Many describe India as a continent. And not surprisingly, for the country spans 3.29 million sq km. In the north are China, Nepal and Bhutan, to the northwest, Afghanistan and Pakistan and in the east, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar separate the country’s slender southern tip from the island-state of Sri Lanka.
           Stretching 2,400 km across its entire northern boundary, from the Pamir knot in the northwest to the Brahmaputra valley in the east, is the world’s largest (60 million years old) mountain range – the Himalayas, which has the world’s highest peak – Mt. Everest.
           Far older is the stable mass of pre-Cambrian Rock – the Deccan plateau, which occupies a southern position in the peninsula. The Aravalli range, in its north, as also the Western and Eastern Ghats are remnants of this formation. The eastern edge, drained by the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri rivers, break the Eastern Ghats into low hills. The Western Ghats are steeper and swift-flowing rivers form backwaters and lagoons along the Kerala coast. Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of India.
           Between the Himalayas and the Deccan plateau is the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. In the east, the Brahmaputra River joins the Ganga in a combined delta, the largest in the world and known for its rich, mangrove forests. Nestled in the Bay of Bengal in the east, are the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while in the Arabian Sea in the west, coral atolls from the Lakshadweep islands.
           Situated between 8º 4' and 37º 6' north latitude and 68º 7' and 97º 25' east longitude, the country measures 3214 km from north to south and 2933 km from east to west.
           Winters are cold in the north, pleasant in the south, which is closer to the equator. Summers are hot, with temperatures touching 47º C in some parts. The monsoon season is roughly between June and August.