Delhi is extremely well located for visiting a number of places and the transport network is excellent. Here are some ideas of where to go for weekends or longer from the city.
Agra
Of course, the home of the Taj Mahal and a real must for any trip to India. Agra can be reached by the early morning express train out of Delhi within 3 hours. Hiring a car and driver is also a good option. It must be recommended to see the Taj at either sunrise or sunset so an overnight stay would be a good idea. Other things to see include the Black Taj, the Red Fort and Fatephur Sikhri which is around an hours drive away.
Rajasthan: Jaipur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur
India's major tourist attraction, Rajasthan is a riot of colours, smells, scenery, arts, crafts, fabulous jewelry, forts, palaces and wonderful people! Any of the above locations can be visited for a weekend and come highly recommended. When visiting Jaisalmer you are on the edge of the desert and so a camel safari is a great way to get the feel of the place. Udaipur is where the James Bond film Octopussy was filmed so rent it out to get a feel of the place, Jodphur is where Liz Hurley got married in one of the fabulous palaces and Jaipur is home to the famous Pink Palace, home of the Maharaja.
Amritsar & Wagah (India / Pakistan Border Post)
Home of the Guru Nanak Grant Sahib, the last prophet of the Sikhs, the Golden Temple is a stunning building two thirds of which is covered in gold and gold leaf whilst the remainder of the buildings and all the
surroundings are in white marble. Amritsar itself is not a very exciting city but you can easily fill a day and then travel about an hour for the 5pm ceremony of closing the border gates between India and Pakistan. This daily ritual has been turned into a ceremony of great role playing, strutting and posturing between the two countries and the spectacle attracts thousands of people every day to take part in the 'friendly' baiting that goes on between the two sides.
Corbett National Park
One of India's oldest national parks and a part of Project Tiger, the Indian Government's attempt to arrest the decline of this fabulous big cat, this park is reached by overnight train and bus. There are a number of guest houses outside the park or lodges inside. As well as Tigers, which can be illusive - the whole of India now has less than 1,000 of them - the park has a good number of different animal and bird life so is well worth a visit.
Simla
This is the hill station the British used to take to in mid summer due to the heat of the Capital. It still bears some of the hallmarks of the British, particularly the architecture of the town. In the winter Simla gets snow and it is a huge draw for the people of Delhi and its surroundings to come and see.
DharamShala
The home of the Dalai Lama in exile from Tibet, this town has become a must on any traveller's itinerary. There is a distinct international flavour to DharamShala with Buddhist monks, pilgrims and the plain curious coming from around the world hoping for a chance to meet the leader of the Buddhist religion.
Rishikesh
Well known for its adventure sports, Rishikesh is the place to go for white water rafting, bungee jumping, gorge scrambling etc. Set in the foothills of the Himlayas and with the opportunity of camping, this is a place not to be missed.
Leh, Ladakh & Kashmir
The northern most part of India, this area sees more of a similarity with Afghanistan. The people are much fairer and usually have beautiful green eyes. The cuisine is more fruit and cream in the curries, such as Korma and Pasanda and lots of meat. Again these places are in the foothills of the Himalaya and have a very alpine characteristic. The Kashmiris are well known for the production of Pashmina shawls, at least one of which every woman should own!
Don't be put off by the cost of travel either. 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 bedding to the Nilgiris - 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 low 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 while on your gap year travels!