From remote islands to the DMZ, an intrepid teen hits 118 countries before turning 20

toggle caption Arjun Malaviya/Arjun Malaviya

Arjun Malaviya is an overachiever and a planner. So, when he told his parents that he wanted to save up for a solo gap year to travel the world, they weren't all that surprised.

Now, at 19 years old, he's got five completely full passports and a slew of remarkable life experiences under his belt. Malaviya told NPR that he's the youngest solo traveler to visit 100 countries.

"I was 17 years and 228 days old when I reached my 100th country," he said, adding that he celebrated the milestone in Nadi, Fiji, by visiting the colorful Sri Siva Subramaniya, one of the largest Hindu temples in the Southern Hemisphere. Another superlative: Malaviya said, based on his research, he's also "the youngest person to visit every country in Oceania." (NPR has not independently verified these claims.)

Sponsor Message

toggle caption Arjun Malaviya/Arjun Malaviya

The intrepid teen said he's hot on the heels of Lexie Alford, who holds the Guiness World Record for being the youngest person to visit every sovereign country in the world. By the age of 18, Alford had only visited about 70 nations.

Malaviya set out on his expedition on his 17th birthday in July 2023. Over 13 months, with occasional trips back home — Westlake Village in Southern California — he sojourned through some of the world's most populated cities and it