Mysore The ancestral home of the Maharaja's of Mysore and current home to the modern day Prince of Mysore, the city can be reached within 2 hours from Bangalore by bus or train. The Palace is an extravagant piece of architecture which has to be seen to be believed!
Mysore also has an extremely well kept zoo which, alongside the usual animals of bears, giraffes and elephants, has 8 tigers - two of them are are white tigers and very beautiful.
A hilltop vantage point gives you an excellent view of the surrounding countryside and a famous temple can be visited here.
Ooty -
Ootacumund
Ooty is famous for being the summer administrative capital of the British Empire due to its altitude of 2,400metres meaning temperatures never reaching above 25 degrees. Old colonial buildings survive alongside modern day Indian which threatens to bulldoze these winderful relics of a bygone age. The town centre itself is not so pretty but the scenery around here from the
Nilgiris (Blue Hills) is stunning and tea estates with tea pickers dot the hill sides. There are also numerous coffee plantations and tea, coffee and locally made chocolate can be bought here making ideal presents for taking home.
Ooty can be reached by bus and takes around 6 hours from Bangalore via Mysore.
Wildlife Parks - Coorg, Mudulamai
There are numerous wildlife parks in south Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Bangalore is close by to many of them. Tigers, elephants, bear, deer, monkeys - the list goes on. Read up on which specialises in your favorite animals and organise your trip.
Mangalore
On the coast of South Karnataka just before the Kerala border Mangalore is not a very pretty city but just outside the city limits there are beautiful unspoilt beaches with no tourists whatsoever
Hampi & Hubli
Two of the most famous archeological sites in India, these two towns are worth visiting for the quantity and quality of the remains. The Indian goverment is trying its best to preserve these sites but unfortunately due to a lack of resources, both financial and people mean that the work is not being carried out quickly enough or to a suitable standard.
Both sites can be reached overnight by bus or train.
A little further afield but easily reached are
Goa and
Cochin in Kerala both great holiday destinations.
Don't be put off thinking that travel will be costly. Trains are amazingly good value especially if you travel overnight as your bed is included. As an example, the fare for an air conditioned coach with a bed and - around a 9 hour journey - would be around 10 pounds.
Many journeys can be done on night bus with full sleeper cabin. A 12 hour night journey would typically cost around £5.
Internal air travel is also very good value with many lost cost airlines now operating in India. Flights can be taken to all locations in
Rajasthan,
Leh & Ladakh.
India is the most friendly and easy country to travel in, so make sure you take advantage of it during your gap year travels!