Top ten gap year holidays

With the number of mature gap year holidaymakers taking career breaks to travel on the rise, the favourite destinations for gap years are changing.

Research from the Year Out Group, which represents UK gap year specialists, the most popular destinations are India, Peru and Tanzania, all in equal first place.

The not-for-profit organisation, whose 37 members have gap year trips to more than 90 different countries, also finds China and South Africa are the equal fourth most-popular places to go on a gap year, followed by Canada, Thailand, Kenya and Ghana, all in sixth place.

In equal tenth place are Australia, Costa Rica and the UK.

Year Out Group's top gap year adventures

India: The Rajasthan Volunteer Programme

This volunteering holiday takes place in the Rajasthan Desert and is suitable for gap year travellers of all ages.

Run by Real Gap Experience, participants help with local childcare or education programmes over four or eight weeks. Prices start from £949 per person. For more information see www.realgap.co.uk or www.gapyearforgrownups.co.uk

Peru: Help the street children of Cusco

Cusco is the gateway to Peru's best known visitor attractions, Machu Piccu, which was recently voted as one of the new seven world wonders.

However the streets of the city are home to 6,000 children who have little or no access to food, healthcare or education.

Madventurer has gap year trips combining voluntary work helping the Cusco street children as well as overland adventure holidays in Peru. Prices start from £800 per person for two weeks, and £150 per person for each further week. For more information see www.madventurer.com

Tanzania: Teaching English and helping schools

Moshi is a bustling town close to Tanzania's most famous peak - Mount Kilimanjaro.

Located in the north of the country, i-to-i offers gap year travellers a chance to help the town's schools, getting training and teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL1/TESOL2), as well as helping teachers with other lessons and extra curricular activities.

For more information see www.i-to-i.com