Costs

The program fee is $3,970 which includes:

✔️ Roundtrip airfare to India from the U.S.
✔️ Visa (if required)
✔️ In-country airport pick-up and drop-off with your group
✔️ Housing
✔️ WiFi
✔️ Three at-home meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
✔️ Pre-departure + in-country training
✔️ Local support
✔️ 24/7 emergency assist line from ILP headquarters
✔️ International SOS membership
✔️ Hands-on education
✔️ Meaningful service opps

Additional items (like your passport and domestic travel to and from the U.S. group departure airport) and in-country costs (like vacations, shopping, and activities) are not included. See a more detailed list here. It depends on your personal spending habits, but most volunteers recommend budgeting around $1,500-3,500 for the semester to make the most of your time in India.

We have custom monthly payment plans to help you make it work. That can be especially helpful if you’re saving up little by little, by working or doing fundraising.

An ILP Hybrid Trip

We have two types of programs: Humanitarian and Exchange. This trip to India combines them both, so you get the best of both worlds!

In Humanitarian trips, the kids you are working with come from very limited means and would not otherwise be able to afford this extra support and education provided to them.

In Exchange trips, the kids you are working with pay a fee to attend our English classes. That fee is used to help subsidize your program fee, which helps us bring the cost down from what it would have been as solely a Humanitarian program.

In India, you’ll spend about half your time at a private school, and about half your time with children of limited means.

Is India right for me?

Each location is unique and therefore has its pros and cons. What falls into those two categories will really depend on the person you talk to, but we’ve put together common complaints we hear most about volunteering here. Knowing the typical pain points that just come along with the experience will help as you consider which country is best for you.

• Volunteers step right into the culture of India. Many of your provided meals are consistent with the local vegetarian diet.
• India is a conservative country, and how you dress can be a safety concern. At all times, volunteers will need to wear loose modest clothing that covers your neck, shoulders, stomach, and goes past your knees. This is a requirement taken seriously.
• On the travel side of things, you’re living in the north, so traveling on winding mountain roads is unavoidable. It can be time consuming to travel to your vacation destinations.

About Your Group

This program has about 8-13 volunteers per group which means you’ve got lots of new travel buddies! We currently have two groups who live in Kullu, so you may run into more ILP volunteers outside of your circle, too. Our India program is the best fit for:

• Single females/males and married couples
• 18-about 25ish years old
• Volunteers from the U.S. and Canada
• No experience needed!

About Your City

Forget about what you think a semester in India is all about, and get ready for adventures on adventures in this country.

Volunteers live up in the north, right in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. Your home is in the town of Kullu, found in the Himachal Pradesh State.

Living here gives you the chance to soak up quieter mountain villages with stunning views — a far cry from the congested and bustling cities that may come to mind when you think of this country! Because this is where you’ll be spending most of your time, your days are filled with trips to shopping markets in town, catching a local cricket match, trying rich curries and creamy chai, wandering uphill to see colorful temples, yak rides, white water rafting on the local river, and hiking in the actual Himalayas (which are peppered with deep valleys, sprawling apple orchards, and waterfalls aplenty).

Weekends allow for lots of exploring close to home, so you can spend vacation days traveling south to cross off all the things on your India list. Come explore some of the oldest (and prettiest) temples. Or, try riding a camel into the desert at sunset and taking a safari to see tigers. Oh, and seeing a World Wonder has to be on your list, too!

But with all the trips and vacations you could take, we love that your home makes it easy to stay in touch with the local culture here. ILP groups will be living on campus at one of the schools you teach at (or very close by), and in close contact with locals who help out with the ILP program here.

Glimpse A Day In India

Your group all lives together in the same dorm/apartment area, so you’ll be constantly hanging out all together. Be prepared to get very close to the adventurers in your group!

After a classic Indian breakfast of tea and flatbread stuffed with spiced potatoes, it’s time for school. You are teaching at schools that are pretty close to where you live — either a short walk or bus ride, but you’ll still want comfortable walking shoes! Your new mountain home is known for amazing views and hilly streets. Plus, you’ll probably do loads of walking on vacation.

After teaching in the morning, you’ll have a short break for lunch (it’s packed up for you so you can eat between classes). Your entire semester in India is about experiencing life like the locals, which includes the food. Your group will share meals that are full of local favorites, all on rotation. Be prepared for fragrant curries served with rice and warm naan, along with yogurt sauces to help calm some of the spicier dishes. Culturally, many people in this part of India keep vegetarian, and several of your prepared meals will be veggie (but there will be some meals which include meat, as well). Rice, flatbreads, and protein-rich staples like lentils, chickpeas, potatoes, and beans are typically found in most meals. All of your meals are provided by a sweet cook who might be willing to share the secrets of cooking authentic Indian food with you (which would make for quite the souvenir to take home)!

Since teaching English is only a portion of your day, you’re set up with quite a bit of free time … maybe more than you are used to. That means time for exploring the sites and temples within your own town, exploring the getaways nearby, trekking up to admire mountain meadows, or tackling an adrenaline-filled adventure, like rafting. You’ll also have plenty of time to play games with your group, discover a new little market, or try a new snack in your town.

The Backstory Of This Program

When we were first contacted by some locals about starting a program in India, we were very intrigued — this particular country has been requested (many times) by volunteers, so it’s been on our radar. When we started talking with our contact, we quickly realized India was a perfect fit for what we (and our volunteers) were looking for.

We loved so many things about starting a program here. Apart from the culture, the incredible vacations, and a few other elements, there was one thing that really sealed the deal: how volunteers are helping.

Our contact said that there are tour groups that come for a couple of weeks and as part of that experience, they also do some service by spending a day at a school teaching kids English. But there was just one problem … they knew they needed teachers who could dedicate more time with the students to help them progress. The local teachers at the school asked him to find English teachers who could come for longer, asking “Are there teachers that can stay for a few months?”

This is one of the big reasons we’re so passionate about having programs that are a bit longer. By being a part of a volunteer group who will be there for a whole semester (which has consistent semesters of volunteers who will pick up where you left off), we can help with a much more effective way for these kids to learn.