hosting some of the wettest and the driest sections in the world, all together in the same areas of land.
A good understanding of the geographical features of India is essential for understanding the history of the country.
It would be very hard to well understand the events of the Indian history without a close look at its geography as the mountains, the plains, the river, and the sea have all played an important role in the history of India.
The role of the Himalaya Mountains is quite clear as it always isolated India from the rest of the Asian countries. However, we have to put into consideration that there are certain sections in the Himalaya that were quite inaccessible, while other section especially the North Western section was where many people immigrated to and from India. It was also the passageway for many forces coming inside the country.
The Himalaya even still plays its role in the Indian economy until now with many tours to India that include a visit to explore the mountains.
The rivers located to the South of the mountains with its great might have not only affected the natural condition of the country but also influenced the behavior and attitudes of people as well.
The Himalaya again acted as a filtering system giving India its special character that was not easily influenced throughout different periods of time.
Moreover, the fertile plains of lands, where all the Indian civilization was established is actually the gift of the Himalaya that has become a marvelous part many group tours to India.
The regions with fewer mountains, like the Vindhyas and the Ghats, have also played their role. They have always acted as a bounder preventing the North and the South sections of India to mingle and interact together giving each section its distinctive characteristics.
This is why the culture and social values of the Southern section of India remained as distinct entities while the region of the Vindhyas being conquered and occupied earlier in history.
The sea that surrounds India from three sections provided the country with a natural immunity system. This area of India was never explored until the adventurous journeys of the European in the 15th century. Today, the shores of the country welcome many travelers coming to spend affordable tours in India.
The sea did not only act as an isolation tool, but also played its role in the rich trading between India and the Middle East to the West, and India and the Far East.
Although the country enjoys long beaches that stretch for more than 4200 kilometers, the natural conditions of the Indian shores made it hard for natural harbors to be established. Maybe this was why the Indians were never a maritime people.
However, they always made use of the sea in commercial activities, cultural exchange, and even political expansion especially in the South Eastern Asia.
The Indians have used the sea not only to spread their commerce but also to transfer their thoughts, religion, and philosophy to many regions.
The river, the same as in ancient Egypt or other regions of Africa, was the most important aspect in the lives of the Indians as it acted as the main source of water and even of life.
The establishment of the Indian civilization around the rivers, the same as the ancient Egyptian civilization around the River Nile, was never by chance. Many conditions were present at the time to enable the people to establish settlements that acted as the basis for several civilizations that had many achievements that still until today amaze many travelers who spend their holidays in India.
The Indians, the same as many other ancient communities, have changed the place where they lived according to the flood of the different rivers. Sometimes they went to the North and in other seasons they settled in the South, according to the flow of the rivers and the frequency of the rainfalls.
