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Places to visit near Delhi
Vrindavan
Krishna's boyhood country: some five thousand temples in a town of 85,000, the crush at Banke Bihari, the marble and light of Prem Mandir, quiet courtyards like Radha Raman where the ritual has not changed in centuries. Come in the cool months, and keep a hand on your glasses; the monkeys here are famous for taking them.
~120 km as the crow flies
Govardhan
A low sandstone ridge nobody climbs, because the hill itself is what is worshipped: Krishna is said to have lifted it to shelter Braj, and the way to honour it is the 21 km walk around it. Tanks, sandstone pavilions and prasad stalls line the route; most people come over from Vrindavan or Mathura for the day.
~130 km as the crow flies
Mathura
On the banks of the Yamuna, the birthplace of Krishna: a warren of temples, ghats and bell-bright lanes that erupt into colour at Holi. The devotional heart of the Braj country, and one of India's most joyful Holi celebrations.
~130 km as the crow flies
Haridwar
Where the Ganga leaves the mountains for the plains stands one of Hinduism's great sacred cities: every evening Har Ki Pauri fills for the Ganga aarti, a river of lamps, bells and chanting. India's most stirring riverside ritual, and a host of the Kumbh Mela.
~170 km as the crow flies
Agra
Marble and red sandstone on one bend of the Yamuna: the Taj Mahal at dawn, the fort where Shah Jahan spent his last years looking at it, and the 'Baby Taj' whose inlay work the Taj borrowed. Most visitors leave by sunset; the old city's bazaars and petha shops reward those who stay.
~180 km as the crow flies
Rishikesh
Where the Ganga leaves the Himalaya: ashrams and yoga halls, swaying footbridges, riverside cafés and evening aarti by the water. The world's yoga capital, white-water rafting, and the gateway to the mountains.
~190 km as the crow flies
Dehradun
The unhurried gateway to the hills, cradled in the Doon valley: Tibetan monasteries, leafy old boarding schools, litchi orchards and the dripping caverns of Robber's Cave. An easy way into the Himalaya, with Mussoorie and Rishikesh a short climb away.
~210 km as the crow flies
Mussoorie
The 'Queen of the Hills' spills down a Himalayan ridge above the Doon valley: a colonial Mall Road, the Camel's Back loop and snow peaks floating on a clear morning. Cool air, easy strolls and one of the north's favourite hill escapes, an hour above Dehradun.
~220 km as the crow flies
Jaipur
India at its most royal: hilltop forts, honey-stone palaces, the lace-like Hawa Mahal, and bazaars piled with block-print, gemstones and sweets. Rajasthan's classic first stop: maharaja grandeur and the best shopping in the north.
~240 km as the crow flies
Chandigarh
India's first planned city, drawn from scratch by Le Corbusier: numbered sectors, wide green avenues, cycle tracks and raw-concrete landmarks at the foot of the Shivaliks. The cleanest, calmest city in the north, plus Nek Chand's famous Rock Garden.
~240 km as the crow flies
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