India is a republic in South Asia; it is the second largest by population and seventh largest by area. With the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west the Bay of Bengal on the east, India shares borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north and Bangladesh and Myanmar on the east.
India is cut off from the rest of Asia by the Himalayas to the north, and has a whole range of different landscapes from the northern mountains, the lakes and forests near Srinagar and Jammu, through the fertile plains of the Punjab, and the Ganges river valley. The west coast from the Gujarat peninsula to Goa has some beautiful beaches, and lush with rainforests whilst the Western Ghats separate the green coast from the dry Deccan plateau. The most pleasant time to visit most of India is during the cooler period from November to mid-February, but there are major regional variations.